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In meeting the Federal security deadline of December 31st 2002 for Hold Baggage Screening (HBS), Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport employed the expertise of Logan Teleflex to help it become the first airport of its size in the US to introduce an inline 100% HBS system.
Despite the continued downturn in air passenger traffic, the run up to December 31st 2002 was an extremely hectic time for many US airports. This was the deadline, imposed by federal regulations contained within the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, by which the 429 commercial service airports had to have installed explosive detection screening systems that would inspect all hold baggage.
While meeting this regulation obviously had major implications for all airports, for one in particular the deadline held additional significance. Almost uniquely, Lexington, Kentucky’s Blue Grass Airport, decided to go well beyond the basic ‘interim’ solution being generally adopted, which was for manually loaded detection systems to be installed in the ticketing lobby. Instead, with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approval, Blue Grass Airport decided to introduce a ‘state of the art’ system, from Logan Teleflex Inc. – a member of Logan Teleflex Group - that offered both a ‘behind the scenes’ approach, and provided fully automated ‘in-line’ 100% hold baggage screening.
Now, with many airports assessing their next move, Lexington’s aggressive approach is looking increasingly well judged. The airport has an advanced baggage handling and in-line screening system that meets the full TSA regulatory requirements, and was, not withstanding design and extremely tight time constraints, operational well before the deadline. Moreover, unlike other airports where there is considerable disruption being caused, to passengers and staff alike, by the new arrangements, at Blue Grass passengers have gained the benefits of increased security, without even noticing it. As noted by the Director of Airport Operations, John Coon, “We have a 100% HBS system that has become the model for other US airports to emulate.”
The Logical Answer
The logic behind the approach taken by Lexington’s Bluegrass Airport is straightforward. Despite the turbulent times for the US air industry since September 1, 2001, the airport has actually managed to consistently outperform many others, and it has regained much of its previous momentum. It is now served by six major airlines, and has seen five new hub destinations launched after 9/11, along with the introduction of its first "low fare" carrier. By delivering more direct flights, new flight destinations, cheaper fares, along with improved convenience, the airport has also been able to buck the downward trend in passenger numbers.
While the airline industry as a whole saw a fall of about 7 percent in 2002, Blue Grass actually set an all-time monthly boarding record in October, and ended 2002 up 10%, at around one million passengers. Therefore, with so much being achieved by delivering what its customer wants and making the airport as convenient to use as possible, the last thing the airport needed was for a situation whereby in meeting the new security mandate it caused a major disruption and inconvenience to its hard won customers.
As Coon observes, “The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board, which presides over the Blue Grass Airport, decided that it was essential to implement a hold baggage security system that would provide the highest level of customer service and avoid much of the confusion that we recognised would be generated by the procedures being introduced by most of the nation’s airports.”
He explains, “The generally adopted approach of having the 100% baggage screening process conducted in the ticket lobby, is a really messy solution. It requires passengers to queue first for their boarding pass and tags, and then they have to go and queue again to put their luggage through the screening system, before moving on to the passenger checkpoint. As well as the confusion caused by requiring passengers to navigate this series of lines prior to proceeding through to the checkpoint, and the extra queuing involved, this approach requires extra staff to manage, and staff to be re-trained in new procedures. From the outset we wanted a system that would effectively accomplish the security requirements without creating confusing lines and additional clutter in the terminal, and adding additional delays or inconvenience for the passengers.”
To address this aim the airport management and the TSA forged a co-operative partnership. With few similar systems to benchmark against, their first step was to undertake consultation with the National Safe Skies Alliance (Safe Skies). This is a non-profit organisation (funded in part by the TSA) that provides impartial testing and evaluation of safety and security systems.
This initial consultation lead to the recognition that an 100% HBS system could be installed that would fully meet the airports requirements. However, initial concerns over the physical constraints imposed by the existing baggage hall and the only available location for the screening operation, plus the rapidly shortening time-frame before the regulatory deadline, meant that a semi-manual system might have to be the way forward. But, in looking for additional expert advice from potential system installers, the partnership turned to Louisville-based Logan Fabricom Inc. Based on its previous experience, and capabilities demonstrated in various airports throughout the world, the company was able to put forward a complete design proposal for a fully automated baggage handling system that included ‘in-line’ 100% HBS.
In fact, UK based Logan Teleflex, the parent company of Logan Teleflex Inc., has been involved in the development, design and world-wide installation of hold baggage screening systems since the initial impetus of the Lockerbie air disaster in December 1988. The company also worked on the early projects in the 1990s that established the principles for 'in-line screening', whereby the screening process does not interrupt the automated flow of bags through the baggage handling system. As a result, it has subsequently become one of the world’s leading providers of baggage handling, sortation, and in line 100%HBS systems.
Bryan Wiegandt, Project Manager at Logan Teleflex Inc, adds, “As well as confirming the benefits of an in-line system, in terms of significantly reduced manual intervention and speed and accuracy of operation, we were able to convince Blue Grass and the TSA that we could manage the complexity imposed by the existing building infrastructure, and install the system before the deadline. Few other system developers were prepared to make the same commitments.”
Meeting the Commitment
As predicted, the state-of-the-art baggage handling system installed by Logan Teleflex has exceeded all of the rigorous requirements of the TSA and Blue Grass Airport.
Within the ticket lobby, each of the six airline’s check-in stations are now connected via a series of collector conveyors, located behind the counters. Once deposited by passengers at the check-in, bags are automatically transferred onto this collector conveyor, which transports them through to the original baggage hall. Then, to maintain the access needed by the airline workers and the baggage trucks within the confines of the bag hall, an elevated conveyor system has been designed and installed that effectively transports the bags at roof height across the bag hall, before coming back down to ground level for entry to the new dedicated ‘behind the scenes’ screening area.
Next, the conveyor system automatically diverts bags to one of two Invision CTX5500 explosives detection machines. Once screened, conveyors transport the cleared bags back into the bag hall and onto a new make up carousel for sortation and flight reconciliation by the ground support personnel. Any suspect bags are removed from the system for additional security checks. Designed to manage the airports present and future peak daily demands, it is capable of handling up to 325 bags / hour. It also provides system redundancy for maintenance and low usage operation.
To meet the December 31st deadline, and despite the complexities involved, Logan Teleflex managed to design the system, produce the necessary conveyor elements, install the equipment and fully integrate the control system and screening equipment within just 12 weeks!
"Thanks to the assistance of the airports general contractor, Messer Construction, and the architects GS&P(Gresham, Smith & Partners) who undertook the necessary renovation of the baggage hall itself, and working in conjunction with the Safe Skies, TSA and Bluegrass staff we were able to deliver this complete project within the extremely demanding schedule," states Wiegandt.
Michael Gobb, Executive Director for Blue Grass Airport agrees, “The new system has met our requirements, and those of the TSA, 100%. Operationally the system fully complies with federal regulations, and is providing a highly effective service, rapidly transporting bags through the extra security to sortation. Its fully automated nature means that the ticketing staff have no extra demands placed on them, and we are even getting fewer false alarms than anticipated.”
Gobb adds, “More importantly, in taking this almost unique approach to the security issue, we have not only put ourselves in a leadership role among the nation’s airports in the field of aviation security - Blue Grass Airport is now one of only five truly “in-line” 100% HBS systems in the nation - but have also achieved the best result for our customers. We know that customers are recognising and appreciating the combination of increased security and hassle-free convenience that this system provides.”
However, the new system is also likely to play an additional import role. As part of the project, Blue Grass Airport entered into an agreement with the Safe Skies to become a permanent test facility for checked baggage. It is planned that it will become the site of a baseline study for an in-line EDS baggage handling system and assist the Safe Skies in conducting multiple testing and evaluation projects over the next several years.
To make this possible, Logan Teleflex built additional flexibility into the system layout. “We were pleased to work with the National Safe Skies Alliance with this agreement, and help ensure that they will be able to easily bring in and integrate new screening technology - or other equipment - for testing within this system,” reports Wiegandt.
Greg Miller, Safe Skies’s lead test engineer for cargo & checked baggage concludes, "Testing at Blue Grass is significant because the baseline data collected there will provide a template that can be used for checked baggage projects at airports nation-wide.”
Ends
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