Eight major Indian airports will be equipped with full-body scanners (FBS) soon to make security checks more efficient. The move is part of the security overhaul being implemented by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.

The equipment will be fitted at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Kochi. Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) secretary Sameer Sinha said MoCA secretary Sameer Sinha said that the machines have already been delivered to three airports.

"Machines have been delivered to three airports. The remaining five will get them soon," Sinha said. The full-body scanners are already being used on a trial basis at four international airports - Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi.

The testing had started earlier this year on a pilot basis. The BCAS is planning for a wider rollout by next year.

It comes a day after an Indian pilot, Smit Machchhar, of the flydubai airline faced a knife attack mid-air on a Tel Aviv flight from Dubai. The co-pilot who stabbed Machchhar inside the cockpit is an Omani national.

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The intent behind the attack and the circumstances surrounding it remain uncertain, but concerns have been raised over a 9/11 like hijacking attempt to crash the flight in Israel.

The UAE is leading the investigation into the incident. The probe will also find how the co-pilot got his hands on the knife. If indeed he carried it into the flight, it would be a massive security breach, as in the Middle East, pilots go through the same security checks as passengers.

As the incident carries implications for aviation security across the world, including India, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said, "We will act as per the outcome of the probe. After the preliminary report from flydubai, India will also act to further tighten the security aspect," Naidu was quoted in a report by India Today.

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As the name suggests, full-body scanners, unlike metal detectors, are designed to detect metal objects not only over the body but also concealed within. The scanners are also capable of detecting non-metallic items.