Increasing the deterrence of airport security checks by managing expectations through communication: a hypothetical scenario experiment

Selective security screenings are discussed as a potential strategy to reduce costs and waiting times at airports, while keeping security high. However, the limited literature suggests that traditional security screenings, where all passengers are screened, are perceived as more deterrent for criminal activity and more secure from passengers’ perspectives. The goal of this study was to investigate whether targeted communication on an airport’s website can counteract the detrimental effect of randomised airport security checks on deterrence. The study results confirm prior findings that people with illegal intentions prefer randomised security checks compared to traditional security checks. However, there are hints that tactical communication could be a tool to improve security at airports. All in all, the insights gathered in this study should be taken as a sign of caution, when considering switching to selective security screenings. Future directions for investigating the effect of tactical communication are discussed.

Simulation Model of Airport Security Lanes with Power Consumption Estimation

The purpose of this paper was to develop a simulation model that allows simultaneous analysis of airport screening lane performance and power consumption per passenger served. These two issues have not yet been considered simultaneously in the scientific literature. So far, the focus has been placed on process performance. However, this paper shows, by performing an empirical study and applying the proposed model, that it is important to consider these two issues simultaneously. This will allow for the sustainable development of air transport. As a case study, three system configurations for single, dual and single fast screening lanes were analyzed. For each configuration, 3 different types of X-ray devices were checked, and the results were compared. The results showed that for example calculations with 2 million passengers handled per year, the gains could be as high as 4614 kWh/year. This article therefore shows that it is important to manage the process with power consumption in mind.

Feasibility of Reducing Operator-to-Passenger Contact for Passenger Screening at the Airport with Respect to the Power Consumption of the System

So far, airport security screening has only been analysed in terms of efficiency, level of service, and protection against any acts of unlawful interference. Screening procedures have not yet addressed the need to limit operator-to-passenger contact. However, the pandemic situation (COVID-19) has shown that it is a factor that can be a key protection for the health of passengers and operators. The purpose of this paper was to analyse the feasibility of reducing contact between operators and passengers in the airport security screening system by process management with respect to the power consumption of the system. Experimental research was conducted on a real system. A computer simulation was applied to estimate system performance and power consumption. The paper identifies the important findings that expand upon previous knowledge. The results showed that there are two key factors: the experience of operators and proper system structure. These factors can significantly reduce the number of operator-to-passenger contacts and, in parallel, provide lower energy consumption of the system. The results obtained in this article showed that proper management improves the process by up to 37%. This approach expands the World Health Organization’s policy of prevention against COVID-19 and helps to ensure sustainable process management.

Airport security as translation through division and movement

Based on an ethnographic research at Václav Havel Airport Prague, this article explores how contemporary airport security might by studied using an ANT-inspired approach. Security provision can be understood as a set of chains of translation that produces security and threat. Incoming actors, whose statuses are initially indeterminate, are translated into secure or threatening ones. This framing enables the uncovering of division and movement as the logics guide the system performance. The use of this perspective enables us to explicate the system’s functioning in practice, including its inherent challenges and social consequences.

Data Processing and Analysis of Eight-Beam Wind Profile Coherent Wind Measurement Lidar

Real-time measurement of atmospheric wind field parameters plays an important role in weather analysis and forecasting, including improving the efficiency of wind energy, particle tracking, boundary layer measurements, and airport security. In this study, a wind profile coherent wind Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) measurement with a wavelength of 1.55 µm was developed and demonstrated based on the principle of eight-beam velocimetry. The wind speed information was retrieved, and vertical and horizontal profiles were calculated via power spectrum estimation of sampled echo signals through the measurement of the atmospheric wind field in Hefei for several consecutive days. The experimental results show that the wind profiles produced using different techniques are quite consistent and the standard error is less than 0.42 m/s compared with three-beam and five-beam wind measurements.

A multi-level weighted alarm security system for passenger and checked-baggage screening

Persistent and ever-changing threat of terrorism has led to the evolution of security systems in the air transportation industry. Passenger and checked-baggage screening prior to boarding an aircraft has become a priority for the airport security system. We propose a two-stage screening system by integrating the passenger prescreening and a multi-level checked-baggage screening. Based on the concept of the weighted k-out-of-n system, we introduce an integrated weighted alarm security screening system for a multi-level baggage screening system, where the system alarms when the total weight of its working levels is greater than a predefined system alarm threshold. To improve the security and efficiency of aviation systems, two optimization models are formulated to enhance the detection of possible threats in the passenger and baggage screening with consideration of the system life cycle cost. The optimal solutions of the threshold values are obtained for screening technologies and passenger classes to achieve the maximum security and efficiency. Numerical analysis is implemented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed two-stage screening system.

Determining the nominal body contour image using wideband millimeter-wave radar for characterizing person-worn threats

Precise characterization of concealed person-worn objects will speed up the passenger screening process by reducing the rate of nuisance alarms, while also enhancing the airport security imaging systems. This paper presents an automatic, real-time method for wideband millimeter-wave radar identification of the nominal surface contours of the human body – even with affixed foreign objects or when a segment of the body cross-section is not captured by the radar – without relying on the body's bilateral symmetry. The developed method is verified experimentally when applied to the actual images generated by a laboratory airport scanning prototype developed recently by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Our method uses the noisy collection of radar cross-section reflectivity data to extract the main contours and estimates the nominal body surface cross-sections through fitting a small-term Fourier series of circumferential variation. This is a necessary step for accurate characterizing of concealed terrorist threat objects affixed to the body.