July 16th 2023, 2.00 AM - New Delhi Airport
Finally, after the delay, our journey was rolling. We landed in the Terminal 2 of the IGI Airport, Delhi, got our luggage and decided to leg it to Terminal 3 from where we were to catch the next flight to Leh. We had a little over four hours and it seemed like a good idea to check in our luggage and proceed to the waiting lounge. The Delhi airport was impressively huge and boarding for our flight was from the distant, Gate 50.
Checking in our luggage was quick. Despite the odd hour, the Vistara staff were quite alert. Having finished that part, we proceeded to security check. The belt and shoes had to come off. All electronic gadgets were placed in a separate tray for screening. To this day, I don't know why, but I was under the impression that x-rays could penetrate a humble camera bag, or any bag for that matter. Anyway, I had more trays than a normal passenger. Sliding my trays onto the conveyor, I proceeded for my metal detector sweep. That was a mere formality and I went to the other end of the converyor, awaiting my trays.
My son and wife had got their stuff passed through without a problem but I was still waiting. I could see that my tray was out but the chap in charge of the screening was having a small discussion with a burly officer about my camera bag. There were a few other passengers too explaining the contents of their hand baggage. When my turn came, the expression on the security officer's face became very stern. The conversation went some thing like this. Since it was carried out in Hindi, I've translated it here so that the reader is aware of the seriousness of my 'crime'!
"Why are you carrying satellite phones? Don't you know it is not allowed?" I was taken aback. I had a rather simple smartphone and was wondering how this gentleman decided it was a satellite phone.
"I don't have a satellite phone, Sir", I said.
"Open your bag", was the curt reply, and his expression was becoming more frightening. I was now worried that someone had stuffed something into my bag without my knowledge and I was probably going to get arrested for no fault of mine. It happens all the time and I had probably, inadvertently, become a 'courier' for some underworld organisation. Who else smuggled satellite phones?!
I opened the front compartment of my bag. "There; take those two phones out", he barked. I felt my head reeling. The 'satellite phones' that I was accused of carrying were two electronic gadgets, I forgot to put in the tray separately. My Garmin Marine GPS and my Zoom Audio Recorder!
"Where are you going? Why do you carry satellite phones?". He was still very irritated with me for holding up the line. A satellite phone on a passenger, apparently, is not allowed without proper authorisation.
"Sir, they are not satellite phones. One is a handheld GPS and the other one is a sound recorder", I told him as politely as I could, without gnashing my teeth, and explained the reason I was carrying it. His assistant also confirmed that they were not satellite phones!
Now, I was happy that the matter seemed to have been settled but for a six foot tall security officer, he probably had an ego taller than him and it wouldn't permit him to admit his error. It apparently took a lot to climb down from his high perch. He picked up the GPS and told me, "You cannot carry this", with a finality in his voice.
I was stumped. Was he going to confiscate it? I was in no mood to argue with him at 3.00 AM in the morning. Once again, I very politely told him that there had to be a middle path. There was no rule against carrying a GPS handset. Fortunately for me, his superior officer walked into the scene and I was told to meet him and see if the problem could be resolved. This nice gentleman took one look at the masquerading 'satellite phone' and confirmed that it was indeed a GPS handset but since he couldn't embarrass his subordinate, he gave a quick solution. He told me to take out the batteries and put it the check in luggage!
This was getting more complicated. We had already checked in our luggage half an hour ago and it probably would have been in one of the luggage trailers on its way to our aircraft. I told him that it would be difficult to retrieve our baggage now as they would be half way across his rather extensive airfield. I couldn't request the airline to bring the bags out for me to put it in. In any case, I was out of security check, in the boarding area. The boss then suggested that we use one of our hand luggage to keep the offending GPS and check that in.
Luckily, my wife's backpack came to my rescue. I put the GPS in it and rushed out not wanting to prolong this unpleasant drama. As I reached the entry point to the security check area, I realised that in my hurry, I hadn't retrieved my cell phone or carried my boarding pass. Both were critical. The former for any 'emergency' calls in case I was stopped and arrested and the latter to ensure that I could get back to the boarding zone as a 'genuine' passenger!
So. back I went, through the metal detector zone, picked up the critical objects and waded through the crowd, back to the baggage check in counters. The eye brows of the girl who was at the counter almost touched her hairline when I told her why I was back. "You can carry this bag with you, Sir", she said. I patiently explained to her, my rather 'complicated' situation, and told her that I wasn't about to abandon my GPS at the airport. After checking in the bag, (luckily there wasn't an excess baggage situation), I retraced my way back to security check.
I thought I could walk in a 'free' man as I had been screened twice over. The guy with the metal detector was very sympathetic but he said, rules are rules. I had to take out my shoes and belt, and put it through the screening tray procedure all over again! In the middle of all that he had time to enquire regarding my profession and ask my why I was carrying all these strange gadgets. As he waved me through, he stopped me again and asked me regarding 'laser to remove his glasses'! What a night!
Finally, after all the confusion, security check was over and it was time to catch the next flight to Leh. All this excitement had effectively driven away any thoughts of sleep. It was a long tiring night and I was sweating despite the air-conditioning. Though I had skipped the Muscular Upma on the Indigo flight, I was optimistic that our Vistara would serve something more appetising. So we took a break at the McDonald's near the lounges, which were anyway full; before proceeding to look for Gate 50. My son, despite the noodles served on the flight, happily tucked into a burger and fries, while I sipped a cold coffee to settle my jangling nerves.
After refreshing ourselves we proceeded to 'Area 50' of Terminal 3. Mercifully, there weren't any alien types to scan me for more banned objects! Most of the chairs were empty so we plopped ourselves next to a mobile charging station and decided to catch a few winks before boarding the flight to Leh.
By 6.00 AM it was getting brighter outside despite the heavy cloud cover. We had been worried. Already a delayed flight and 'satellite phones' had ruined our night. So this was a welcome relief as it wasn't raining.
By 7.15 we were airborne, and over the clouds the sun was shining. At last, we were on our way without any further delays.
It was a short hop. In a little more than an hour the pilot announced that he was preparing for landing. As a sign of nearing our destination, the snow capped tips of the Himalayas greeted us through the clouds.
The sky was broodingly depressing. Over the previous few days the television channels had been full of news of cloudbursts, flash floods and roads being washed away. The Manali - Leh National highway 3 was closed and we were worried about our trip as travel in Ladakh is completely dependent of the state of the roads.
As the flaps were raised for landing we knew that Leh was only a few minutes away beneath us. It had been a very eventful night. We had travelled 3500 kilometres in about 12 hours, and climbed from 140 meters above MSL in the Palghat Gap to above 3500 meters above MSL in Ladakh. An unforgettable experience!
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