BUSINESS NEWS Analysis: CT scanners are transforming the airport security process – at a cost. Ian Taylor reports


Advanced X-ray function can boost detection efficiency


Even the latest 3-D scanners reject 5%-10% of bags, requiring they be opened and searched. So, there is research into


whether X-ray diffraction could improve the process. Smiths Detection vice-president


Richard Thompson said: “Diffraction can give the precise molecular fingerprint of a substance, telling you ‘it’s not explosive, it’s cheese’, so the bag isn’t rejected.” If adding this technology, he


noted: “You would need to ensure it didn’t impact the bag flow. “For example, Gatwick works


at up to 800 trays an hour per lane – you have to jog to catch up with your tray. We can’t introduce


The new generation of scanners promise to ease the airport security process


technology that slows it down.” The other technology in


development is AI. Thompson said: “There is a strong argument that machines could do a better job. Software never gets tired. But it’s difficult for a minister to say ‘we’re turning this over to AI’ because of a one-in-a-million chance something goes wrong. “There is political reluctance to


deploy AI – not just in the UK, but around the world.”


Airport scanners cost about £1m per lane to install and maintain


Airports are paying about £1 million per security lane to purchase, install and maintain scanners. Smiths Detection vice-president


Richard Thomson said: “If you look at the whole security checkpoint, you can spend as much on the body scanner, trays, tray-return system, automation, software and so on [as on the 3-D scanner]. “You’re looking at £500,000


per lane, if not more, just for the equipment. But this comes with a 10-year service contract, so airports are looking at a cost of about £1 million per security lane over 10 years.” He admitted: “It’s not cheap


but there is a return on investment because passengers get through a lot quicker and are happier.”


Thompson suggested that


spending extra time in departures could lead to them spending more. Some airports have had to


reinforce buildings or install new lifts because of the scanners’ weight. Thompson said: “CT scanners are quite heavy – over two tonnes per machine – so airports need to factor that in, for example if security is on a mezzanine floor. But for most airports with security on the ground floor, it’s not an issue.” He added: “Installing these is


a major project because you can’t just shut an airport down, so they’re installed one by one. “Heathrow is just finalising its


installation programme, and we secured that order in 2020, so it was a five-year project.”


How do airport CT scanners work?


The 3-D scanners that promise to transform the airport security experience once fully installed and certified by ending the 100ml restrictions on liquids, gels and aerosols are modelled on equipment found in hospitals. The liquids, laptops and other


devices in air passengers’ carry-on bags are obviously very different from soft tissue, so how do the scanners, which Travel Weekly (August 14) reported are being installed at most UK airports, work? Richard Thompson, portfolios,


innovation and digital vice-president at Smiths Detection, which makes the only CT scanners currently approved for screening liquids of more than 100ml in bags, explained: “They primarily measure two things – density, whether organic or


travelweekly.co.uk


non-organic – and the ‘Z effect’ [or effective nuclear charge] which is the atomic number of the item being scanned. The [machine] algorithm basically asks: ‘Could that item be an explosive or not?’” He noted there is also a visual


element, saying: “Is there a detonator? Are there wires? That is where the quality of the detectors, the quality of the X-ray generator, the resolution of the image, the quality of the software and the skill of the analyst come into play. “So, there are two quite different


methods of detection. One is: ‘This looks like it could be an explosive’ – that is where you start. Then you try to spot knives or other weapons.” He noted: “You can get false


alarms with boot polish, cheese and other items which share


A Smiths Detection Hi-Scan 6040 CTiX scanner


similar properties [to explosives].” But Thompson said: “The


benefit of CT scanning is it takes hundreds of images, so you end up with a 360-degree, three-dimensional render. Whereas in the past, if there was a laptop or iPad on top of something suspicious, you might not be able to see through it. It would look too cluttered. With CT [computer tomography] you’re


getting a 360-degree view. You can see underneath the laptop. “The software is so advanced, an


operator can remove the laptop from the image, virtually unpacking a bag. “That is what allows passengers to


leave stuff in their bags, because there is no way you can conceal something, as you might have been able to in the past. The security staff can see a whole bag from whatever angle they wish.”


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