Breeze through KIA with Smart Security Lane

Passengers at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) could soon breeze through a Smart Security Lane with Automated Tray Retrieval System (ATRS), dramatically reducing wait time at the security checkpoints. Once this is introduced, men and women will no longer need to be security-screened at different locations, a first in India.

The KIA's operator, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), has struck a deal with L3 Macdonald Humfrey (Automation) India Pvt Ltd, a UK-headquartered tech developer, to introduce the smart system. This agreement comes after a successful trial run in early 2017. The first phase will begin by the year-end, and the entire system will be in place by March 2019.

The BIAL's decision to do away with gender-based segregation means families can stay together and will be screened together. "This new system will accelerate the process of human and carry-on luggage screening faster than the regular methods, thereby reducing waiting time and congestion, offering an easy and efficient travel experience for passengers," the BIAL said in a release.

The other benefits listed by the BIAL are reduced queuing and stress, accelerated passenger throughput, a significant reduction in manual intervention and cutting down of major capital and operational costs.

Once fully operational, the passenger screening capacity will increase by over 50%. "The smart lanes with ATRS will automatically return empty trays to the preparation area for passengers to place their bags and belongings, ending the hassle of looking for trays and also prevent empty trays from piling up."

Besides, the automated rollers will enable trays to automatically move into the screening machine, without the need for passengers or staff to push their trays/ bags into the X-Ray machines. "We can now process more passengers in a secure and controlled environment, improving overall operational efficiency and enhancing safety and security," said the BIAL's Chief Operating Officer, Javed Malik.

The first automated lanes will be installed in the domestic and international checkpoints by the end of 2018. "The existing manual lanes will be replaced in a phased manner to ensure minimal disruption to airport operations. The project is due for completion by March 2019."

Mick Macdonald, president, Macdonald Humfrey (Automation) Ltd, said: "Having installed similar solutions in many European, West Asian, North American and SEA airports, L3 Macdonald Humfrey has the expertise to implement this project at the Bengaluru airport."

How does it work?

• Security screening officers will sit inside a secure central control room, fitted with a central screening system (Mach-Smart View Matrix System).

• They will remotely process the images from the Smart Security Lanes.

• Smart Lanes have 4/5 parallel divest stations where multiple passengers can get ready to be screened simultaneously.

• All trays can carry the maximum-allowed cabin-size baggage. Trays are RFID-tagged and tracked from start to end.

• Once passengers enter through the lanes, the trays will branch out into two lanes: One for security-cleared trays, easily accessed by passengers for a quick repack of their belongings.

• The second lane is for trays with 'rejected' baggage that has an item that the security staff will query about.

• Photo image and X-ray images of the tray are analysed. Possible threat items are marked on the touch screen by a screener in a remote screening room. The same images are available to the physical search officer to easily identify and remove items if required.