The challenge
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) is responsible for developing mobility and transport policies within the European Union.
DG MOVE aims to make the transport sector sustainable, efficient, safe, affordable, and accessible through innovation, clear regulations, and reliable funding.
Over the course of a decade, a series of studies were put out to tender to provide deeper insight into aviation security and to identify best practices and opportunities to enhance this sector within the EU.
Our role
As a Framework Supplier to the European Commission, o&i consulting was commissioned to provide aviation security consultancy services for a range of studies including:
Optimising the Screening of Liquids at EU Airports to Enable Lifting of Current Restrictions
Our team led an assessment of the feasibility of relaxing current restrictions on the carriage of liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) in cabin baggage through airports, whilst maintaining high levels of security. This involved a series of trials over the course of several months at five EU airports, evaluating LAGs carriage and optimised processes with a range of LEDS technologies including the new generation of CT screening equipment.
The trials and survey enabled o&i to determine the viability of changes in legislation regarding carriage of liquids for airports of different sizes and using various LEDS equipment types. We advised the European Commission on the steps that would need to be taken to enable a phased relaxation of regulation and developed a potential roadmap working towards a full lifting of existing LAGs restrictions.
Protection of Landside Security Areas at EU Airports
o&i completed a confidential study regarding the protection of public areas at EU airports. Focusing on 11 airports, we led questionnaires, interviews and workshops to assess current practices and evaluate the most effective ways of performing and improving landside security.
Recognising that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is not relevant for airports, we provided feedback on the maturity of and opportunities for a variety of areas including information sharing, accountabilities, mitigations, and risk assessments, and developed a set of recommendations for the industry to enable the development of better landside security practices. The study concluded with an o&i led multi-stakeholder workshop to gain a collective view of our findings and recommendations and discuss a mutual way forward.
Reducing Security Threats by Optimising Passenger Flow at Airports
As part of the AVSEC Framework, o&i conducted a study on the reduction of security threats by improving passenger flow through public areas at EU airports. The study focused on 15 airports, employing a combination of questionnaires, interviews and workshops to assess current approaches; identifying causal factors and best practices; and modelling the results.
Analysis identified and scored twenty-six areas of landside congestion, ranking them in order of prevalence. Applying our detailed knowledge of transport operations, we developed a set of recommendations, strategies and best practices, supporting this with a user-friendly best practice toolkit, to help mitigate the majority of the constraints and risks.
Economic and Other Benefits of One Stop Security Arrangements
This study on economic and other benefits of One Stop Security (OSS) arrangements involved 15 international airports, EU State authorities and other stakeholders, such as industry associations. The study enabled the client to understand the status quo of the application of OSS across States, identify reasons for non-implementation and to assess its costs and benefits. We also made a number of recommendations to the Commission regarding the future expansion of One Stop Security at State and airport level.
The outcome
o&i consulting’s collaborative approach to conducting international studies and evidence-based methodology for opportunity identification benefited the European Commission, EU airports and other aviation stakeholders.
The studies conducted by our team provided those involved with a set of realistic strategies, best practices and recommendations to enhance aviation security and create future-oriented airport environments.
Recognising the varied nature of international airports, for example by size, profile and location, we ensured recommendations and best practice toolkits were comprehensive and inclusive.
Our studies typically concluded with an o&i led multi-stakeholder industry workshop, providing a forum for discussion, shared learnings and establishing future collaboration.
