More than9.4 billion passenger footfalls are expected across global airport infrastructure in 2024. Airlines and airports across the world expect that business will be on par with pre-COVID levels. Airlines are pumping up their seat inventory to ferry more people across the globe and airports are gearing up to handle the rush.
While this is good from a business perspective, some challenges await airports in terms of ensuring a secure experience for passengers. Airport security in the years to come will need the best-of-breed products and intelligent integration to accommodate so many passengers.
Let us explore the key challenges that mandate the adoption of new-age security products and integrated operations.
One of the first steps that most countries take in the wake of conflict is to regulate the entry of foreign nationals. Airports are a customary source of international border crossings. When tensions rise, airports are the first to get orders from their respective nations or allies to restrict the movement of citizens from hostile countries.While this may look like a simple exercise based on passport verification, the nuances involved are deeper than you think. Airports do not just serve as a gateway into one country. They could be hubs where transit passengers wait to board a new plane to their destination. Hence a blanket ban on passenger movement may not be feasible.
Hence airports need to have custom security infrastructure that facilitates transit but not entry unless approved for the same. As traffic increases, scaling such a mechanism would require both state-of-the-art infrastructure and intelligent integration between departments across the passenger value chain.
A more sophisticated passenger screening infrastructure that is integrated with systems processing passports and immigration documents, airline reservations, etc. will be needed. Additionally, security monitoring must also check for any attempts by risky personnel to get away from the airport upon arrival. This would mean continuous intelligent monitoring by cameras and sensors across the airport terminal.
The phenomenal rise in passenger volumes creates a need for faster security infrastructure. Delays can result in chaos which can cascade into an enormous problem for the airport, airlines, and passengers. Clearing passenger queues faster during boarding, baggage check-ins, and immigration is the need of the hour. However, excessive manual management of these areas will eventually result in inefficient operations and ultimately delays.
By integrating operations intelligently and using modern security solutions, airports are presented with an opportunity to streamline passenger movement from entry to departure in both ways. It becomes easy to clear long queues at counters if security checks are faster. Innovative check-in features like touchless check-in counters, biometric authentications, facial recognition, etc. can help reduce the workload of staff.
When such technologies are introduced into the airport’s integrated security infrastructure, it ensures a better passenger experience without risking security. The system integration part of this exercise is very critical. Unless all systems can collaborate efficiently with each other, providing a seamless experience for passengers may not be possible due to hiccups or delays in any of the phases of the airport journey.
It is understandable that dangerous or hazardous material is often transported into critical facilities like airports with the aid of passenger baggage. To ensure protection, state-of-the-art baggage scanning machines need to be integrated with intelligent image processing technology to identify any potential component that may be used directly or indirectly as a weapon or harmful agent.
Additionally, baggage movement needs to happen with proper automatic identification and linked to respective passengers. This will help in identifying owners if any suspicious activity is picked up by security scanners or sensors.
Airports are critical infrastructure that can always be a point of attack from terrorists. In such scenarios, security personnel need accurate and informed data across the entire landscape of operations to counter threats faster. This is possible only when intelligent security surveillance is deployed everywhere and integrated into other access control mechanisms like those that manage perimeter and intrusion security.
When modern security products along with intelligent integration are used, it becomes easier to reach out to quick-response teams in the wake of an incident. Coordinating evacuations, tracing imposters or attackers faster, isolating hotspots, etc. becomes easier when security systems can seamlessly provide visibility into the length and breadth of the airport facility.
Surveillance infrastructure like data analytics, drones, live camera feeds, intrusion sensors, etc. are critical elements in improving coverage of security infra, especially in the wake of an incident. Special focus must be made to make sure that these elements are integrated well to offer a unified security view of the entire airport. For example, if a sensor picks up an intrusion on a border fencing, then cameras, monitoring drones, radars, etc. near the area must automatically shift their attention to the attack point to help identify the threat immediately.
When it comes to airports, having an intelligent and fully integrated modern security infrastructure is critical for long-term operations. As we can see, every stakeholder in the airport from passengers to airlines, staff, and security personnel benefited by having innovative security systems in place. However, it is extremely important to invest in solutions that can be customized and tailored to every individual airport’s needs. They must be fully integrated into the airport’s operating systems for best results. Only then would data exchange, real-time communications, and proactive security surveillance happen efficiently.
The best way to achieve a completeimpact from security investments is to partner with a trusted brand like Athena. With decades of experience in safeguarding some of the most critical infrastructure facilities across the world, Athena can make a big difference in security.Get in touch with us to learn more about our world-class security products and consulting prowess.