Page 29 - Security Today, January/February 2020

“In order to improve operations and increase revenue, airports are going to have to think about more than just infrastructure.”
is always to make sure that things are done in a secure fashion. Previously, this has meant that airport security was conducted by people through processes that were not interested in operations. Rather than being concerned with aircraft taking off and land- ing, the sole focus of airport security is on whether or not it is safe to do so.
Just because security has functioned separately from airport operations in the past does not mean that it has to continue. In fact, some vendors are now working toward developing partner- ships with airports to support them in their business.
A Unified Platform Can
Facilitate Cooperation
Bringing stakeholders together is an important step in creating successful business strategies. When vendors help connect airport security staff with the departments that are concerned with rev- enue generation, operations, passenger experience and wait times, they can improve both operations and revenue generation.
The challenge here is to bring different groups with different roles, responsibilities and objectives together in such a way that they can communicate and share information. The solution is to enable them to use the same infrastructure by supporting their cooperation at the system level.
But how does this happen? When it comes to airports, security staff focus on areas that are at higher risk. Locations that have a higher risk of theft, for example, are often those areas where people come together or a lot of activity takes place. In an ideal situation, security staff will move toward high-risk areas in order to prevent theft or mitigate risk.
So, for example, security does not need to focus on areas around closed gates because it is unlikely that anything will tran- spire there. However, if an aircraft arrives from a country that has demonstrated security risks, then security should be looking at the gate where that specific aircraft from that specific country of origin is landing.
In order to inform security staff, an airport needs to use a platform that makes sharing this information possible. They need a platform that can ingest data from other systems and make it easily accessible to security staff. It requires a solution that receives operational data and then automates processes to allow for faster reactions.
Linking security systems with operational systems allows ev- eryone to deliver better service. By shifting their focus toward providing services in this way, an airport enables security, airlines, and ground-handlers to receive actionable information.
Working with a unified platform can help make security op- erators more efficient because they are able to focus on places that present the greatest risk. At the same time, it can facilitate operational efficiency by automating the process of dispatching people to locations where they are needed. The result is faster, more efficient service, which has a positive impact on passenger experience as well as aviation revenue.
The Impact of Ride-sharing
on Airport Revenue
The non-aviation side makes up the other half of an airport’s revenue. It is comprised of different streams, including parking and retail. Of these, parking is the most significant although it has been on the decline in recent years.
Traditionally, people had three ways to come into an airport: driving and parking, public transportation and taxis. The first was the most lucrative for the airport.
Passengers would drive into one of many lots and pay to leave their vehicles for the duration of their trip. Of the other two methods, public transportation generates no income for airports, but taxis do in the form of contracts and licenses issued to taxi companies and drivers.
The arrival of ride sharing on the market has had a dramatic impact on airport revenue. Because ride-share cars are essentially private cars, they cut down on the number of contracts and li- censes being issued. At the same time, they also significantly reduce the number of cars parked at the airport as ride shares simply drop passengers off.
Ride-sharing companies are clearly making money taking pas- sengers to and from the airport. For their part, airports are pro- viding these companies with the service and infrastructure, includ- ing road access, necessary to generate that revenue. The question is, how can they recoup their investment from these companies?
Increased Revenue with Automatic License Plate Recognition
As a service provider who is losing parking revenue and who has had to increase investment in roads, because ride-sharing com- panies use them so much, airports want these newly-established companies to contribute.
To do this, airports need to be able to differentiate between ride-share and private vehicles in order to recoup their investment. The best way to achieve this is by capturing the license plate of every car that drives into an airport’s environment. With this information, airports can then track vehicles that frequently drive through their jurisdiction and can also cross reference them against the list that ride-sharing companies are having
to provide.
Some airports already have contracts with ride-sharing com-
panies. Until now, the terms of the contracts have meant that the ride-sharing company would inform the airport about how many of their vehicles had accessed the airport and then pay the airport accordingly.
With an automatic license plate recognition system, the air- ports have greater visibility into which cars are accessing their infrastructure and how often.
By shifting to a more service-focused business model, airports can improve their offering and increase their revenue. When they unify their operational systems with their security platform, they can improve service through the sharing of
important information. This can help them in-
crease revenue generation on both sides of their
environment.
David Lenot leads the Airport Application Group out of Paris, for Genetec.
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