Security at Leh airport

Leh is close to the Pakistan border. There is a huge military presence there.

When we flew out of Leh about 10 days ago, we went through the most security checks I've ever experienced. But I felt safe getting on that plane, I assure you.


At the entrance to the airport grounds:

1. Military police check our passports.
2. Taxi driver registers his license plate with the airport guards.

At the outside door of the Leh airport:

• Local military police check your passport and ticket.

At the inside door of the Leh airport:

1. All luggage (checked and carry on) goes through an x-ray machine.
2. Walk through a metal detector.

After getting our boarding passes at the airline ticket counter:

1. A sticker is put across the zipper of checked luggage and put on a cart.
2. Carry-on luggage is tagged.
3. Carry-on luggage is put through an x-ray machine, and tags are stamped in blue ink.
4. Physical pat down. Ladies go into an enclosed cubicle, and are patted down by a female security guard.
5. In an outdoor enclosure, you have to find your checked luggage (with the sticker across a zipper) and claim it as yours. Checked luggage is then put on the plane.

When ready to board the bus that took us to the plane:

1. Boarding pass is checked.
2. Carry-on luggage tags are checked for the blue security stamp, and stamped again with red ink.
3. Another physical pat down.
4. Carry-on luggage tags are checked for both blue and red stamps.

When boarding the plane:

• Boarding pass checked (by, it turns out, the owner of our hotel)

Whew!

<<As I write this, something in the back of my head is warning me that the Leh security may not appreciate me listing their procedure so publicly...I was told by an Indian while flying into Leh that you're not allowed to take pictures of the Leh airport from the airplane. Ok, I get that, but what about satellite imagery? Drones? Anyway, I've decided to leave this post as is because I think it's interesting. We'll see if I get into trouble...>>