Airport Security

The Challenge

In the 21st century, the free movement of people around the world is a pillar of the global economy and our way of life. And the free movement of people, especially from one country to the next, is largely reliant upon air transportation. Airports singlehandedly support the movement of nearly 5 billion passengers each year around the world.

In addition to serving legitimate travel requirements for business and leisure travelers, air transport is critical component in the operation of the illegal activities of both criminal and terrorists. Airports’ strategic and economic significance also marks them as an attractive target for terrorist factions.

Airports are unlike any other critical asset. By definition they are multifunctional and dynamic environments, and they demand multifaceted security solutions. Conventional security systems for airports remain static – with scope limited to the site itself and relying mostly on physical measures.

While site security is paramount, it is only part of an effective security solution. When terrorists attack the aviation industry, the execution phase of the attack often takes place on a flight itself. Flights must be secured, as well, in order to maintain the integrity of an airport’s function.

The solution

The AIS airport security solution is multi-dimensional and designed for the dynamic operations that characterize airport activities. The AIS airport security solution consists of four layers of security: physical site security; intelligence site security; physical passenger screening; and intelligence passenger screening.

Sensors, perimeter security, and access control are all enhanced with AIS’s unique MasterMind intelligence system. Fused together through C4I, operators are equipped to prevent events from occurring at the airports themselves. Metal detectors, sniffers, and scanning equipment are all utilized to ensure passenger clearance. In order to close the entire circle of airport security, AIS’s passenger screening intelligence system ensures passengers with criminal intentions will never actually board an aircraft.

The passenger screening intelligence layer utilizes all preceding security layers to enhance its alert capabilities, by storing the data already collected into an online database and correlating this information with offline database investigations. The system utilizes sophisticated algorithms to identify irregular behavior that may have eluded all other security measures.

The AIS airport security solution combines all four layers of security to collect information, detect potential low signal threats, analyze the situation and alert operators as part of its holistic P3MTM security architecture, providing the ability to predict, prepare prevent and manage security events.

Airport Security Component

Sensors – A network of sensors technology radar, electro-optics (E/O), license plate recognition (LPR) and video content analysis scan the secured zone, detect and identify potential intruders, and deliver Tracks and Alerts to the C4I system. The sensors are also used as an intelligence-gathering tool to create databases for future use. Physical Perimeter Layer- Smart fences, sophisticated gate complexes, concrete walls, guard towers, barriers and more, deter, delay and stop hostile activity and create a rigid physical barrier.

Access Control Layer- Access Control Systems, smart cards, and RFID are deployed in the interior areas of secured sites. All derived information is monitored, gathered, analyzed and archived by the access layer. Command and Control- The C4I uses unique fusion and correlation algorithms to evaluate and fuse the output from the sensor network and their reported tracks to determine a single relevant track.

The C4I eliminates false alarms and utilizes decision-making tools that assist in effective and efficient response evaluations during operational situations.

MasterMind – The intelligence system collects internal and external source data, and then processes and analyzes it to generate a comprehensive intelligence picture. The intelligence picture is integrated with the C4I component to identify, protect against and monitor threats.

Physical Passenger Screening – The physical passenger screening measures include scanners, metal detectors, access control for staff, sniffers and more.

Passenger Screening Intelligence – The flight intelligence system is an online real-time system that utilizes data garnered in the flight purchasing and processing procedures- for example, the passenger Name Record (PNR) and other data received from the airline companies, such as the date the ticket was purchased, if it is one way, destination, connection flights, countries of origin, form of payment, and other markers.

The Brain – The Brain is the AIS security system that integrates and analyzes all relevant data from all of the above security subsystems, generating a full Situational and Intelligence Awareness picture. Training & Procedures- Security personnel training is a part of AIS’s comprehensive security solution. This includes varied programs and courses tailored to specific site threats and vulnerabilities.