Baggage Handling in Airports Must Step Up

Many passengers dread the security screening process in airports. Although most of us are not carrying prohibited items, that feeling of being screened give us a sense of guilt anyway.

Baggage handling systems in airports have inevitably improved in the past five years and screening using the latest technology has undoubtedly speeded up the entire check-in process. Systems such as ExpressDrop have given passengers greater control of their journey times using self-service kiosks and bag drop desks to have baggage weighed, measured and tagged before leaving the terminal to continue through the screening process.

Some of the world’s top security experts have said that the greatest threats to airport security can come from inside the terminal, with personnel having greater access to vulnerable areas. It is thought that the Metrojet incident was likely caused by the placement of a bomb by a baggage handler, which begs the question are these self-service, automated systems going to improve security by effectively reducing the amount of handling baggage goes through by ‘real’ hands?

Undoubtedly, airport security screening must step up to look as closely at the airport staff as it does at the passengers, particularly now, as the entire world feels vulnerable to attack.