Solutions for enhancing airport security

The world of security is fast moving, nowhere more so than in the aviation industry where advances in security are being implemented within airports to combat those who seek to penetrate restricted areas to commit criminal or terrorist acts.

Following a number of high profile terrorist incidents involving aircraft and airports in recent years, aviation security has been significantly strengthened with the introduction of a range of measures designed to protect the travelling public. These include the deterrence and detection of weapons and explosive devices to prevent them being smuggled onto aircraft through the use of metal detectors, explosive sniffers, canine searches, baggage and increasingly full body scanners.

Allied to this passengers are also now banned from taking liquids in the form of drinks, gels, sprays etc as carry on items (unless purchased at the airport duty free shop and sealed in a transparent plastic bag) to prevent the smuggling of liquid explosives such as nitro-glycerine or ammonia based compounds on to aircraft.

Around the airport perimeter itself, more capable low light and infra-red CCTV systems have been installed and mobile patrols on foot and in vehicles have been stepped up with the use in some instances of advanced fence intrusion detector systems (FIDS) to deter and detect intruders. These use a variety of detection technologies, sounding an alarm in the security centre if an attempt is made to climb over or breech them. And bollards and anti-crash barriers are deployed at various vehicle access points to mitigate the threat of vehicles laden with explosives, gas bottles or gasoline from ramming into terminal buildings.

Another aspect of this multilayered approach to airport security is access control. Controlling access to key areas within the airport terminal and its associated buildings remains a critical security task and with many thousands of staff and other employees on site needing to have the right levels of access authorization, the latest in state-of-the-art electronic access control technology is required to achieve it.

Access control in action

BAA Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest international airport serving over 180 destinations in more than 90 countries. Operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and servicing over 65 million passengers per year, an average of over 180,000 passengers use the airport every per day.

The new £4.3 billion Terminal 5 (T5) is Heathrow's latest success. Covering 260 hectares it is the new dedicated home for British Airways and consists of three buildings, the main terminal plus two satellites, Terminals 5B and 5C, linked by an automated transit system.

As you would expect their security requirements are complex and demanding, requiring a highly secure and reliable access control solution that can be customised to meet their specific environment. To address these needs, the airport turned to SALTO Systems, a leading manufacturer and supplier of advanced access control solutions to the aviation industry.

David Rees, Asia Pacific Regional Manager for SALTO Systems SL says: "Working in consultation with British Airways (BA) and the British Airports Authority (BAA), the owners and operators of the airport, SALTO designed a highly secure and flexible access control system to meet all of the requests of both parties. The advanced system design incorporates a mix of SALTO XS4 comfort, security, glass door and e-cylinder electronic lock sets, together with intelligent wall readers mounted on stainless steel pedestals. These control access to a mix of BA staff doors, lounges and the airline's first class lounges in the terminal.

The system supports an unlimited number of users and is specifically designed for use in stand-alone operations. When it comes to expanding the system into other parts of the airport, it can be easily added to almost any existing lock and door, turning them into fully featured access control doors that can integrate with the rest of the site without compromising security, convenience or control.

It permits the airport to benefit from the many advantages of the SALTO Virtual Network (SVN) system, enabling locks and operating cards to be rapidly updated, restricted or deleted remotely adding real value to the access management of the terminal. Access privileges are restricted to authorised personnel only and the system provides continuous and comprehensive real time audit trail information, working with British Airway's own staff ID cards to securely control who has access to what, where and when at all times, and giving the airline management full 24/7 control over their security requirements.

Integration made simple

At Leipzig- Halle airport in Germany express services and logistics provider DHL faced a different problem. They needed a simple solution for the complicated task of securing their European air cargo hub at the airport but the question was how could they introduce a new security system without having to change or replace their existing one. And could that system then guarantee the security of their operations? SALTO was selected to meet the challenge.

Since DHL's office facilities at Leipzig were already equipped with a security system working with contactless HID iCLASS identification technology, the task was to find another system that could seamlessly integrate with it. An additional requirement was that any unnecessary rebuilding or restructuring had to be avoided since that would involve the ID-cards of hundreds of employees having to be cancelled, changed and re-issued.

Again the solution was the SALTO XS4 electronic locking system. This is now installed in the offices and other key areas throughout the DHL premises at the airport, and the company has been able to carry on using its existing security arrangements with no costly reorganization or restructuring needed.

Substantial numbers of doors have been equipped with the XS4 escutcheons, which are completely compatible with the existing wall readers, enabling almost 2000 employees (circa 800 per shift) to continue working uninterrupted using their existing ID-cards.

Conclusion

Airport security has been proven to be most effective when a multilayered security measures approach is adopted, beginning with perimeter protection and moving inwards to the core facilities. This creates a much stronger overall security system.

Access control is a vital part of this mix and offers a versatile and cost-effective way to regulate those who require access to specific airport areas at specific times, whilst denying admission to unauthorised persons with no right or reason for entry, without compromising security.

Biography

David Rees is Asia Pacific Regional Manager for SALTO Systems SL. He has over 25 years experience in the security industry covering a huge range of technologies. These include mechanical locking systems; OEM manufacturing and electronic access control solutions including the latest battery operated stand alone, intelligent wireless systems.