Securing the Friendly Skies

Multi-layered approach will help make air transportation systems safer

• By Matthew Finn
• Apr 13, 2007

ANYWHERE in the world, most security and intelligence officers will agree that transportation security is about managing risk. It's about detecting potential threats as early as possible, reacting appropriately and mitigating the ripple effects, all the while focusing on simplifying travel for billions of passengers who do not warrant concern. Transportation security is about finding the proverbial needles in haystacks among passengers who travel on hundreds of airlines to thousands of destinations worldwide. The success of the industry rests on these passengers’ ability to safely and effortlessly move through the air transportation system, from preflight to landing.

The challenge today is to effectively manage risk in this dauntingly intricate environment—prevent disaster, yet ensure free-flowing travel. If the aviation industry is to meet and overcome this challenge, organizations must deploy a multi-layered approach that includes coordinated global regulations and standards, smart technology, consistent and effective processes, and a highly skilled workforce.

Some factors that will increase the complexity of this task even further include rising passenger numbers—growing, on average, at 6 percent annually—and the sheer cost of improved security measures. Although it’s not possible to put a price on safety and security of human life, the cost of improved security cannot be overlooked.

This year, the Department of Homeland Security’s budget request includes $4.7 billion for aviation security. Within this budget, $700 million is marked for deploying and maintaining explosive detection systems. Enhancing cargo radiography screening at ports of entry receives $30 million. The remainder of the budget will support container and cargo security, portal monitoring and Coast Guard programs. The overall budget reflects a 6-percent increase over 2006 and triples non-defense homeland security spending since 2001.

These investments have greatly improved transportation security around the world—from the introduction of reinforced cockpit doors and enhanced baggage and passenger screening to effective implementation of tighter security regulations. Improvements must continue, and authorities should ensure all implemented solutions are scalable to handle the increased passenger load.

Worldwide Coordination
Perhaps the most critical component of future air transportation security is global coordination. In recent years, governments and industry in all parts of the world have enacted policies aimed toward improving security. Measures such as granting security authorities access to more in-depth passenger data is a step in the right direction. However, what is now critical is the need for standardization. In order to guarantee interoperability—and to prevent the airline industry from having to build different systems for each of the different countries serviced—international standards must be adopted to ensure the consistent processing of passengers and their travel data.

That is where smart technology comes into play. While reliable passenger information certainly serves as the foundation of effective and successful risk assessment, the key really lies in collecting and combing data from multiple sources at the right time. Such an approach would ideally combine advance passenger information (API), booking and check-in data (passenger name record) and biometrics.

First introduced in 1988 by Customs Service and now integrated into DHS, API was initially voluntary and then made mandatory post 9/11. One of the limitations of a traditional APIS system, however, is that it typically only supports post-departure passenger screening. In most cases, the aircraft would have already taken off before the passenger list is sent to the receiving government.

Industry bodies are proposing a solution called interactive Advanced Passenger Information (iAPI). It is designed to offer governments a pre-departure passenger screening solution, enabling officials to authorize or deny the boarding of passengers in real time. This system captures and transmits check-in data, passenger by passenger, enabling more accurate and faster pre-flight scrutiny.

Several governments, including Australia and New Zealand, have already adopted such systems. The United States, with its variant—APIS Quick Query or AQQ—is now also pursuing this direction and is expected to publish more detailed information regarding the implementation of AQQ later this year.

Smart Solutions
Solutions that use API data and/or additional booking, or passenger name record data, are essentially passenger screening solutions using biographic data. As a powerful complement to biographic data, there are significant opportunities to further strengthen security controls through the use of biometric data. The industry is already witnessing strong evidence of this with the growing popularity of Registered Traveler programs in the United States.

Biometrics will increasingly integrate into passenger verification, identification, automated border control and employee access control solutions.

In addition to biometrics, several other technologies are being considered to supplement existing security measures. One of these options, a passive millimeter wave (PMMW) system, has the ability to penetrate clothing and can be used to detect concealed objects. PMMW systems can be installed as part of an airport's revolving door system with the option of immobilizing the door if a weapon-carrying person is detected. The same door system can be used to implement the latest explosive detection systems, which use an upwards puff of air over a moving body and ceiling detectors to register the smallest amounts of explosive and illicit materials.

The Human Element
While all of this technology is exciting, it will only succeed with global cooperation and two accompanying elements: sound process and solid human performance.

Assuming regulation and legislation are harmonized, and the right technology is in place, the next logical step in mitigating security risks is to establish the right processes. A simple example can be seen when daytime airports implement nightly clean sweeps to ensure the environment is completely sterile prior to the next business day.

The final and critical factor is people. No matter how smart the technology or how flawless the process, humans will continue to play an essential role in air transportation security. Simply by nature, people are best at detecting intangibles such as suspicious behavior and persons of interest. For example, a lot attendant will be the first to pick up on someone lingering too long in the parking lot. Or, a border officer’s interest may be raised when an arriving passenger changes queues three times at immigration.

Therefore, the key to security is ensuring staff members are highly trained and well rewarded. Otherwise, the industry risks falling prey to corruption, abuse, disaffection or other crime. Indeed, if transportation is to become safer and more secure, the whole security function needs to become more professionalized.

A safer, more secure transportation industry will depend on a multi-layered approach that progressively mitigates risk while simplifying the traveling process. The crucial elements of coordinated regulation and implementation, smarter technology, improved processes and skilled human resources will have to work seamlessly in order to achieve safer skies. Of course, it will be important for these elements to strike the right balance and meet privacy concerns regarding the appropriate and responsible use of personal data, ensuring sensitive fields, such as those which could reveal political, medical or religious attributes, are filtered out prior to being processed by government agencies.

If all of these elements can be brought together successfully, the world can look forward to a travel and transportation environment where passengers not only feel more secure, but also regain some of the traditional sense of adventure when traveling around the world.