Airport Security in United Arab Emirates Essay

What is security airport?

Airport security refers to the process of ensuring that passengers do not carry harmful, prohibited, or dangerous luggage during the journey. The process of ensuring airport security is made possible by the determination of the items accepted during the journey and the items prohibited during the journey. Some of the items prohibited during the journey include harmful drugs, military weapons like bombs, guns, and flammable items like petroleum and among others. There are many dangers associated with these items. For example, harmful drugs may interfere with the health of the passengers during the journey due to the exposition to a different altitude that causes different air pressure. Secondly, flammable liquids like petrol may catch fire during the journey hence resulting in unnecessary explosions during the journey. Many airport workers impose different regulations to enhance security in the airplanes. Generally, ensuring airport security benefits the passengers because they are protected from external dangers like fire and unnecessary diseases. Globally, different airports impose different airport safety measures.¹

Some weapons may be allowed in one airport but banned in another airport. For instance, in some countries like the United Arab Emirates, there is a minimum weight that goods should weigh before considered for the journey. Therefore, there should be clear and accurate procedures at the airport to ensure that airport security is upheld. Airport security has taken space in UAE airport due to cases like prevalent cases of terrorism during the journey, explosions during the journey and diseases due to the effects of harmful drugs. Also, airport security as a throbbing heart of revenue collection in UAE, regulation must be imposed to maximize revenue collection in the nation.

Who is responsible to control security?

Airport security in the UAE is maintained by emirates group security that provides security training to the individuals. This company is charged with responsibilities that relate to the airport security. Some of the responsibilities include investigation of theft cases, misuse of airport facilities, and detection of fraud cases within the airport as well as maintenance of the general conduct of the passengers. Secondly, this group offers training services to the staff members of the airport in the UAE. The group is also linked to the Edith Cowan University of Western Australia in ensuring the effective delivery of security services. For the group to consider the trainees, they observe certain qualifications that the trainees must meet before becoming valid for training. For example, the person must have self-motivation and possess a little background in aviation security. Secondly, the team also accepts people with experience from the military department.

The team has various departments to guarantee efficient security delivery services. One of the departments is a trans-guard that provides facilities like systems, equipment, and trained experts. Trans-guard has helped the team to develop in terms of the development of providing security services. Other services provided by this department in the aid of supporting airport security include the provision of warehouses, surveillance equipment, and courier services.² In essence, there are activities within the airport that requires security services. For instance, the delivery of cash is one of the activities that require an escort from the security team.

What are the security threats at the airport?

Cyber terrorism civil aviation

Terrorism by the use of computers has been prevalent in various airports. Cyber terrorism results in massive losses to the airport of UAE. The cyber terrorism has various effects on the airport. For example, it confuses the operation of the airport, reduction in the profit margin and causes fear in the operation of the airports.³ Recently, there have been cases of hacking through the internet hence imposing fears within the airports. Another serious influence of the internet includes air traffic that may cause an airplane crash. The situation is possible because the entire management of aircraft depends on the interconnected international infrastructure hence connecting the world through the internet. These effects affect the global economic power.

Plane spotters

UAE security crew arrested three middle-aged English plane spotters. They were considered major security threats to the country. The three names were Conrad Clitheroe, Gary Cooper and Neil Munro who were found near Fujairah Airport observing the aircraft take off.⁴ UAE authorities reported that the three men used a telescope to write down the details of the aircraft. People concluded that they were plotters hence the government took an action of arresting them. The men are still in the prison after signing a document with an apology on spotters.

What kind of system do they use to check people and backs?

The security team uses various instruments to check the illegal and prohibited items.

Detection of harmful Drugs

UAE has policies that condemn the use of harmful drugs at the airport. Only the prescribed drugs from the doctor are allowed in the aircraft. They use various gadgets to detect the weight of the goods at the airport. For example, the weighing machine detects the appropriate weight required by the aircraft to prevent the overloading of the aircraft. Secondly, the goods are inspected using electrical gadgets to detect the illegal goods.

Also, airport check-in makes good use of the service counters to take care of the air travelers. In most cases, the airline handles the process of check-in. the travelers are directed to place their luggage at the cabin of the aircraft then wait for the boarding pass before boarding the aircraft. UAE airport take the check-in process serious to warrant airport security to the aircraft and the travelers. Travelers report early at the airport before the departure time to create enough room for checking the passengers and their luggage.⁵ In the UAE, there are specific towns that offer the checking services to the passengers. For example, Abu Dhabi is a town that employs this method. These towns are equipped with facilities that enable them to perform the task of checking the passengers and the luggage.

Airport checking procedure

Passenger identity registration

The airport security team performs this primary task of confirming the valid documents. Airport security team verifies passengers’ documents such as visas at this stage, as a way of enhancing security. Other details checked at this stage are the specific destination of the passengers. The security team also checks the advanced passenger information including the details of their exact destinations.

Bag registration

At this stage, travelers hand over their bags to the security team to determine the weight of the luggage. The security crew selects only luggage of the required weight and isolate goods that weigh high for the safe journey. To meet this condition, the airport security team sets a maximum weight a passenger should weigh plus his/her luggage.⁶ However, the weight of the luggage a passenger should have varies due to differences in class. For example, economy class, executive class among others.

Online check-in

Is the use of the internet by passengers to ascertain their presence. The passengers are required to provide details like the meals they may take, the quantity of the luggage and the appropriate seating position. This process has been considered faster and convenient for the passengers since it does not require physical appearance.

The application of CT scanners in UAE airport

UAE airport uses a computer tomography scanner to crisscross the items of the passengers to ensure security at the airport. A CT scanner refers to the pipe with a hole found next to the luggage of the passengers. This scanner functions in the presence of the X-rays that move around the scanner to produce a bombarding effect with X-rays to record the data.⁷ The data is used by the security to produce a complex tomogram of the luggage. Also, this scanner can find out the density and mass of the luggage. Therefore, if the density and mass are within the range of dangerous materials, the scanner will alert the operator about the danger of the luggage. However, the scanners are not used frequently because they are slow compared to other luggage scanners. They are not used to check all the bags at the airport due to their slow speed. They are suitable for the luggage suspected to have dangerous items. Computer flag is the term used to describe the items that should undergo the scanning. For example, when a traveler, purchases a one-way ticket and uses cash transactions, the situation is said to flag the passenger hence scanners will be used to check the luggage of the passenger at the ticket counter.

What did eye print help in the security?

Airport security teams use passwords for identification purposes at the airport. This process is one of the processes that are not effective and slow the operations at the airport. As a result, scanning of the cells from the eye was identified as one of the new technologies that would hasten the process of detecting passengers at the airport. Printing the cells of the eye helps in the storage of the passengers’ details. The advanced technology uses software that identifies the passengers with their respective eye prints. The use of the software is possible because every individual has four eye prints of which two of them are found on either side of the iris.⁸

The technology has been recommended because it does not require the use of hardware in the printing of the eye cells. The technology was invented in Kansas City to identify people who want to use smartphones. The technology is used by the airport to confirm the passengers who own the luggage at the airport. The eye-verify technology is used to enable the passengers to access the facilities at the airport. For instance, when a passenger pays for the journey, the details of the eye prints will be used to identify the exact passenger on the day of the journey. Also, the eye prints are used as the password to store the items of the passenger to prevent illegal possession of the goods at the airport. The eye print software can process the pictures, marks the veins of the eye, and compares it with the details of the eye print when verification of details is required. According to scientific research, this technology can differentiate the real person and the image of a person.

The technology has features like changes in the exposure and able to balance the colors of a person and have cameras with high resolution. However, the technology may not be appropriate in the future because of the damages that are likely to be in the eye. The changes in the make-up of the eye may alter the information of the person hence posing a major challenge in the identification of the passengers. For instance, a burst at the veins of the eye may give a wrong interpretation of the details of the passenger because the details are given as per the original details of the eye. Most of the airports have confirmed that this technology is more accurate than fingerprints at the airport.⁹ As a result, scientists are working around the clock to improve the efficiency of the technology. Preferably, the technology works with a regular video camera that can detect the movement of the eyes of the passengers. The whole process is driven by external stimuli but the shape or pattern of the eye. Research has compared the efficiency of this technology with that of advanced biometric system which requires a separate and special hardware during the operation at the airport.

What are the plans to increase or control security?

Dubai Expo 2020 is one of the projects aimed at increasing the economic level of the UAE. Indeed, the project will offer employment opportunities for the people of UAE. Also, the project is aimed at increasing the revenue of the country. In this regard, there should be appropriate security plans to safeguard the properties of the airport. For example, security to the travelers should be dealt with by the policies that protect the lives of the passengers. Some of the measures set aside to protect the passengers and visitors during expo2020 include having policies that regulate the behavior of the passengers for maximum protection of life and properties. Secondly, the country is to provide certain regulations that will allow for the checking of the documents under screening taking part in the exporter. Secondly, there will be provision of safe transport facilities that will ferry people to and from the expo from pickup places. These places will be hotels and other social places in the country.

The country has also improved the infrastructure of the area to hasten the movement of people. For example, there are initiatives to improve the road networks and the provision of the sustainability facilities. The improved infrastructure is aimed at reducing the causes of terrorism along the roads. To achieve this, the government has given the project a major concern hence the formation of collaboration with RTA, Dubai municipality and Air authorities.

There have been forums to discuss the security amid hosting the international exhibition expo2020. The police should come up with regulations that will maximize the security of the visitors both at the airport and outside the airport. The Brigadier reckoned that there is Effective Corporation between the police security committee and the Expo 2020 to generate or come up with safety regulations that will ensure security in the airport.¹⁰ As the largest event in the country, the Brigadier said that the police department is laying down the security plans to protect the event that will offer education, promotion of development and tighten the corporation between UAE and other countries. “We will do what it takes to beef up security during the major event in the country of UAE,” he emphasized. The purpose of the meeting was to provide updates on the security amid hosting the international event.

Finally, the Dubai may employ security lessons from the 2012 Olympics at world expo 2020. According to the intersect Dubai 2013 security and safety exhibition held in Dubai in the year 2013, the UAE will hire security experts from the UK on the day of expo2020. This is because the UK holds the record of having the experience of handling the security threats. Therefore, the UK has various approaches to dealing with security threats. The country have form partnership with Britain to assist the country to maximize security on the big events like expo2020. In this regard, the country is preparing the financial overview that will accommodate security experts from the UK. For instance, the country has set aside more than $550 billion to cater for the security expenses during expo2020 invent. The arrangement of beefing up the security during the event follows the prevalent insecurity cases in the world. There have been many cases of terrorism attacks and theft cases the forces the UAE to ask for security experts from foreign countries like the UK. Equally, the country is still coming up with strategies to ensure maximum security during the event.

Bibliography

Abu Dhabi International Airport, Security Regulations: Airport Security. 2013. Web.

Dubai Airport Freezone Authority, DAFZA attracts international investors ahead of Expo 2020, Web.

Dubai Police Discusses Security Arrangements for Expo 2020. Web.

Gale, I, Dubai has its eye on new security. 2010. Web.

UAE General Civil Aviation Authority. 2015. Web.

Footnotes

1. UAE General Civil Aviation Authority, 2015. Web.
2. Ibid., para. 8.
3. Abu Dhabi International Airport, Security Regulations: Airport Security, 2013. Web.
4. Ibid. para. 10.
5. Ibid., para. 5.
6. Dubai Airport Freezone Authority, DAFZA attracts international investors ahead of Expo 2020. Web.
7. Ibid., para. 6.
8. I, Gale, Dubai has its eye on new security, 2010. Web.
9. Ibid. para. 6.
10. Dubai Police Discusses Security Arrangements for Expo 2020. Web.