Aviation security checks
coalition agreement points the way ahead
In aviation, safety is given the highest priority. The measures taken in this regard are effective. As a result, 2017 was the safest year in the history of commercial aviation. The security checks carried out on passengers and baggage play an important role in this. Now it is a matter of optimizing these processes – whilst maintaining this high level of security.
Easy Security
The security check area “Easy Security” at Cologne/Bonn Airport was the result of a project which involved close collaboration between the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), the German Aviation Association (BDL) and the air transport industry itself. Options for optimization were tried out in a number of pilot studies in advance of the actual test phase, looking at areas such as planning, passenger management and passenger information, as well as the design of the security check area. The one-year test run has in the meantime now been concluded and has provided a positive impetus for further steps to be undertaken in the collaboration between the air transport industry and the federal police.
Easy Security
The security check area “Easy Security” at Cologne/Bonn Airport was the result of a project which involved close collaboration between the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), the German Aviation Association (BDL) and the air transport industry itself. Options for optimization were tried out in a number of pilot studies in advance of the actual test phase, looking at areas such as planning, passenger management and passenger information, as well as the design of the security check area. The one-year test run has in the meantime now been concluded and has provided a positive impetus for further steps to be undertaken in the collaboration between the air transport industry and the federal police.
New government points the way ahead
According to their coalition agreement, CDU/CSU and SPD want to see improvements in efficiency and customer-friendly security checking processes. It is the view of the Lufthansa Group that this theme is critical if we are to strengthen Germany as a location for air transport. The current scenario in Germany is that the federal police is responsible for a broad spectrum of tasks. Decisions on what technology is used, the sequence of processes, the number of personnel employed at each checkpoint and how the level of quality is assured are all the responsibility of the authorities. Structured collaboration with the air traffic industry has been intensified over the past year. For good reason – every day more than 400,000 passengers put their trust in the airlines of the Lufthansa Group alone.
Develop successful collaboration
A groundbreaking example here is a pilot project at Cologne/Bonn Airport which has been concluded in the meantime – the federal police, security services, and a number of experts from the airport and the Lufthansa Group have worked together to develop and set up a completely new kind of security check area for the airport. Never before has there been such close collaboration between the air transport industry and the federal police. The project was a success – whilst retaining a consistently high level of security, the level of efficiency of the security technology and checking procedures was significantly improved. There was also a positive response from passengers and employees to the clearly arranged and friendly design of the security check area.
Cologne/Bonn has demonstrated that it is possible in Germany too to achieve an intensive systems partnership in the area of aviation security checks – as has been the practice in other EU states for many years. This collaboration is becoming even more important as the continuing rise in passenger numbers brings with it additional challenges for the security check areas. It is today already the case that many travelers see the security checks as not only necessary but also very time-consuming.
The federal government must go ahead
Lufthansa supports the federal government in incorporating the positive results achieved in Cologne/Bonn into the current legislation of many other airports. This also applies to the evaluation and establishment of new models regarding the responsibility for the setting up and management of aviation security check areas.
Excerpt from the coalition agreement
“With the goal of achieving the highest possible level of security and in order to guarantee a customer-friendly approach and economic efficiency, we want to undertake further developments to the system and the processes of aviation security checking and (...) to develop proposals which can be implemented in the current legislation.”
Easy Security
The security check area “Easy Security” at Cologne/Bonn Airport was the result of a project which involved close collaboration between the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), the German Aviation Association (BDL) and the air transport industry itself. Options for optimization were tried out in a number of pilot studies in advance of the actual test phase, looking at areas such as planning, passenger management and passenger information, as well as the design of the security check area. The one-year test run has in the meantime now been concluded and has provided a positive impetus for further steps to be undertaken in the collaboration between the air transport industry and the federal police.
Easy Security
The security check area “Easy Security” at Cologne/Bonn Airport was the result of a project which involved close collaboration between the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), the German Aviation Association (BDL) and the air transport industry itself. Options for optimization were tried out in a number of pilot studies in advance of the actual test phase, looking at areas such as planning, passenger management and passenger information, as well as the design of the security check area. The one-year test run has in the meantime now been concluded and has provided a positive impetus for further steps to be undertaken in the collaboration between the air transport industry and the federal police.
The security check area “Easy Security” at Cologne/Bonn Airport
