CORDIS

FLYSEC is an ambitious research and innovation project that aims to develop and demonstrate an innovative, integrated, end-to-end airport security process for passengers, airports and airlines. FLYSEC´s primary goal is to enable a guided and streamlined procedure from the landside to airside and into the boarding gates, while offering an operationally validated innovative concept for end-to-end aviation security.
FLYSEC approach aims at designing a proactive risk-based system that responds to multiple operational objectives in a better way than the present system:
1. deals with a wider spectrum of threats in a dynamic and flexible way
2. screens people and goods with better ratios of effectiveness
3. detects with higher reliability suspicious behaviour and materials
4. makes the process less offensive and more comfortable to the passengers
5. allows better management of security events (alert and crisis situations)
6. making it more cost-effective

FLYSEC aims to provide an innovative concept for airport security based on (i) passenger facilitation, (ii) risk-based security and (iii) outcome-focused results. The three core points are surrounded by the Social Acceptance, Legal Compliance and Ethics respect lines which set the social, political, legal and anthropological framework.

Expected results:
• Innovative processes facilitating risk-based approach
• Deployment and integration of new technologies and repurposing existing solutions towards a risk-based security paradigm shift
• Improvement of passenger facilitation and customer service, bringing security as a real service in the airport of tomorrow
• Achieving measurable throughput improvement and a whole new level of Quality of Service.

The main results for the first 18 months of the project are:
• Study the risk in the current airport security technology and process.
• Collect airport security requirements, from the operational point of view.
• Provide a gap analysis between the current airport security process and the requested.
• Identify and prioritize security scenarios as an output of the gap analysis.
• Formulate security operation guideline for the development phase.
• Develop the FLYSEC system requirements, specification and architecture, including the specifications for the front-end and back-end subsystems.
• Provide a simulation validation for the FLYSEC concept based on simulation.
• Define specific behaviour scenarios to be used to identify the abnormal or exceptional behaviour patterns.
• Prepare the Integration concept and plan.
• Prepare the initial behaviour model for the risk analysis.
• Prepare the Proof of Concept version of the front-end and back-end components.
• Initialize the process for the operational testing plan.

Expected Potential Impact
The events of 9/11 have had a profound effect on the aviation industry directly related to the enhanced security procedures in the airports. There is a vast literature indicating that enhanced security may have adverse effects in almost every aspect of the aviation/airport industry. Thus, there is a growing need for optimisation: we need to maximise security at the minimum possible cost for all involved stakeholders. In that respect FLYSEC aims at optimising security check procedures and processes by reducing security overhead, enhancing passenger satisfaction and improving airport infrastructure without compromising security integrity.
Towards its ambitious objectives and through its well-planned work plan and validation methodology, FLYSEC is a high impact project, described in the following table in relation to Work Programme Topic requirements:

FLYSEC expected impacts
Higher level of threat and risk-based security and a reduced operational impact on passengers and industry.
Security: FLYSEC introduces a paradigm shift from incident-based to risk-based Security that will enhance the proactive capabilities of airport security. FLYSEC will: (i) increase security by optimising the related processes and utilising new powerful technological solutions to reduce operational impact on passengers and industry; and (ii) highlight and maximise the importance of the human factor as a drive towards a more flexible and effective security shield. The security enhancement will be measured by (i) the number of real alarms detected and (ii) the number of false alarms avoided
Operational: FLYSEC will help removing the operational bottleneck at the security check points by: (i) increasing passenger throughput at security points and (ii) reducing average waiting time at the security queues without compromising security levels. The operational impact of FLYSEC will be measured and documented both via extensive VR simulations and actual field tests at Schoenhagen Airport and a pilot at Luxemburg International Airport.
Financial: As in any business environment, streamlining and optimising the security process by FLYSEC will increase personnel efficiency and performance, and decrease related cost.
Measure of impact: Decreased cost of security services for a given level of security. FLYSEC faster security procedures will also allow more time for passengers to spend on recreational activities which in turn will be good for business operating in the airport facilities.
Measure of impact: Increase revenues of business operating at the airports.

FLYSEC will provide a faster, more accurate and reliable, less invasive, and overall more efficient to operate system and processes than existing ones throughout its lifetime by: (i) Dynamic management of individuals and groups of passengers; (ii) Adaptation of screening processes according to three passenger categories; (iii) Adoption of passive and unobtrusive state-of-the art technologies and analytics; (iv) Real-time integration of analytics and optimisation technologies to dynamically manage passengers, minimize waiting time, increase comfort levels, passenger satisfaction and result in an overall more efficient operating security system. The aforementioned enhancements will be measured and validated using: (i) real-time measurements; (ii) simulations; and (iii) passenger questionnaires.

A successful FLYSEC project will hence have a significant impact for all involved stakeholders as summarised hereafter:
European Union and Member States Enhancement of security, improvement of passengers experience and increase of utilisation of EU & MS airport infrastructure.
Transport and Aviation Authorities Better procedures and improved logistics through the “airport security as a service” concept.
Airport operators More efficient and profitable airport operation
Passengers Improve the overall experience at the airport by reducing security control time and by providing a passenger-