Airport security solutions to manage incidents, support the business, and improve security

Drones pose a danger for airport safety and can cause costly disruptions, safety incidents, and potential security breaches. At the same time, the risk of a drone incident is increasing due to the growing number of remote-controlled drones for private use, including video-equipped aerial vehicles. Operators need a visual perspective to assess a threat and determine whether a drone may be carrying cameras or even explosives.

Cameras installed along the airport perimeter fence can be integrated with radar technology. When radar is triggered, the software relays the three-dimensional coordinates to the closest ground-mounted security camera, which confirms whether the object is a drone, and in such cases, keeps tracking its course. The video equipment is already integrated with multiple drone detection systems. Integrating airside safety solutions with perimeter security is not only more effective but more cost-efficient as well.

If a fire breaks out, it must be detected before it spreads. Smoke detectors are normally installed on ceilings. If a fire breaks out at floor level, they are only able to detect smoke and flames once it reaches the ceiling, thereby slowing reaction time. The AVIOTEC camera series, on the other hand, identifies fires using video at the source within 30 seconds. This offers a decisive time advantage that prevents greater damage from occurring. The solution’s usability is not affected by ceiling height, making it particularly well-suited to terminal halls or hangars.

A video fire detection system uses cameras with intelligent algorithms to identify smoke and flames at the earliest stage while correctly distinguishing them from other disturbances. If the algorithm of the camera detects flames or smoke, an alarm is immediately triggered. The location of the incident is then pinpointed in the control room. This provides time-critical information staff needs to react. Visual fire detection helps prevent loss of life, averts crowd panic, and reduces disruptions of runway operations.

Airports are environments with loud ambient noise, in which unclear announcements confuse passengers or are simply not heard. This leads to stress and costly interruptions, such as passengers arriving late to their gates because they could not hear an updated gate flight information or their names being called.

Public Address (PA) solutions are available to make announcements both terminal-wide and within specific areas. Active speakers cover a range up to 50 meters, while beam steering devices precisely insonify an area of just a few square meters in front of a gate.
The systems are flexible and increase/decrease sound levels in environments with loud/low ambient noise, provide control over a small and very specific area or can also address the full airport if necessary. Travelers know exactly when and at what gate their flight is leaving. Providing travelers with clear information on last minute changes with targeted messaging in a silent airport concept creates order in the chaos and putts people at ease and makes them feel safe. In emergencies, automatic warnings and announcements can help defuse tense situations. A reliable, public address system is therefore essential for clear announcements and improves the passenger’s experience.

If an emergency breaks out at an airport, large crowds could become hard to control. If panic arises in a crowd, the danger exponentially increases. In case of an emergency the voice alarm system sends out prerecorded messages in multiple languages, thereby helping to manage the flow of people and ensure a safe evacuation—even in noisy terminal halls.

These threats will always occur in a certain area. In all situations, the most efficient way to evacuate is via phased evacuation. The most urgent priority areas are therefore evacuated first.

In case the emergency is a fire, certified integration of fire alarm and voice alarm is needed. This integration often has complex cable networks that do not allow operators to customize verification times for defined areas. This could lead to unnecessary evacuations, because operators were not quick enough to identify a false alarm. The ideal solution is a shift from a hardwired to an IP-based connection between the fire alarm and evacuation system. Verification times can be set up according to walking distance, with operators able to confirm alarms on mobile devices rather than on the fire panel. This can help to reduce false alarms and ensure maximum system availability.

The airfield is one of an airport’s most sensitive areas. Incidents and disruptions that happen here can be damaging and expensive. Monitoring airside movements with intelligent cameras helps to monitor and record airside safety incidents. They offer a wide field of view, monitor the live traffic day and night, and enable a level of visibility beyond that of the human eye.

Smart video solutions provide operators with augmented reality information, such as gate numbers or building names, that improves their situational awareness. Cameras constantly scan the runway and follow objects automatically, monitoring planes from landing to their next takeoff. Cameras with an overview of the airfield use a low-resolution stream but switch to high resolution when zooming in to provide fine details to the operator’s screen. High quality camera images can be stitched together to cover large open areas at the apron, taxiway, or runway.

Over the past decade, security cameras have evolved from mere image capturing devices into complex data sensors. They provide valuable data that can be analyzed and used in beneficial ways that are becoming the norm. Recent developments, like COVID-19, have shown that data is becoming even more important. Customers ask for actionable insights that enable them to take the right measures to safeguard people’s health. Since 2016, Bosch consistently pursues a data-driven approach by offering video analytics, a form of artificial intelligence, as built-in standard. This strategy and software competence together with our ability to build high quality hardware platforms has helped us to swiftly develop a smart solution that detects elevated skin temperatures: a Human Skin Temperature Detection solution.

The parking lot is the first service touch point passengers encounter at an airport; their customer journey begins here. By taking a data-driven approach, airports can improve their parking services, thereby optimizing the passenger experience and increasing their revenues.

Cameras equipped with video-analytics algorithms recognize unoccupied parking spots reliably. This data can be transferred to a service that informs passengers of available spaces. At the same time, the cameras maintain the security of vehicles in the area using surveillance, which detects such unwanted events as loitering car thieves, wrong-way driving, objects left behind, and congestion. The data coming from the cameras not only alerts the operator but can also be used to gain broader insight: data collected over the long term can identify risks like unsafe locations in the parking deck and then apply counter measures, such as improved illumination or security patrols.

When airlines question invoices for gate occupancy times, it can lead to long discussions. Camera-oriented solutions provide footage for clarification in such situations.

Intelligent cameras installed at the gate use video analytics to capture time stamps of aircrafts docking and undocking at the gate bridge. By adding a layer of metadata to video images, occupancy rates and processing times can be tracked and optimized.
Safety and security incidents are also recorded for investigation and hindsight. Moreover, the display feature of historical data can be used to plan the schedule of security personnel more precisely.

Bosch and Genetec offer solutions to cover all an airport’s security needs via a single hardware/software ecosystem, integrating products from across the Bosch Security Systems portfolio – such as IP-based access control, communications, and video surveillance/analytics – with Security Center, Genetec’s unified security platform. The collaboration now includes solutions developed specifically for airside applications:

• Aircraft traffic video surveillance for recording of all aircraft during take-offs, taxying and landings, for easy incident investigation.
• Combined Perimeter Intruder Detection System (PIDS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detection with radar technology for drone and bird flock detection. Verified by video for accurate threat assessment.
• Airside vehicle speed detection and recording of speeding apron vehicles, with speed as an overlay on the recording.
• Airport and apron monitoring for a complete view of the airside area, for superior situational awareness.
• Public address and voice evacuation facility from a single user application.

Antalya Airport
Antalya, Turkey

Antalya Airport in Southern Turkey uses an integrated fire detection and voice evacuation system for both the domestic and the international terminals.

• PRAESIDEO Public Address and Voice Evacuation system
• More than 1,800 loudspeakers
• 300 sound projectors
• 2 network controllers
• 48 distributed power amplifiers
• 25 call stations
• 6 networked Modular Fire Panel 5000 series
• 3,500 fire detectors
• BIS management system

Beijing Daxing International Airport, China

The new Beijing Daxing International Airport has the world’s largest terminal and is able to handle up to 72 million passengers per year. Its complex and futuristic interior creates a challenging acoustic environment, but ensures clearly audible flight announcements throughout the terminal thanks to a customized public address solution.

• Public address system
• More than 13,000 public address speakers

Liszt Ferenc International Airport
Budapest, Hungary

Waiting times at airport security checkpoints are often unpredictable, making them a headache for travelers and Security Managers. The right technology can provide some help – such as an intelligent solution that keeps lines from getting too long at Budapest Airport. Through the display of waiting times, security is increased, because fewer crowds form in front of security checkpoints. Staff planning can also be optimized, and when passengers have to be rerouted, manual intervention is no longer needed.

• Around 700 fixed and moving cameras
• Video Recording Manager

Cancun Airport
Cancun, Mexico

When the airport added a new terminal, it also unified its video surveillance. Today, suspicious incidents are monitored and managed seamlessly across all four terminals from a single control room.

• Nearly 600 cameras
• 6 DIVAR IP 6000
• 4 Video Recording Managers
• BVMS serves as the joint platform to centrally manage almost 1,800 cameras across 4 terminals

Changchun Longjia International Airport
Changchun, China

When Changchun Longjia International Airport added a new second terminal building, the Chinese government’s mandate for archiving video camera recordings for 90 days created a technological challenge. The airport required a custom-fitted solution, drawing from experience from large-scale airport security installations around the world.

• Nearly 1,500 cameras
• 20 CIP storages
• Public address and voice evacuation system
• More than 1,200 loudspeakers
• 11 CMS Intrusion Panels
• Systems managed by BVMS and BIS

Da Nang International Airport
Da Nang, Vietnam

Da Nang is the 3rd busiest airport in Vietnam. The new terminal building that opened at the end of 2011 installed a new video surveillance system to meet its security, safety, and operational requirements.

• IP and analogue cameras
• digital video recorders
• encoders and matrix switcher
• System managed by BVMS and VIDOS

Dubai International Airport
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Emirates Airline passengers expect the best, and not just in the air. At the carrier’s main hub in Dubai, a 3,500-speaker, an integrated public address and evacuation system from Bosch gets rid of the garble in favor of optimal acoustic design. The loudspeakers are precise enough to target a single waiting area while adhering to the “Silent Airport” policy. This helps to ensure a safe and secure journey for the 88 million passengers who travel through the airport.

• PRAESIDEO-OMNEO interfaces are used for Dante Audio Transport
• More than 22,000 loudspeakers
• More than 500 line arrays
• More than 900 amplifiers
• BIS Management system

Kharkiv International Airport
Kharkiv, Ukraine

The Kharkiv International Airport was an important project in Ukraine. As a part of its preparations for the final games of the 2012 UEFA European Championship, the airport updated its video surveillance systems.

• Over 100 cameras
• Video surveillance managed through BVMS

Sheremetyevo Airport
Moscow, Russia

As one of the four international airports serving the city of Moscow, Sheremetyevo Airport uses its public address and voice evacuation systems operating in 6 different terminals to ensure passenger safety in case of emergencies.

• More than 100 amplifiers and 2,000 loudspeakers
• More than 500 IP cameras
• Video surveillance is operated and managed through BVMS

Franz-Joseph Strauss Airport
Munich, Germany

With its two terminals and satellite area, Franz-Joseph Strauss Airport is an important international hub for around 48 million passengers. Using integrated security and safety solutions, the airport ensures smooth operations around the clock.

• More than 18,000 fire sensors
• Around 17,000 intrusion detectors
• Around 800 cameras
• Access control system
• Around 70 interconnected universal hazard alarm systems, plus a network of intrusion and fire alarm systems

Tolmachevo Airport
Novosibirsk, Russia

Russia’s 6th largest airport, Tolmachevo Airport, modernized its security system. The applied management system combines installed systems in a single platform, making the facility more efficient.

• PRAESIDEO public address system with more than 300 loudspeakers
• Around 400 fix and 50 moving cameras
• Access control system
• Systems are managed by BVMS and BIS

Phnom Penh International Airport
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phnom Penh International Airport is one of the fastest-growing airports in the world. To increase the security and safety of the many passengers that travel through it, the airport installed a comprehensive solution.

• Fixed and moving cameras
• Praesideo public address and voice evacuation system, line array, and ceiling loudspeakers
• Fire alarm system
• Optical and linear beam smoke detectors
• Access control system, finger print and keypad readers
• BIS management systems integrate all systems

Xi’an Airport
Xianyang, China

The Western Aviation Group wanted to go digital, so it installed an intelligent platform linking access control, flying zone alarms, and perimeter alarms. The Video Management System (BVMS) installed at Xi’an Airport provides seamless control of the digital video, audio, and security data that is transmitted across an IP network. It may be far afield, but Xi’an Xianyang Airport is now at the digital forefront.

• More than 1500 cameras
• More than 400 sets of encoders
• More than 3,500 loudspeakers
• Video surveillance operated and managed through BVMS