Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) serves travelers to more than 50 destinations from its base in southwest Florida. Located between Sarasota and Fort Myers, the regional airport sought to bolster access control with artificial intelligence (AI).

One of the fastest growing airports in the United States, PGD offers commercial flights in addition to supporting a large general aviation population. PGD turned to Hakimo to help monitor for and reduce incidents of unauthorized access by people and vehicles — via piggybacking and tailgating — at the airport.

"You can have countless policies and procedures in place, but you don’t really know what’s happening unless you have a guard at every access point," said Raymond Laroche, Director of Operations and Maintenance at PGD. "The Hakimo AI software is that guard."

The AI algorithms make it possible to automatically analyze video corresponding to every badge swipe and detect piggybacking or tailgating by looking at the number of unique individuals or vehicles going through the opening. The artificial intelligence software can then provide the security team with a real-time alert when it detects piggybacking or tailgating. For compliance and forensic purposes, security leaders can also share video clips with external authorities.

The software can automatically send an email to a badge holder when there’s a tailgating violation, or the security team can speak with them directly to let them know about the issue.