Airport security market set for years of strong growth amid perpetual terror threat

The airport security market is projected to grow 7% a year CAGR until 2024, reaching a value of $16 billion, according to a report by Global Market Insights.

With the global terror threat likely to remain for years if not decades to come, demand for the latest innovations in security technology is burgeoning. Upgrades in customs screening technology, such as x-ray scanners, millimeter wave scanners or thermal cameras, are the most obvious investments.

Airports are also keen to maintain or even accelerate throughput of, and minimise disruption to, passengers even as they deploy systems that tighten security.

One innovation designed to achieve both of these once contradictory goals is ThruVis by Digital Barriers. Fifty people were screened for weapons every three minutes during the recent British Summer Time event in Hyde Park thanks to the pioneering thermal-based camera.

Hitherto manual processes are increasingly automated with the global market for ‘smart’ airports growing at 10.7% CAGR, according to another report, by Grand View Research. Biometric passport authentication and contactless entryway checkpoints are two examples that enhance security, while remote check-ins, sensor equipment, e-gates, RFID baggage reconciliation systems improve operational efficiency.

Airports are also keen to upgrade video surveillance systems to cover wider areas with fewer cameras, and to exploit higher resolutions and video analytics technology. Suspect Search by Qognify, for instance, can identify suspicious packages, track suspicious persons and reduce the frequency of false alarms and airport shutdowns that can cost airports tens of millions of dollars.

The North American airport security market is expected to grow strongly as the US government prioritises homeland security, although Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region overall.

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is experimenting with scanning technology that provides 3D images of screened cargo. Called ConneCT the scanners are being trialled at the Phoenix Sky Harbor and Logan International Airport.

Large security brands are increasingly providing end-to-end, integrated solutions that span a number of security technologies. Izmir International Airport in Turkey, for instance, has recently entered into an agreement with Tyco Security Products for the provision of unified security solutions such as access control, location monitoring, and intrusion tracking.

We recently spoke to Simon Cook, sales engineering manager EMEA and APAC at Genetec, the unified security solution provider with a huge presence in the airport market. “At last count, 85 of the world’s largest airports use Genetec systems, and 70% of all airports in the Middle East – one of our fastest growing markets – are protected by Genetec Security Center systems,” Cook told us.

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