Airport Dialogues at Super Terminal Expo
The Airport Dialogues at Super Terminal Expo offer a space where the right people come together to have the right conversations—without the noise. These are closed-door, 90-minute roundtable sessions designed for professionals who are actively shaping the future of airport operations.
This interview is an introduction to bring you to explore the critical intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and aviation security with our distinguished moderator, Alan Tan, Senior Vice President of Aerodrome Safety and Aviation Security at Changi Airport Group. As a leader at one of the world’s most technologically advanced airports, he brings invaluable insights into how AI imaging technologies are revolutionising security protocols while enhancing passenger experience.
Interviewee
Session Moderator
Alan Tan
Senior Vice President
Aerodrome Safety & Aviation Security
Changi Airport Group
Inspiration Behind the Theme
Q: What inspired the theme “Smarter Screening, Safer Borders: Exploring AI Imaging in Airport Security” for this Airport Dialogues session?
Aviation remains an attractive target for bad actors, and better security is key to ensure the safety of all passengers. With increasing passenger numbers, we need to ensure that the screening process do not become a bottleneck for the passenger journey. With advancement in technology, screening measures are transforming with biometrics and algorithm-based solutions which helps to improve security performance to make travel safer. The potential use of AI to augment human operators in screening operations is a great opportunity to further improve the current human intensive security operations.
As such, I have chosen this theme to set the tone for discussion. With AI technology evolving so quickly, there is growing interests to explore how aviation can leverage on this capability to improve the screening operations. Aviation security technology development and adoption takes time as it requires careful consideration on its deployment and will need to undergo stringent certification. How can we adopt AI-based screening solutions faster for aviation security?
AI in Airport Screening
Q: How is AI changing the traditional airport security screening process?
AI technology is very new and developing fast. Its potential use can cut across all functions to improve the airport operations from passenger check-in, boarding to even security screening. AI can be trained to perform repetitive tasks currently performed by human in a more consistent way which will free the human operators to perform other more demanding and complex job functions. In terms of security screening, the most demanding and intensive function is the x-ray image analysis. Screeners have to analyse many and, in most instances, complex images and clear them fast to ensure that screening of passengers flow smoothly. In this context, AI can be trained to augment the human operators in image analysis and may even be possible to analyse less complex bag images in auto-mode. There’s great potential to use AI to improve screening at the checkpoint.
Enhancing Passenger Experience
Q: How will passenger experience be improved with these new technologies?
One of the most stressful parts of travel for the passenger is security screening. It requires passenger to understand the security requirements and to cooperate with screening staff to ensure a smooth process at the checkpoints. Passengers have experienced long queues and long processing time at the security checkpoints. AI image analysis could potentially shorten x-ray image analysis time, and this could help reduce the screening time per bag and move the queue at the checkpoint faster. With faster screening operations, passenger will potentially spend less time at the checkpoint, making the journey less stressful. This in turn could also improve productivity at the screening checkpoints.
Key Dialogue Takeaways
Q: What would be the key expected takeaways for the participants?
The dialogue would focus on how AI screening technology could be incorporated into screening operations as different states and airports may have different requirements. The discussion will also centre on how best to assess the AI performance before adoption as more AI screening solutions will become available. With AI screening certification and regulations still developing, a discussion on opportunities and approaches to adopt AI image analysis into screening operations prior to certification could help support early adoption.
Check out details and registration information for session “Smarter Screening, Safer Borders: Exploring AI Imaging in Airport Security” here.