AOA Airport Operator Magazine | Winter 2022
Airports across the UK are facing a major challenge as they seek to rebuild their security teams in time for what they hope will be a busy summer period.
The recruitment challenge is only one of many issues relating to people, equipment and regulation that are discussed at the monthly online meetings of the AOA Security Group.
This month has marked a significant step forward for the work of airports and law enforcement agencies to combat security threats from “insiders” (holders of airside security passes), with the launch of the Access Passholder Information Distribution System. The system is a new centralised data base of all airport passholders across the country which will make it easier for law enforcement to monitor “subjects of interest” from an insider threat perspective.
Another ongoing and central topic of discussion at Security Group meetings is the Next Generation Security Checkpoint, the new technology currently being trialled at larger UK airports to end the need for passengers to take both laptops and liquids out of their hand baggage when they reach security. A combination of state-of-the-art body scanners and hospital-style CT technology is set to transform the passenger experience from June 2024 when the new technology will be mandatory at all UK airports with over a million customers a year...
