While the holidays are now just a memory, security lines at airports across the country have yet to disappear. Although the winter holiday season is typically the busiest time for flying, many people fall victim to the occasional hour-long wait throughout the year. And even if the line isn’t too long, nobody could claim that they’re a fan of the shoe-removing, liquid-displaying, laptop-examining ordeal we face before passing through the security checkpoint. As grateful as we all are for the enhanced safety measures implemented since 9/11, we all wish for a better way.
In an earlier post, I referenced the Checkpoint of the Future mockup unveiled by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Called the end of the “one-size-fits-all approach to airport security” by CNN, it’s an exciting, innovative model for fast-yet-effective security procedures that could be the answer to some of our air-travel woes. And the United States isn’t far behind – the Department of Homeland Security recently announced their own similar security-checkpoint advancement program called the “Checkpoint of Tomorrow.”
At the Checkpoint of the Future’s unveiling, IATA’s Director General and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani, emphasized his belief that “passengers should be able to get from the curb to boarding gate with dignity” and that there is now great potential to move beyond the complex security procedures and bulky machines that were implemented in response to the last decade’s terrorist tragedies. “We need a process that responds to today’s threat,” Bisignani said. “That means moving from a system that looks for bad objects to one that can find bad people.” So what does that look like?
The checkpoint will utilize intelligence-driven, risk-based measures to enhance security while still managing to reduce wait times and intrusive searches. The process is two-fold; improved pre-screening AND screening technology. Let’s first take a brief look at the pre-screening measures:
Passengers approaching the security checkpoint will be directed to one of three lanes: Known Traveler, Normal, or Enhanced Security. How will they decide who goes where? According to IATA, “the determination will be based on a biometric identifier” – anything from a passport to a fingerprint – “that triggers the results of a risk assessment conducted by government before the passenger arrives at the airport.” Passengers who have little pre-screening information available or who trigger an “elevated risk” alert through behavioral analysis technology will be sent to the Enhanced Security line or addressed otherwise. Yes, that technology is being created and tested by companies like Ipsotek, whose Tag and Track (TNT) tool tracks passengers across cameras throughout the airport, and BRS Labs, whose AISight program analyzes and flags passengers acting in an unusual or suspicious manner and then keeps them under surveillance until identity is confirmed and further investigation is conducted. The AISight system is already installed for trial and seeing great success at the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai International Airport.
The second component of the Checkpoint of the Future’s two-fold security process is its advanced screening technology. Technology is currently being developed that allows passengers to walk through the checkpoint – with shoes and coats still on, laptops still in cases and liquids still in suitcases – in just a few seconds. One of the most compelling pieces of security-screening technology is currently being used in the UK’s Glasgow Airport. Two companies – Morpho’s Safran Group and Cascade Technologies – have partnered in creating and installing a field-trial version of a walk-through portal system, which uses real-time analysis of air samples (without radiation or full-body scan images) to detect homemade and other explosives and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Other technologies such as the Kromek Identifier, which scans carry-on liquids, aerosols and gels while still inside a suitcase, could likely one day find a home in every airport around the world.
It’s exciting to think of the time saved, security gained, lines avoided, and grief spared if our security status is already known before we set foot in an airport and if, once there, we’re only asked to take a brief stroll through a security portal on our way to the gate. The vast capabilities of this developing technology is still difficult to comprehend, but I believe I speak for a majority when I say that any efforts to make airports safer, simpler, happier places are welcomed and supported.
What are your thoughts on these cutting-edge airport security screening technologies and initiatives?