Safety and security

The issue: 11 September  2001 and the 7 July 2005 bombings in London have highlighted the risk of terrorist attack to the UK. The UK also experienced a serious security alert at its airports in August 2006 which led to significant disruption for passengers.

It is the Government’s responsibility to impose requirements on airports in response to security threats. Since August 2006, increased demands for screening passengers, aircrew and employees have been placed on airports in the UK. The challenge for airports is to implement these rules and protect their customers while minimising disruption to travellers.

Airports have an important role in keeping people safe from other causes of injury and criminal activity (ranging from theft of high value cargo to petty theft from passengers). They must also protect their employees and assets.

Our approach: The security of passengers, staff and organisations operating at our airport is our highest priority. Almost half of our employees work in security, in the following areas:

• Searching passengers and hand luggage
• Securing airport perimeters
• Searching airport employees (not just those working for BAA)
• Carrying out background checks of all airport employees working airside
• Providing the infrastructure for hold baggage to be screened
• Managing access to secure areas.

Pre-boarding screening is the public face of security at our airports, but there are many more layers behind the scenes. We coordinate closely on security with agencies and organisations nationally and at airport level, including: customs; immigration; the security services; the Home Office; airlines and cargo handling companies. We also consult with the Department for Transport (DfT) and other agencies before any major airport development. The recent security alert in August 2006 reinforced the need for the whole airport community to be vigilant at all times and to continue to update processes to manage evolving threats.

We expect the threat level to remain at a high level for the foreseeable future and we are developing new processes to avoid disruption to passengers caused by increased security requirements. This is especially important at Heathrow where we are operating at 98.5% capacity.

We aim to be as transparent as possible about our operations, but we are unable to provide detailed information about our systems and plans in this section as this could compromise security at our airports.

Identifying risks
We identify any potential risks systematically with a multi agency approach to risk management . This helps us develop plans to deal with the consequences of any of those risks materialising and then to return to business as usual as quickly as possible.

We provide two channels for agencies to inform us of the levels of border crime at our airports: The Airport Security Committee (ASC) and MATRA (Multi-Agency Threat Risk Assessment). These ensure that all organisations involved in airport security, including customs, immigration, security services, the Home Office, airlines and cargo handling companies, are working to the same security plan.

Crisis management 
We have a strategy for continuity planning and our crisis management is tested every year through emergency exercises to test different scenarios.

We also work with the UK Government to respond to risks on a national basis. We do this through the London Regional Resilience Forum, the Scottish Emergencies Co-ordinating Committee as well as other Government resilience teams.

Technology and security teams
We use a combination of technology and man power to maintain security at Heathrow.

Technology
We are at the leading edge of research and development, looking to enhance the technical capabilities of our security systems to meet increasing demand and changing threats. We continually work with the DfT to take advantage of improvements in security technology. We use a range of screening technologies including archway metal detectors, explosives trace detection equipment, and x-ray screening equipment in conjunction with body and cabin baggage searches conducted by hand.

Security teams
There is no single technology that can tackle all security threats. A highly trained and engaged security team is vital. Over half of BAA employees work in security and they receive theoretical and practical training, exceeding the amount recommended by the DfT.

The increased security requirements mean significantly more work for our central search teams. We use Threat Image Projection technology which tests the alertness of security screen operators

Before anyone can work in restricted areas at our airports they are vetted thoroughly in line with DfT guidelines. We conduct a criminal record check and employers take a full five-year reference history which is vetted by BAA. People that complete this process successfully are given electronically-coded photo ID cards which limit access to areas of the airport.

Training and awareness
We train our security teams to ensure that they operate beyond standards mandated by Government. Almost half of BAA employees work in security and they receive theoretical and practical training, exceeding the minimum amount recommended by the DfT.

Measuring effectiveness and efficiency
We continually measure the effectiveness of our security processes. We use independent organisations to audit and test our security arrangements.

We also assess perceptions of our security systems by interviewing passengers and monitoring complaints. This process, called Quality Service Monitoring (QSM) helps us to assess how effective our systems are as a deterrent. People are asked to rate security in four areas:

• Staff vigilance
• Staff helpfulness
• Queuing time
• Thoroughness of check.

We monitor efficiency of our security processes by measuring flow rates and queuing times.

Other security issues
Our airport also faces threats from criminal activity ranging from theft of high value cargo to petty theft from passengers. We use CCTV cameras at Heathrow to deter and detect criminals and we are changing some of the forecourt and layouts to our terminal buildings to make them more secure.

Airport safety
The vast majority of our passengers use our facilities without incident, however some accidents do occur. The main causes of accidents to passengers involve escalators, trolleys and slips and trips. Our health and safety management systems aim to make our airports as safe as possible and our target is for there to be no serious injuries to the people in our care.

For more information see our section on health and safety.

Our performance: In August 2006 we were faced with increased security requirements. This lead to frustration among passengers and airlines at Heathrow where check-in and hand search processes across all four terminals were severely affected. These greatly intensified the demands made on security guards and other processes. We worked around the clock to ensure that systems were put in place to meet the threat, and drafted in hundreds of additional volunteers. However, the scale and suddenness of the measures imposed could not be managed without significant disruption.

Since then we have recruited over 500 new security employees to help meet increased central search requirements. We have also increased capacity within the security area with the introduction of thirteen new hand baggage x-rays and Archway Metal Detectors (AMDs) and three smaller x-rays for screening shoes. All these measures have resulted in much improved flow rates across the airport.

After the security alert we held workshops with our airline partners to discuss the new security restrictions and to jointly develop action plans to respond to future security alerts.

We also used signs and leaflets and published information on our website to inform passengers about hand luggage restrictions to prevent delays to individual journeys.

Case study - Improving security and cutting queues 
This year we trialled ‘miSense’ at Terminal 3, a system that uses biometric technology to simplify a passenger’s journey through the airport and to strengthen security. Passengers were invited to register their biometric details (ten fingerprints, two irises and one facial image) and they could then use self service border controls.

1,100 people registered with miSense during the trial and we carried out a survey to see test their perceptions of the scheme. 345 people replied to the survey which showed that the trial was a success. 72% of people said that ‘faster journey times' was the most important benefit of miSense, 61% said they would definitely recommend the scheme to a friend and 28% said they would probably do so.

We are now assessing the technical performance of miSense to determine whether this technology can be used further.

Our plans:
Target: 95% of the time, queues will be less than five minutes

Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of our security systems will continue to be a key focus area for BAA Heathrow in 2007. We aim to:

• Meet or exceed the DfT’s standards while minimising inconvenience to passengers
• Continue enhancements to our access control and CCTV systems
• Continue to explore the use of biometrics
• Enhance the security arrangements for our information and IT systems.