Challenge
Air cargo security
Recent air cargo security incidents provide clear examples of how existing risk management capabilities and detection technologies may fail and have raised transport security high on the EU’s agenda. The EU’s aims include further consolidation and strengthening of policy, legislation and monitoring of air cargo security including cooperation with major international partners. It is evident that security breaches in any airport across the world could lead to an explosion mid-air or at a different airport, making the international dimension intrinsic to the problem.
From a business perspective, the industry is looking to co-operate with authorities in securing the airspace with effective measures that maintain the speed of cargo flow needed to support global trade. The common goal is achieving a ‘truly seamless Single European Sky’ across efficiency and security dimensions. A major challenge is dealing efficiently with the evolving EU and US regulatory regime, and more importantly the significant variations in the way regulations are implemented and enforced at national level.
Approach
Integrated Air-cargo Security Solutions
The project provides systemic solutions for European air cargo security addressing prevailing complexities and vulnerabilities aligned with international initiatives and building on complementary on-going projects. It also offers different stakeholder groups enhanced capabilities for integrating preventive and reactive controls to address their threats in a timely and effective manner with optimised cost. The end goal are secure air cargo supply chains whilst also facilitating the overall process (i.e. achieving security without stoppages, keeping the cargo movements unimpeded at all times).
Results
Pilots & Benefits
- The EUROSKY Blueprints to provide an industry endorsed target Europe wide cooperative model for air cargo security and facilitation including Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each stakeholder group.
- A multi-energy based automated detection and alarm resolution solution to provide faster and more accurate detection of dangerous substances with reduced false positive rate. The focus is on combining innovations in Automatic Detection of Explosives (ADE) with innovative intelligent alarm resolution technologies enabling a reduced false positive rate. Four different levels of screening will be demonstrated, enabling stakeholders to choose the correct balance between security requirements and costs.
- The EUROSKY Ecosystem to provide a technological infrastructure for electronically connecting air-cargo stakeholders together, amplifying their security capabilities through faster communications, shared scans and intelligence, real-time optimisation, pooled resources and synchronised actions.
- Provision of Integrated Air-cargo Security Solutions bringing together the partners’ industrial expertise in leading edge airport solutions with the project innovations including: a) Cargo profiling including screening of the identity and intent of the people who had their hands on the container, and b) Integration of detection technologies in supply chain flows with remote monitoring options offering enhanced security and economic benefits.
