As India progresses as an economic force, the country is experiencing a drastic increase in infrastructure development. Travel is among the sectors experiencing all-time highs! Existing airports are functioning at full capacity and the demand for new airports is growing too. The Indian aviation sector is geared to transform all existing airports into major international hubs and new airports are being planned in tier 2 cities across the country.
Indian airports are now bidding to become globally renowned transit hubs. However, along with world-class terminals these airports also need world-class security.
While the focus on passenger security has been increasing, it is important to take a complete view of security, including the perimeter for a comprehensive approach to security.Perimeter security has to go beyond the proverbial barbed wire and fences.
In India, there have been approximately 30 security breachesat airports over the past five years.
As India embarks on the journey of revamping airports and building new ones, some of the key areas of security focus should be:
Elevating perimeter security and going beyond barbed wires and fencing are now critical. Intelligent perimeter security solutions that use cutting-edge technology are now vital to safeguard the perimeters, elevate intrusion detection, reduce manual load, and increase the security posture of the airport.
Perimeter security is focused on deterrence, detection, assessment, and action. Since every airport has unique physical layouts and surrounding terrain, it becomes important to identify the best ways to secure the perimeter.
Intrusion Detection Systems are impactful in protecting the perimeters. These solutions detect whether:
These solutions, however, have to be available in open or closed-loop configurations and work for sites that need high security of critical assets.
Perimeter security solutions have to also ensure detection accuracy. These solutions must pinpoint the location of the intrusion and provide actionable information to isolate problems on the physical network. These systems have to be robust and rugged to manage the needs of harsh terrains and weather conditions.
Immunity to EMI and RFI improves detection accuracy. Software interfaces to monitor the movements around the perimeter improve detection precision and allow airport security teams to monitor airport perimeters efficiently.
Airport perimeters are huge spaces and need alarms to be accurate. Many perimeter security solutions rely on vibrations to determine an intrusion. However, this means that anything that causes vibrations around a perimeter can trigger a false alarm.
Perimeter intrusion detection systems that are prone to false alarms can be very distracting in a high-security environment such as airports. These also lead personnel to waste time identifying the root cause of the alarm even in non-hostile events.
Intrusion Detection Systems that deliver centimeter-level accuracy and resilience to the operating environment, and successfully operate all kinds of environments, even with high traffic and volatile weather conditions are now essential to elevate airport security.
These systems detect intruders, pinpoint their exact location, track their movement, and allow airport security personnel to elevate the security posture. The right intrusion detection systems allow airport security to quickly identify intruders with real-time location within the secured perimeter.
Airport security also needs proactive anomaly detection capabilities. Robust intrusion detection systems to detect intrusions in secure spaces. These systems and sensor network has to work towards providing immediate warnings in case of intruders.
Airport perimeter security has to become more proactive and provide both deterrence as well as intelligence that boosts security. These systems need to also be precise, reduce the number of false alarms.
Zone-based and Time-based strategies to ensure optimum detection, and the use of AI and ML applications to prevent nuisance alarms are essential to boost airport security.
However, proactive anomaly detection requires security systems to provide prompt information to the control rooms and QRT and provide accurate situational awareness. This needs seamless integration with all components of the security infrastructure.
Airports need multiple solutions to ensure that their premises are completely safe and almost impenetrable without the right access. It is also important to ensure that these technology solutions work seamlessly with each other and can be used to enhance the security posture.
These security systems need intelligent command and control systems, seamlessly integrate all the virtual and physical components of the system, and employ a multi-layered approach for comprehensive security and detailed insights.
Employing a central monitoring system equipped with Deep Learning and discernment algorithms further, enhance security by analyzing inputs from each of the sensors employed in the security ecosystem to drive critical decisions.
Airport security solutions now need to deliver intelligent surveillance, accurate data, and provide analytics, along with the ability to reach out to a quick response team. A comprehensive solution must assimilate the data from all the systems and sources at play and provide a definitive view of the entire operation.Talk to our team to get a view of how airport security can be made more comprehensive and holistic.