Protecting Air Space
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| Successful
security programs strike the right balance, according to Matthew Finn,
director, government & security solutions at SITA. |
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“TSA
remains committed to securing the airspace over New York City,” Douglas
Hofsass, TSA’s federal security director at LaGuardia Airport, tells the Zalud
Report. “The new commercial helicopter service from the East 34th Street
Heliport will fall under the same security regulations as all commercial
flights in the United States. All passengers, carry-on baggage and checked
luggage will be screened to TSA’s standards for commercial aircraft
operators.”
Matthew Finn, director, government & security solutions at SITA, has his
own observations as to what makes a successful airport security
program.
“The most successful programs are those which are able to strike the right
balance between ‘security’ and ‘facilitation’. This is not an easy task. But it
is vital to recognize that of the two billion passengers who will fly this
year, very few pose a threat to our airports or our national
security.”
He added, “Low risk, registered and easily identifiable travelers need to be
processed efficiently and effectively so that airports can achieve optimum
throughput as passenger traffic continues to grow. From a security perspective,
this enables security personnel to spend more resources focusing on higher risk
situations and the passengers they know less about. From a facilitation
perspective, efficient processing provides for a positive and more
passenger-friendly airport experience, affording the traveler additional time
to shop, relax and enjoy any number of the services the airport offers.”
Biometrics and Biographies
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| Unique
security technology at airports can apply to all types of enterprises. For
example, Officer Navarrete of the LAPD and officer Adrian of the Los Angeles
Airport Police assist a traveler at Los Angeles International Airport during
rounds on a T3 Series personal mobility vehicle. The T3 is the latest in
high-performance technology being used in field trials in airports and police
departments across the United States. Photo courtesy T3 Motion, John Hayes |
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A
good example of airlines, airports and security working together to achieve
this goal is the London Heathrow “miSense” trial (www.misense.org), which
demonstrates the benefits of industry collaboration and provides the
convergence of biometric and biographic data passenger screening solutions.
This convergence will fundamentally change the way we approach passenger processing,
border management, security screening and risk assessment going
forward.
According to Finn, there are potential failures to avoid in an airport security
program.
“Perhaps most importantly, security programs need to be flexible to quickly
adapt and respond to new threats and vulnerabilities. Screening systems and
processes must be able to detect potential hazards. And the exchange of
passenger data among airline, airport and government departments must ensure
that “persons of interest” are detected at the earliest possible opportunity.
All of this needs to be carried out while ensuring that our security programs
don’t bring the airport to a complete standstill.”
All chief security officers can gain from the ways that airport security
executives keep up to date with regulatory and compliance
laws.
Said Finn, “Security executives would benefit enormously from contributing to
the debate in order to shape the agenda. Without doubt, security executives
have a great deal of expertise and are exceptionally well-placed to provide
insight and guidance on how security can be measurably improved both in terms
of both visitor – passenger throughput – and control integrity.”
