Printing Protection

Onsite card printing increases passenger convenience, security at worldwide airports

• By Robert Anderson
• Mar 02, 2007

SECURITY has always been an issue of vital importance to aviation authorities all over the world. Airports and airlines are doing more to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to secure areas. For efficiency purposes, new security practices must be streamlined. With new security measures impacting the passenger experience, airlines continue to create programs that ensure passengers are not inconvenienced any more than necessary.

In these efforts, air transport industry members are implementing innovative card-based programs that heighten security while making employees more productive and diminishing passenger stress. A key component of such programs is the ability to create and print secure ID cards on site.

Advanced Management
With air travel on the increase in the Middle East and a heightened need for security at all airports, the Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department (DNRD) acknowledged the need to employ electronic gates to speed through Dubai International Airport. Airport officials needed to offer a completely automated solution to enable quick access to passengers.

With a requirement from the IT department to use only leading-edge technology for the project, officials chose Eastnets, which was able to provide a complete, end-to-end solution with full integration and a straight-through processing application. The resulting solution introduces a card management and issuing solution, Bitaqae®, which controls the data entry, enrollment, issuance system, personalization and RFID encoding capabilities while produing contactless smart cards using Zebra printers with MIFARE smart chip cards.

The use of smart card technology at electronic gates (eGates) in the airport is designed to reduce delays and enable registered passengers automated entry or exit through the airport. Printers are now used at the airport to produce the contactless smart cards needed to accelerate immigration procedures. The system requires passengers to merely swipe their card and have a three-second fingerprint scan. Then, they are free to move quickly through the airport.

Eastnets launched the project in 2002 with just three issuing stations at the departure terminal. The success of the program has led to the introduction of 12 more issuing stations across different locations in Dubai, including the arrival terminal, the municipality, DNATA and Jebel Ali Free Zone. More than 100,000 cards have been created using more than 25 printers to produce the contactless smart cards on MIFARE cards with lamination that includes ultraviolet and micro-printing security features.

"The e-Gate project is the result of more than 10 months of concerted efforts by the staff in our IT department and has been devised using cutting-edge technologies that ensure accuracy and speed," said Lt. Col. Khalid Majid Lootah, head of the IT section at DNRD. "Since the entire plan had been conceptualized in-house, we did not have to outsource much of the components. However, the ID card management system was one of the critical components requiring specialized expertise. Hence, we decided to assign the contract to Eastern Networks because of its proven abilities in this field. We are pleased with their professional approach, which has led to the successful implementation of this project, the first of its kind in the Middle East."

The e-gate card is now being issued to UAE residents, Gulf Cooperative Country residents and 35 other countries across the globe. With 100,000 cardholders, the program is continuing to experience strong adoption. The use of leading technology, including contactless access control and biometric identification, has enabled a fast-track movement of passengers through the arrival and departure areas at Dubai International Airport.

Improving Identification
The India Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is an attached office of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The bureau is responsible for setting the standards of pre-embarkation security and anti-sabotage measures for civil flights in India. Headquartered in New Delhi, the BCAS also runs four regional offices. It oversees security at the international airports of Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai and Delhi, and the country's national airports.

BCAS sought to secure not just airplanes, but also access to all ground-handling areas. The bureau, which has a constant flow of employees throughout its facilities nationwide, needed to control employee traffic through a high-tech access control and identity card system.

BCAS decided to implement a nationwide ID card system that would quickly identify who had security clearance to be inside restricted airport grounds and facilities. All Indian airport employees were to participate in the identity card program, including airline staff, courier companies, cleaners and restaurant/shop workers. According to a bureau representative, the decision to print the cards in-house was made because of the need to maintain the security of the ID cards and personalized data on the cards.

With approximately 180,000 identity cards required annually, the bureau needed a reliable and economical card printer that produces high-quality photo ID cards on demand and includes additional security lamination features. Given the large number of cards required, the speed of printing and cost of consumables were especially critical.

After reviewing available printers, BCAS chose the Zebra Security Card Printer based on several factors, including the option to have a security image overlay and faster printing and lamination speeds.

Partnering with Auto ID Systems of Mysore, India, BCAS purchased seven Zebra printers. The bureau worked closely with Auto ID Systems and Zicom Electronic Securities to implement the card printing and access control elements of the program. The card printers are used in conjunction with BadgeMaker BM5500 software designed by ScreenCheck Netherlands BV.

Using the card printer, BCAS now issues ID cards quickly and reliably to make its airport facilities more secure, providing full control over access into restricted areas. The cards are printed with a secure holographic laminate on the front and an Indian Government logo "Ashoka Chakra" incorporated into the overlay on the reverse side.

The project was implemented in two phases. The first phase included the printing of 180,000, 30-mil PVC photo ID cards in 45 days. To complete the phase, printers were used 24 hours a day, seven days a week for a 45-day period. There were four production centers—New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. The project is designed so the cards are renewed annually. Currently, approximately 200 cards per day are produced.

Phase two, started in late 2003 and involves printing contactless smart cards with a customized hologram. The printer can encode smart card chips during the printing process. Additional access control and biometric technology will be implemented to enhance the security already provided by the photo ID cards.

Implementation of the identity card program has resulted in easier visual identity verification, providing added security.

On-Site Printing
Trans States Airlines is the sixth-largest independent (privately held) regional airline in the United States. Founded in 1985, primarily to serve Trans World Airlines from its St. Louis hub, the company has positioned itself to be a regional feeder airline for American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways. The airline, with more than 2,500 employees, serves more than 3.4 million passengers a year with more than 300 flights to 62 cities.

"Before Sept. 11, basically everyone's identification card was laminated the old way," said Kristy Basham, recruiter for Trans States Airlines who is responsible for the company's identification card program. "It was the TSA that required identification cards that can't be duplicated."

Security officials at Trans States Airlines then researched the card printer market for a suitable printer.

"There were other card printing companies out there, but they were going to charge a fortune," Basham said. "We are a cost-conscious airline. We wanted something that was quality, but didn't cost so much. We found Sandia Imaging Co. in Texas and discovered the Zebra printers. The price and quality was good for what we needed."

Trans States Airlines ended up purchasing the P310 printer and recently upgraded to the P330i printer. The P330i is a single-sided, full-color plastic card printer/encoder that prints sharp, readable bar codes, ID photos, graphics and text, edge-to-edge.

Combining smart cards with biometrics or creating ID badges that cannot be duplicated, the airlines of the world continue to create new, exciting ways to deploy secure ID cards. By printing cards on-site, airlines are able to enhance airport security and safety while maintaining employee and passenger convenience.