Taking Flight

Taking Flight

  • By Cameron Javdani
  • Mar 22, 2023

Airport security is a complex system that incorporates multiple technologies to ensure the safety and security of travelers, employees and the facility itself. Sound-based technologies are integral pieces of this system, providing means of communication, notification and monitoring.

These uses help to enable airport security personnel to maintain an orderly environment, protect against threats such as theft, harassment, or assault, and to provide immediate instructions to evacuate or shelter in place in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.

Specialized Systems
Security design is nuanced and specialized for an airport of any given size or location. Airport security systems will broadly ensure compliance with safety and security regulations, protect against crime or public safety threats, provide response capabilities in the event of a natural disaster and can improve passengers’ travel experience.

Most commonly, airports will use sound at security checkpoints, immigration and customs facilities, and along key perimeter locations. Technologies such as speakers or intercoms are used throughout terminals and access points to provide security announcements or notifications.

First, consider the use of sound at security checkpoints. Audio can be used in several ways to improve passenger safety and screening efficiency. Prior to arriving at the checkpoint, travelers are accustomed to hearing instructions on restricted items, items that need to be removed from bags, or screening policies that may have changed since the last time they traveled.

For their own operations, screeners may use audio as a tool to verify proper procedures and protocols are in place as they interact with passengers. Recordings used in conjunction with video of a security event assist with investigations and post-incident analysis by clarifying what happened before and during the incident.

The information will help determine the appropriate course of action. The recording provides a clear record of what transpired, removing elements of hearsay, incomplete information or baseless claims or allegations.

Checking the Checkpoints
Immigration and customs checkpoints are other areas where audio plays a key role in security. As with the general screening areas, audio can alert travelers on what to expect, and to ensure procedural compliance. Additionally, audio used in secondary screening rooms in resembles activities used by municipal law enforcement in their interview rooms.

When questioning a traveler, officers may discover potential security threats or illegal activity. Recordings are shared with other law enforcement jurisdictions, accelerating investigations and prosecutions.

Along perimeter lines, sound integrated with video surveillance can remotely deter potential threats. Sensors or camera analytics may detect unauthorized access or breaches of restricted areas. Loudspeakers or intercoms used alongside video can broadcast messages suspects that they have entered a restricted area and must leave immediately. This use reduces the need to dispatch security staff to the site and can protect staff from a face-to-face encounter with a suspect.

In airport security systems, sound performs best when used alongside other security technologies like cameras, lighting and mass notification equipment. Consider the following example.

A microphone placed in an airport public area picks up a loud sound thought to be an explosion or gunshot. A camera’s edge-based sound classification analytic alarms and sends an alert to security staff. Upon verification of the alarm, an announcement plays throughout the facility with instructions on what to do or where to go.

In this instance, the sound clip will verify the alarm and the audible announcement allows response procedures to begin before law enforcement may have arrived on scene. The verification and emergency announcements can take place in less than a minute.

Supporting the Audio
Most security cameras in use in airports today are capable of supporting one way or two way audio. Integrating sound into airport security systems can be as simple as connecting an audio cable into the camera’s audio input. IP cameras will add the audio feed to its video, enabling security personnel to observe both feeds simultaneously through the monitoring software they are accustomed to using.

Used comprehensively throughout airport security systems, audio advances security objectives by providing early detection of certain types of threats, accelerating communication with passengers and employees upon verification of a security risk, and providing an objective record of the context and circumstances leading up to an event.

Overall, sound in airports is essential for ensuring safety and security. From providing instructions and assistance to alerting staff of potential risks, audio plays a vital role in the complex system of airport security.

This article originally appeared in the March / April 2023 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services

  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

  • Report: Nearly 1 in 5 Healthcare Leaders Say Cyberattacks Have Impacted Patient Care

    Omega Systems, a provider of managed IT and security services, today released new research that reveals the growing impact of cybersecurity challenges on leading healthcare organizations and patient safety. According to the 2025 Healthcare IT Landscape Report, 19% of healthcare leaders say a cyberattack has already disrupted patient care, and more than half (52%) believe a fatal cyber-related incident is inevitable within the next five years. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”