International body seeks strategic place for aviation in economy
22.05.12
On security, Tyler urged broad cooperation among industry and governments to realise the Checkpoint of the Future.
He observed that Aviation was far more secure today than prior to 9.11, but airline costs ballooned to $7.4 billion annually while the level of convenience for passengers deteriorated, adding that the introduction of more complex procedures has resulted in a decline in hourly passenger throughput at security checkpoints from an average of 335 (pre-9.11) to 149 today.
“Security is a top priority that must not be compromised. But everybody hopes for an early evolution from an airport checkpoint experience defined by queuing, unpacking, removing clothing, separating certain items and possibly invasive searches. The system works, but it is struggling to cope with today’s volumes. Growth will only make the challenge bigger,” he said.
The Checkpoint of the Future envisages using passenger data collected for immigration authorities to differentiate airport screening. Secondly, it incorporates technology expected to be available in a seven to 10 year time frame to enable passengers walk through checkpoints without stopping or unpacking.
Source: BusinessDay