Walk-through scanners will expedite passenger screening
Frankfurt Airport, the largest airport in Germany and also the key gateway to the country, has become the world’s first airport to regularly employ walkthrough scanners for passenger security checks. In a press statement, Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, says that the development came after German Federal Police approved the QPS Walk2000 360° walk-though security scanner for faster passenger screening.
It adds that the deployment of the scanners came following a roughly one-year test phase at Concourse A in Terminal 1 and upon the successful testing, the German Federal Police authorised the full-scale use.
The statement adds that the QPS Walk2000 provides significantly greater comfort and convenience at security checks as instead of having to freeze in an awkward posture for scanning, travellers can simply walk through the scanner at a normal speed.
The Airport adds that about 18,000 departing passengers commute through this checkpoint daily. Going forward, the outlook is to extend the use of this technology to additional security check lanes in Terminal 1 and also deploy it in the new Terminal 3.
“We are the world’s first airport to set a new standard of passenger security with this 360° walkthrough scanner. During the test phase we worked closely with the German Federal Police to optimise its operation and pave the way for its certification. This is part of our ongoing efforts to improve the passenger experience by using the latest technologies to make checkpoints faster and easier to navigate while upholding our high standard of security. A special thank you goes to the whole project team,” says Alexander Laukenmann, Head, Aviation Division, Fraport.
“The very successful joint testing and evaluation of the walkthrough scanner by the Federal Police and Fraport at Frankfurt Airport are an example of excellent collaboration by all of the involved parties. We are very proud to be contributing to an advanced, innovative and globally new approach for screening passengers at airports,” says Andreas Hägele, Head, Microwave Imaging Department, Rohde & Schwarz.
The statement adds that the millimetre-wave technology used in the QPS Walk2000 scanners also penetrates clothing while an avatar pinpoints potentially dangerous objects in real time. If an alarm is triggered, security personnel can focus on the specific indicated area instead of having to completely rescan the passenger.
Since taking responsibility for the aviation security checks at Frankfurt Airport, Fraport has invested around EUR 22 million to equip the security checkpoints with advanced CT techology and innovative lane designs.
The airport operator says that since January 1, 2023, Fraport has been responsible for of organising, managing, and operating the roughly 160 security lanes at Frankfurt Airport. The German Federal Police continues to be responsible, among other things, for defining general requirements relevant to aviation security, providing the required legal and technical supervision, ensuring overall aviation security, providing armed protection for checkpoints, approving new inspection equipment, and certifying and recertifying airport security screeners.