Passengers flying out of Patna airport on Thursday didn't have to get their hand baggage tagged and security stamped, ending a system that often caused large queues at the starved-for-space facility.

Patna airport director Rajendra Singh Lahauria said: "Passengers will not be required to get security stamps on tags of their hand baggage. They can get their other security checks done and board their flights. This is a passenger-friendly measure that we have initiated. Passengers who lose tags and first-time travellers who are told only during security checks that hand baggage tags are mandatory would benefit greatly from the tag-free travel."

Abhishek, a city-based businessman on way to board a morning flight to Delhi, said: "Cabin bag tags in India serve no purpose. The cabin bag tags were introduced to ensure that each passenger writes his/her name so that in case there is no space in the cabin near your seat the crew could put your baggage somewhere else. Also, in case if you forget your cabin baggage at the airport, it would be easy to return it to you. But this rarely happens in India. Stamping cabin bags is neither followed in Europe nor in the United States."