Western Australia’s Perth Airport has embarked on a significant upgrade to its passenger screening infrastructure, across all terminals.
The new advanced security screening equipment is being introduced as part of the Federal Government mandate to further strengthen Australia’s domestic and international aviation security.
Perth Airport CEO Kevin Brown said the airport’s top priority is to ensure the safety and security of passengers and loved ones who come to the airport to see them off.
“The new state-of-the-art equipment has been designed to enhance airport security by improving the efficiency of the screening process and detection levels,” he explained.
“The upgrades include new body scanners, walk through metal-detectors, an X-ray machine, explosive trace detection systems and secondary viewing stations with ETD.
“The body scanner has been a part of the international screening requirements for a number of years and will be introduced into domestic travel screening lanes, but with updated technology.”
Brown added, “The implementation of more sophisticated, faster body scanners at domestic screening points will require passengers to walk between two walls, pause, and stand straight in a relaxed pose. The scan will take less than a second.
“The body scanners can detect all foreign matter, both metal and non-metal, carried by a person to within a millimetre of the skin, and then pin-point it on an outline of the person’s body illustrated in the form of an avatar or ‘stickperson’.”
CT scanners will be introduced for all international and domestic carry-on baggage, eliminating the need to remove computers and aerosols from bags for the screening process.
The new CT X-ray machine will use 3D technology to ease detection of suspect goods in passengers’ carry-on bags.
“Most travellers these days have a laptop or tablet device which they must remove from their luggage for screening. Many travellers also carry aerosol cans such as shaving foam which must also be scanned separately,” Brown said. “The new system will allow these items to be left in hand luggage, making for a more streamlined process and less hassle for passengers.”
Upgrades at T1 Domestic and International will be operational by the end of January. Areas of the current screening points at T2, T3 and T4 will be closed later this year to enable the installation of new equipment.
