SAFETY & SECURITY

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) has become the first gateway in South Asia to commission a Rosenbauer Tactical Simulator, an addition it says further strengthens its firefighting capabilities. With this simulator, firefighters can train in a realistic environment, master the tactical use of Rosenbauer Panther crash fire tenders (CFTs) as well as operate High Reach […]

Abu Dhabi International Airport has opened a rapid testing lab for COVID-19 in a bid to facilitate the resumption of air travel and assist with quarantine tracking procedures. The new facility, opened by Abu Dhabi Airports in partnership with Pure Health and Tamouh Healthcare, is believed to be the region’s first PCR testing laboratory within […]

Hong Kong International Airport is to launch COVID-19 testing schemes for airport staff who are subject to the requirements stipulated in the government’s compulsory testing notice issued today. The Hong Kong Government’s notice requires that everyone employed at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) or providing a hired service in the airport area between now and […]

Qatar’s Hamad International Airport (HIA) has become the first airport in the Middle East to install Smiths Detection’s HI-SCAN 6040 CTiX machines, which utilises Computed Tomography (CT) technology to X-ray screen carry-on baggage at security checkpoints. The new additions are expected to help expedite the security screening process by allowing passengers to keep electronic devices […]

ACI Asia-Pacific today announced that Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, has become the first airport in the region to be accredited under the ACI Airport Health Accreditation programme. ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation programme assists airports by assessing new health measures and procedures introduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with ICAO Council […]

ACI Asia-Pacific is urging governments to replace quarantine requirements with testing and contact tracing protocols to ensure the sector’s survival amid a worsening situation for airports in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. The latest preliminary forecast figures show that Asia-Pacific and Middle East airports will lose 55% and 60% passenger volume by the end of […]

Sunil Tuli, president of the Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) and group chief executive of King Power Group (Hong Kong) shares an industry perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic. As air travel virtually ground to a halt across Asia-Pacific in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, so too did an essential lifeline of over $36 […]

Singapore Changi claims that it has begun “transforming the passenger experience with new contactless and cleaning innovations for a safer, but yet seamless, airport journey”. It notes that the measures, which include touchless technology and autonomous cleaning robots, will be rolled out airport-wide in preparation for when air travel into and out of Singapore gradually […]

Smiths Detection, a leading threat-detection and security-technology company, will supply hold-baggage screening equipment for Kuwait’s new International Airport Terminal 2, which is currently under construction. The contract includes the installation of HI-SCAN 10080 XCT units for screening hold baggage. Terminal 2, which is intended to become an international transit hub, will have the ability to […]

Hong Kong International Airport has announced that it will commence “the gradual resumption of transfer/transit services” from Monday. Operator, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), says that a host of enhanced health measures at the airport have made the June 1 date possible. In tandem with the gradual resumption of transfer/transit services, all passengers, including departing, arriving […]

Vivek Sindhamani and Peter Vorage discuss the growing threat of flooding to airports and how some of the region’s major hubs are planning ahead to increase their resilience to rising water levels. During the past five years, over twenty major, and many more small-island airports, have flooded due to extreme rainfall events or storm surges […]

Beijing’s soon-to-open Daxing International Airport has selected Xsight Systems’ FOD Detection solution for installation on its East and North runways. The decision follows the Xsight System being awarded a similar contract for Beijing Capital International Airport’s East Runway earlier this year. “We are proud that Xsight’s global reputation as an industry leader is acknowledged by the […]

New SITA report confirms that journey smoothing technology makes people happy. Airline passengers are using automated technology for passport checks at double the rate recorded in 2017, according to the latest aviation IT research. Indeed, passengers are happier when technology smooths their way through passport checks and other aspects of their airport journey, reveals SITA’s 2019 […]

Kevin Riordan, head of airports and checkpoint solutions at Smiths Detection, considers how artificial intelligence can help airport security. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is beginning to permeate every aspect of daily life, from garnering film recommendations on Netflix, through to fraud detection and cognitive robotics, and airport security is no exception. Machine learning is key to […]

Sumesh Patel, SITA’s Asia Pacific president, argues that biometric technology will play a key role in ensuring faster, more efficient and safer passenger journeys through airports in the future. How do you balance the two most critical aspects of border control? Passengers don’t want to wait, but airports and border authorities need to ensure the […]

Arup associate director and aviation security specialist, Stacey Peel, reflects on the challenges of designing the airport of the future and reveals a new passenger processing concept that could help eliminate queues at airports. As the aviation industry finds ways to draw on the benefits of new technology, such as using blockchain to protect sensitive […]

Jerome de Chassey, Smith Detection’s vice president for Asia-Pacific considers how smarter checkpoints can improve security efficiency and the passenger experience. In the face of increasing passenger numbers, new regulations and ever-evolving threats, airports are constantly challenged to maintain operational and security effectiveness whilst striving to improve efficiency and the overall passenger experience. This demands […]

ACI World’s head of security, Nina Brooks, considers the importance of creating a strong security culture. Developing a ‘security culture’ is about engaging all staff at all levels of an organisation to embrace common security-driven values and consider security as a priority in all of their work. The aviation community puts much emphasis on the […]

As airports search for ways to make the travel experience safer and more convenient, biometrics may just be the answer, writes Tony Chapman. You enter the airport and walk up to the self-service baggage kiosk where your passport is scanned. Then, a facial recognition camera scans your face and compares it to the biometric data […]

Cameron Mann, Smith Detection’s global markets director for aviation, talks to Asia-Pacific Airports about some of the key security challenges and opportunities facing airports today. Can airports ever be 100% safe from terrorist attack? This implies no risk and this is simply not the case. However, airports are actively taking steps to improve their security […]