With airport traffic continuing to grow, our service teams are focused on creating a new reality that use predictive and preventive maintenance to keep explosives detection systems (EDS) equipment proactively maintained, promptly serviced, and operating in peak condition.
With the busy vacation travel season upon us, keeping airport operations running smoothly is more important than ever. And interestingly, it’s not just summer travel that’s contributing to the record-breaking numbers in the airline industry.
The forecast volume is expected to top 3.96 billion passenger departures in 2017, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA)[i]. This forecast means more passengers, more international flights, and more cargo throughout the year.
And for airport security teams, managing that increased volume of baggage through the screening area means your explosives detection systems (EDS) equipment needs to run in tip-top condition—for longer periods and at a faster pace.
The good news: choosing the right service partner for your EDS equipment can help you drive more value from your airport screening operations and keep your equipment running reliably for years to come—whatever the volume.
Here are four things you should expect when choosing the right service partner for your screening operations.
June 29, 2017
As anticipated, on Wednesday the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued new requirements for 180 domestic and foreign airlines operating from 280 Last Point of Departure airports inbound to the U.S. Fortunately, airport operators and airlines outside of the U.S. were spared a full ban on electronics, at least for the near future. This said, the new measures are sure to wreak havoc on airport operations and cause delays in U.S.-bound traffic.
I wrote an article a few weeks ago outlining considerations for regulators as they contemplated imposing a full ban. This follow-on article focuses on considerations for airport operators as they deal with the operational realities associated with the new requirements issued this week.
(Written on a laptop on a flight from Paris to Denver.)
The US government has hinted at the expansion of a current laptop ban, which is currently applied to ten locations in the Middle East and Africa. Airline and government stakeholders gathered at the beginning of June in Cancun to discuss a possible way forward.
All of this feels very familiar.
Upgrading to Standard 3-approved explosives detection systems (EDS) takes resources and planning. The question then becomes, how to continue delivering a high level of customer service, while providing similarly high levels of security. A recent article in Aviation Security International Magazine provides insights from Monty Lutzker, our Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
Communication. Responsiveness. Transparency. These are a few of the critical elements needed when airports are choosing a security partner to help them transition to Standard 3-approved explosives detection systems.
In the medical arena, initial exams are usually done by X-rays. But when doctors need a more comprehensive view to detect cancer or examine small and complex fractures, what do they use? They turn to the cross-sectional and 3-dimensional (3-D) images generated during a Computed Tomography (CT) scan. The same theory holds true for CT explosives detection systems (EDS).
Just as it takes a long runway for a jetliner to gain enough speed for take off, it requires many months of planning and implementation to get an airport ready for Standard 3 deployment. The shorter the runway, the riskier the takeoff.
At airports, "baggage scanning is passing through a transformative phase,” points out Tom Cropper in his introduction to the report on Next Generation Detection Solutions for Future Airport Baggage and Passenger Screening Operations.
By kick-starting the Standard 3 transition, UK Airports are playing a foundational role developing the process and best practices for European-wide adoption. Smiths Detection’s UK team has, to date, worked with more than fifteen airports conducting site surveys, working with baggage handling system (BHS) suppliers, integrators and contractors to assist in providing the optimum design and Standard 3 solution for each airport. By spending countless hours traveling the country listening to airports ranging in size and traffic from London Heathrow to Cornwall Airport Newquay, Smiths Detection’s sales team has gained priceless insight.
