The airport business is a busy one. In July alone, Denver International Airport broke its record with 6.1 million passengers traveling through the airport. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in the world, with nearly 104 million passengers in 2017. Internationally, the number of people flying increased by 6.6 percent in 2017. Airport are big business, with big liabilities and risk.
The Need
Keeping millions of passengers and employees safe is the utmost priority for airports. Divided into two areas, landside and airside, airport businesses are tasked with managing multiple needs and ensuring that employees, passengers, flight crews, vendors and other visitors stay safe — a challenge for every airport, big and small. Hazards can present themselves in a variety of ways, and false alarms can be time consuming and costly, keeping airport security personnel, police and maintenance teams more than busy.
For extreme situations, most airports have emergency notification systems in place. However, these are outbound messages sent "from" the airport and are often described as “right of boom” (government-speak for “after an explosion”), which means they are reactive, not proactive. In addition, dire situations that require emergency response are rare — acts of terrorism are few and far between compared to the more common security issues travelers may face such as slip and fall situations, broken escalators, or other equipment failures. Traveling can be stressful enough on its own, so when inconveniences arise — especially those that can turn into litigious situations — it can derail a passenger’s experience.
For the most part, situations of concern are not emergencies. Even with emergency options, people are hesitant to get involved because they are in transit and it slows them down. Many people don’t like calling an emergency hotline because dialing the number alone is time consuming and tedious, as is talking on the phone and getting “too” involved. But people are comfortable communicating with data to alert authorities of something concerning, and then going about their day.
Activating the Crowd
A powerful solution is in the technology already in the hands of almost every passenger. Crowdsourced incident management enables the people best positioned to see something unseeming, something out of place or just plain suspicious, to quickly report it via their mobile phones through an app or text — something they are already used to and comfortable using to communicate. Pushing a button or sending a text on a smartphone app is easy, safe and effective.
Deploying a crowd-sourced incident management solution can help mobilize millions of passenger eyes and ears as they travel through your airport. Technology, and in particular smartphones, allow passengers to easily report what they see and hear, alerting authorities to potential or existing threats, or simply a suspicious concern, in a fast, accurate and discreet manner. Folks on the ground see situations first — before authorities may even know about them – and can be a powerful tool in your safety and security toolbox.
With such a system in place, anyone in the airport can discreetly send a report to authorities, including precise location and media (photo, video), on issues that require attention. A specific platform to allow them to do so is more effective than a hotline — people want to help if it’s something they can do quickly and without further involvement.
From suspicious activity to a missing person, to timely maintenance issues, an incident management reporting platform provides real-time insights to manage all elements of the airport operation, using the crowd as an extension of the airport safety or operations team.
Benefits
Three ways airports can benefit from a crowd-sourced incident management platform include:
Risk Mitigation
It's good for business to keep an airport safe and clean. Travel itself can be stressful and encountering maintenance issues - even as simple as a restroom that needs servicing - can magnify a passenger's anxiety. Further, the cost of personal injury lawsuits at airports can be damaging. Lawsuits are often filed against airports for personal injuries due to:
- Fall or injury on defective escalator or moving walkway
- Slip or fall on a tarmac or uneven boarding ramp
- Defective seats or handrails
- Inadequate lighting
- Injuries from luggage retrieval or conveyor belts
- Slip or fall in restrooms, restaurants or food courts
The sooner an airport knows about a hazard, the sooner it can address the problem. Risk mitigation is a time sensitive situation; safety hazards or maintenance issues that are dealt with quickly reduce the risk of someone getting hurt.
Proactive Diligence vs Reactive Panic
Many security protocols are reactive instead of proactive. Even security camera footage is typically used to look back at a situation and try to piece together what happened. With a crowdsourced incident management platform, airport personnel suddenly have eyes and ears everywhere, proactively watching and reporting the moment an incident starts – or maybe even beforehand. The power of the crowd is unprecedented. Empowered to report what’s happening – often with discreet photo and GPS location information – in real-time, and anonymously if so chosen, the public takes the Good Samaritan role to heart.
Enhanced Airport Security & Communication
Airport authorities have a lot to track. A “no fly” list is maintained by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) maintains a controversial list called the “95 List,” compiled of unruly and disruptive passengers that have demonstrated concerning, assaultive behavior in an airport. Often, the public isn’t even aware of such lists – but may observe such behaviors exhibited toward other passengers or employees that authorities miss.
In addition to enabling the public to report to authorities, an incident management platform allows airports to broadcast important information directly to users. For example, pushing out a BOLO notice to the public direct to the mobile phones of people who use the app. Such notices can help to lessen panic in situations of confusion. The ability to quickly communicate to the public and employees via a mobile incident management reporting platform could alleviate the fear and confusion.
An incident management platform with facial recognition can also store images of offenders, providing powerful security insight when a face match is detected in a photo sent with an incoming user report. When a POI or a repeat offender is possibly present in the photo, the dispatcher can be immediately informed. Face Recognition brings automation to public safety, helping law enforcement keep their constituents safe and secure by identifying repeat offenders, watch-list persons, and vulnerable persons who may need assistance.
Finally, the popular “See Something, Say Something" campaign is an important effort in encouraging the public to report suspicious activity: unattended baggage, unusual behaviors or unruly passengers and more. Focused on terrorism-related activities, it encourages citizens to help keep communities safe, including and especially at airports. An incident management platform can enhance this effort, making it easier than ever for the public to report what they see with the touch of a button.
Procurement Options
Airports have various departments that can utilize such a system to improve operations. Before investigating, its crucial to understand the various procurement options. Some ideas on how an airport can purchase a system include:
- Sole Source or RFP – If you find a vendor with a unique feature set and technology, sole source is a viable option vs RFP, which can take a year or longer to complete. A vendor with patented technology and unique, important features can possibly expedite the deployment of a solution.
- Airport Maintenance – With an immediate and discreet way to report maintenance issues, a mobile reporting solution can possibly be assigned to the maintenance budget. Employees and the public can report maintenance problems quickly, so they can be addressed sooner, which helps with airport risk management.
- SMS – Safety Management System – Many airports have established an SMS budget to train employees about the importance of identifying and reporting hazards and risks observed around the airport. A crowd-sourced incident management reporting platform enables employees to report and track hazards throughout the airport campus. SMS hazards can be reported immediately and from anywhere there is WIFI, cellular or network connectivity.
- Risk Management Department – We live in a litigious society and lawsuits are a part of doing business for an airport. The sooner hazards and risks are reported to the airport, the sooner the risk can be mitigated. The right incident reporting system allows employees and the public to immediately report safety concerns, so they can be addressed sooner.
- Video Surveillance – Airports deploy a multitude, often thousands, of CCTV cameras and video management software to make the cameras more useful. Find a reporting technology that integrates with existing surveillance systems and can identify which CCTV camera is nearby a reported incident, providing dispatchers a live view of an active situation.
- Biometrics – Many airports are running biometric pilots or deployments. Find a solution that includes a biometric suite of tools to improve situation awareness through the power of artificial intelligence. The refined power of automatic face recognition technology can immediately alert operations staff when a “repeat offender” or a watch list person of interest is reported as being on the airport campus. With the right app, people can send a photo of known persons of interest of persons behaving suspiciously.
The Bottom Line
Airports are beginning to activate the power of the crowd. The crowd needs to be protected but is also a key, untapped resource in helping airport safety and security. Empowering passengers, employees, partners and airlines to report incidents for your action provides real-time insights to manage all elements of an airport operation. Be sure to find a reliable, tested system by checking with your airport community, colleagues and airport industry associations that can provide insight and feedback prior to purchase.
Ed English is a successful serial entrepreneur, with a computer science degree from Boston College. He has led ELERTS’ expansion to serve North American airports, transits and cities with crowd-sourced incident management solutions, including winning the Airport Security Shark Tank at the 17th annual AAAE/TSA/DHS Aviation Security Summit.
Prior to ELERTS, Ed served as CEO of interMute, a computer security company that was a pioneer in anti-spyware software. InterMute developed software products to protect computers from malware. Early in his career, Ed programmed computer chess and several video games, including Frogger, for the Atari 2600.
