SPECIAL REPORT: SAFETY & SECURITY
Reducing the risks ACI World’s head of security, Nina Brooks, discusses some innovative new approaches to landside security in the wake of this year’s terror attacks on Brussels and Istanbul Atatürk airports.
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ublic accessibility, the high profile nature of airports, the opportunity to create major operational disruption and the mass gathering of people makes the landside of an airport an attractive target for terrorism. There are, of course, a number of mitigating measures that can be implemented to address the threat from attacks in the public areas of airports. These include additional layers of security, such as visible patrols, appropriate building design features and increased surveillance. However, the primary layer of security – intelligence and timely information sharing – remains the most powerful tool that governments have to protect their citizens wherever they are, be it at work, in their homes or while travelling.
The human factor Equally important is the human factor, providing both staff and passengers the motivation and means to recognise and report suspicious articles and behaviours. This might include reminding passengers and visitors to be vigilant and report unattended baggage or suspicious behaviour, and providing security awareness training for all staff (both airport and non-airport employees, including those not involved directly in security). The presence of regular high visibility patrols of public areas by airport security, police or other law enforcement agencies can be a means of both detection and deterrence. Law enforcement patrols can use detection dogs effectively in landside areas to identify explosives without affecting passenger flows. Specialist behaviour detection officers can also be beneficial.
Better by design Where intelligence fails to stop an attack, design features can be implemented to provide better protection from landside attack, and to encourage the disbursement of people arriving at the airport. This area of work is relatively new, and best practices can be gathered from leading airports. Physical measures to mitigate the impact of an attack might include the separation of drop off zones from the terminal building through zone design and use of pedestrian concourses, restricting access to the front of the terminal with physical barriers such as bollards or plants, ensuring that traffic cannot wait close to the building (fast drop off only) and the use of shatterproof glass and blast proof materials to reduce impact and injury.
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AIRPORT WORLD/OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2016
Removing queues from airports However, an alternative approach is to remove the attractiveness of the target. Without queues and crowds, an attack on an airport can still have economic and logistical impact, but cannot cause mass casualties or target specific populations. The rapid movement of people quickly and efficiently through airport terminal buildings to reduce gatherings and crowds can therefore be of significant benefit. At the same time, a lack of crowds makes the job of surveillance and patrolling much simpler, adding to the security benefit. No one solution will address the issue of queues and crowds; often there are many inter-linked elements that need to come together.