What better place to shop than an airport? Peta Tomlinson takes a closer look at some Australian retail initiatives.

It might be a last minute gift to take with you, a memento of your travels or simply because you’re there.

An airport provides some wonderful ‘me time’ for visitors and the chances are you will spend it shopping.

After all, once you’ve arrived and checked in for your flight, you can guiltlessly spend the next hour or two ambling around at your leisure.

In such an elevated mood, with bright lights, brands and bling all beckoning, who can resist a little retail therapy? Not many, according to the tills that are ringing loudly at Australian airports.

Sydney – currently revamping its retail offering as part of the T1 expansion – has some of the highest reported retail sales per square metre of any airport in the world, and double the annual turnover per square metre than some of Australia’s largest shopping centres.

Derek Larsen, general manager for retail at Sydney Airport Corporation Limited, credits the big spend on the feel good factor.

“People feel good when travelling,” he enthuses.

“They might have saved for a holiday, and are finally about to leave. Or they’re enjoying some down time in a hectic business day.

 

Personally, I think that with the right retail mix people will come to an airport early just to experience the environment, relax and purchase something – they see it as their reward.”

Even the economic downturn does not seem to be impacting on customer spend.

Preliminary figures for the year to date show Sydney Airport’s retail operators are still enjoying single digit growth in terms of PSR (passenger spend ratio), and double-digit growth in duty-free sales compared to the previous year.

While the strike rate (the number of people who shop) is holding steady, the average value of their transactions has increased significantly.

A result, says Larsen, of “simple initiatives – having the right products on the right shelves for the people coming through”.

Sydney Airport’s analysis of passenger spending habits maps their entire journey, including, notably, which airline they are flying, and to where.

This data has influenced the retail mix in the current redevelopment, which caters not only to the ‘traditional’ airport shoppers – women passengers buying luxury products – but also to men, children and teenagers.

Hence, there will be a focus on men’s fashion as well as women’s, and a number of world firsts, including the first airport Wiggles store, the first Lonely Planet, and the first McDonald’s to operate airside in Australia.

“These initiatives are purely focused on delivering to parts of the business that haven’t previously been explored,” Larsen says.

And with almost 100% leasing completed, it seems the retailers agree Another airport cashing in on the ‘happy people spend’ school of thought is Gold Coast Airport in Queensland.

The coast’s reputation as Australia’s favourite seaside playground is evident in a retail strategy designed to make visitors “feel like they are on holidays from the moment they step off the plane”.

It’s all part of the Gold Coast experience, says Paul Donovan, Gold Coast Airport’s chief operating officer.

While they shop in the airport’s redeveloped retail precinct (due for completion in March 2010), passengers overlook picture-postcard hinterland views.

The new retail mix has a strong focus on holidaymakers; it even includes a convenience store so visitors staying in self-contained accommodation can stock up on supplies.

Brisbane International Airport invested heavily in its newly redeveloped retail precinct, and when it opened – in December 2008 – it was the height of the financial crisis.

In spite of the difficult timing, management stuck with its key retail strategy of luxury goods for discerning buyers.

Stores stocked their shelves with Hugo Boss suits, Marc Jacobs jewellery, Oroton purses and A$4,000 bottles of Cognac.

Is anyone buying? “Absolutely,” says Barry Kairl, terminals and retail commercial manager. “We are delighted at the turnover, which is running between 5% and 15% up on the previous year.”

Brisbane Airport also has ‘exceptional’ duty free stores, which measure over 2,000sqm, and its share of affordable, quirky souvenirs.

Why has this strategy worked so well? “We underwent an extensive researching process of current and future retail trends and brands which gave us a very credible database of information,” says Kairl.

“We also worked at length with our retail owners and operators at the Terminal to get an invaluable and in-depth understanding of the ins and outs of their business.”

Adelaide Airport Limited (AAL) has been strongly promoting its retail offering, including a ‘Make the Most of the Moment’ campaign to tempt passengers with last-minute gift ideas.

Last year, the campaign was backed by a competition to win a spin around Adelaide’s Clipsal 500 street circuit in a V8 Supercar.

This year’s first prize is a trip for two to China, leveraging off AAL’s sponsorship of the pandas soon to arrive at Adelaide Zoo.

AAL has also used the launch of its new Adelaide Airport magazine to promote retailers through advertising and editorial.

As a result of all these strategies, says Ken May, AAL’s general manager, property development, retail revenue has grown over 10% in the last 12 months – well ahead of the overall increase in airport passenger numbers of 2.4% for the same period.

Perth Airport has tailored its retail mix on the basis that most visitors go to the west for a uniquely Australian experience.

Scott Norris, Perth Airport’s general manager commercial services, says retail spend rates and overall sales “remain good and are increasing” on the back of strong passenger growth.

Retail comprises around 16% of Perth’s overall operating revenue, and while there are “no particular issues with any retail categories”, Australian-made products are a standout performer.

The reason, Norris explains, is that so many passengers transiting through Perth, both domestic and international, want to take a piece of Australia back with them.

“Whether it be wool, food or wine, they’re looking for something that is relevant to their destination.”

Hence, ensuring that the local product offering is both relevant and authentic is a core component of Perth’s retail strategy.

The ‘Aussie image’ also features in a growing variety of brands at Perth Airport, most notably the newly opened surfwear shop Rip Curl, and Sunglass Hut.

Another feature of the Perth retail landscape is its strong duty free culture.

“Perth Airport is also focused on growing the variety, quality and authenticity of its F&B offer and is continuing to seek new retailers to add to the retail mix,” reveals Norris, adding that planning for Perth Airport’s newest terminal – Terminal WA – is well underway as a result of the massive growth in intrastate aviation traffic in Western Australia.

The A$1 billion redevelopment over the next five to seven years will include “a superior retail experience”, Norris says.

“All upgrades are in line with our retail strategy to increase the range of local and luxury brands and improve the overall retail experience for our passengers.”

And Melbourne Airport, currently undergoing the largest international terminal expansion since it was built in the early 1970s, is planning to give shoppers a truly “Melbourne experience”.

The A$330 million expansion will add 25,000sqm to Terminal 2, including 50% more café, lounge and specialty store space.

“Melbourne has internationally renowned fashion precincts, and we want to do justice to those,” enthuses Shane De Wit, Melbourne Airport’s acting general manager for retail and car parks.

“We will be drawing on the best Melbourne has to offer: shopping, art, culture and architecture.”

A 10 metre high glass wall overlooking the runway will give openspace views comparable to Melbourne’s parks and gardens.

Another precinct will recreate the city’s famous hidden laneways, while another salutes its cafe culture.

Melbourne’s strategy also takes into account changing passenger profiles.

“In the next five to 10 years we will see a massive increase of passengers from China and India,” explains De Wit.

“They’re not after the ‘grog and smokes’ that was once all that was expected of an Australian duty-free. This is an awesome opportunity for us to make sure we deliver for them a truly international flavour.”

That people are still spending in these Australian airports despite the economic crisis is evidence that management is getting their retail mix right.

With airports ever more reliant on non-aeronautical income, it is a timely reminder of the importance of research, knowing your customer, and how to constantly innovate for growth.

Asia-Pacific Airports 2009 Issue 3

Xianping Wang discovers that China is beginning to realise the huge economic potential of the airport city.

The ‘airport city’ phenomenon is fast gaining momentum in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with an ever-increasing number of gateways expressing an interest in the concept.

Indeed, since 2003 when all commercial Chinese airports were transferred to local government by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) – with the notable exception of Beijing Capital and Lhasa–Gonggar and Chamdo–Bangda airports in Tibet – virtually all major PRC airports have announced an airport city development project or an intention to draw up plans for one.

Some airports have even gone as far as to complete land-use masterplans, usually with multi square-kilometre properties and billions of RMB Yuan investment schemes.

Changsha Huanghua Airport in Hunan province and Nanjing Lukou Airport in Jiangsu province are just two of the latest gateways to unveil ambitious proposals to transform themselves into airport cities.

In fact it is probably not an understatement to say that PRC gateways are positively rushing to adopt the airport city concept for a number of strategic reasons, though none of the efforts so far appear to have yielded material commercial benefits.

And as you would expect from a country as huge and diverse as China, the understanding of what constitutes an airport city can vary quite dramatically from one airport to another.

A key reason why Chinese airports are attracted to the idea of an airport city is the fact that it provides them with the opportunity to expand their property boundary in a most cost effective way.

It is, after all, much cheaper – or even sometimes free – to obtain land from local owners, invariably city governments, than having to pay market prices for premises elsewhere.

In addition, since most of the large PRC airports are profit-driven commercial entities (usually incorporated locally), the airport city concept fits in well with their need or desire to generate new revenue streams.

And since airport city projects are widely deemed as a ‘natural expansion’ of aviation activity at an airport, and in most cases built on land adjacent to a gateway, who could argue against them being the next logical step in the evolution of the world’s airports? Finally, surrounding landowners are usually eager to have a share of the benefits and opportunities created by aviation, meaning that they are often only too willing to collaborate with airports with respect to their development programmes.

Indeed, in China, this sometimes manifests itself by offering lucrative commercial terms or even offering the right of management control over neighbouring properties.

However, while there is no lack of enthusiasm among airport management teams and property owners to develop airport cities, until recently relatively little real progress had been made in China in terms of actual airport city development.

The causes of such a lack of tangible progress vary from one project to another, the most common and perhaps the biggest cause for concern for potential investors is the governance issue.

One has to remember that until recently Chinese airports were properties of the central government and are still somewhat detached or even isolated from the local communities in which they are located in terms of the exchange of human resources, management communication and business relationships.

In addition, the relationship between an airport and its controlling local government varies substantially from one city to another, meaning that the type of bond enjoyed between the two could help or possibly hinder any airport city projects.

For example, some airports may find it difficult to successfully liaise and co-operate with all the parties that might have a vested interest in the development of an airport city.

Mainly due to the difficulties associated with the ownership/administrative structure, efforts of lining-up the different business interests and motivations of all relevant parties have certainly not proven to be easy.

So who are the different interested parties? Invariably provincial governments, city and district governments and the ‘supervisory agencies’ of airport authorities that differ from one airport to next but could include the State Assets Supervisory Commission (SASC); State Development and Planning Commission (SDPC); local transport bureau; local land management authorities; public utilities; private property owners; and investors and service providers.

The best case to date is perhaps the new Kunming International Airport (under development as a provincial government project) and the airport city plan launched by the Kunming City and its district governments.

History suggests that without unified (or at least closely co-ordinated) effective governance, most airport city projects may well remain on the drawing board or run the risk of being developed in a fragmented, and ultimately less effective, way.

Notwithstanding the difficulties and obstacles, some airport city programmes in China have begun to make progress in recent years.

Among the biggest success stories is the case of Beijing Capital, a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative that involves the airport authority, the local government and private sector players.

Also noticeable for making some progress are the airports where the municipal governments play particularly strong roles in ‘directing’ developments through use of their executive powers.

Good examples of these are Tianjin and Chongqing.

However, although some government-driven programmes are starting to bear fruit, at least in the planning and design stages, some are of concern as they might be at odds with the driving forces really needed to kick-start a healthy airport city programmes; namely, market demand and commercial interests.

Elsewhere some PRC airports and their local government owners have decided to seize the initiative and begun allocating land next to their gateways to the airport authority, specifically for the purpose of developing airport cities or projects such as airport industrial parks or aviation economic zones.

Cities adopting this new strategy include Changsha and Zhengzhou, and the bold moves promise to change the business scope of their respective airport authorities.

In fact their advanced governance structure and more effective coordinating process, along with the administrative and financial powers gained as a result of the new strategy, will differentiate them from other airports/airport city projects in China.

Though these initiatives are in their infancy and technically still in the planning stage, there now seems little doubt that this type of local government driven airport city project draws ever closer for China.

While some solutions to the most pressing obstacle – governance – are appearing, other challenges remain and new ones continue to emerge.

Among them are the lack of the management skills in China necessary to make such ground breaking projects happen, and the ability of airports to fund such capital-intensive developments.

With regards to the management skills, China appears to be pinning its hopes on a combination of gaining experience as projects progress and looking externally for help.

In fact, to date PRC airports have not been shy in coming forward with the funds to get consultants and other industry experts from outside China onboard.

Outside investors are certainly interested in the ‘appreciation potential’ of real estate adjoining airports and any regulatory reforms (either locally or nationally) that make this land available for development, could make Chinese airports much more appealing from an investor’s perspective.

If that airport is enjoying healthy traffic growth, has a large population base and is located in a business friendly environment then it becomes an even more attractive proposition to investors.

Few could dispute the fact that the airport city concept appears to have accelerated in China over the past year, particularly in eastern and central/southern regions, where Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai, Nanjing Airport (Jiangsu province) and Shenzhen Bao’an Airport (Guangdong province) are all developing plans.

Domestic real estate developers are the main players so far, but other sectors, such as private equities, international hotel chains and integrated logistic service providers are starting to show an interest.

And with quite a few local governments and airport authorities engaged in negotiations over “large-scale investments”, it is considered only a matter of time before more international investors sign up.

While some domestic and overseas investors will no doubt view the key investment areas in PRC airport city projects as logistics (including bonded warehousing) and light manufacturing, it is interesting to note that the large transactions so far have principally focused on real estate development.

Earlier this year, China launched a massive economic stimulus programme which has a heavy focus on infrastructure development, and as a result of this quite a few key airports are viewed as obvious beneficiaries.

Indeed, the programme is expected to act as a catalyst for large-scale airport development in China, with many new capacity-enhancing projects either being launched or their completion accelerated, triggering a new wave of airport city programmes either within or just outside the perimeter fence.

Many cities are expected to use the economic stimulus package as an opportunity to upgrade their ground transportation links and, in this regard, Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai provides an eye-catching illustration.

With Hongqiao Airport’s new terminal (T2 at the west side) as the core, the municipal government has unveiled plans to build an enormous ground transportation hub (the Hongqiao Comprehensive Transport Centre) that will be capable handling over one million passengers daily as well as boasting a residential area and office complex.

By combining air, rail (inter-city, subway, high-speed and maglev) and road (public buses and taxis) links, the centre is expected to play a significant role in connecting Shanghai with seven satellite cites in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Investors, developers and operators such as international hotel chains and management firms are literally queuing up to get involved in the project, which is scheduled to open ahead of the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.

Such is the importance of the project to Shanghai’s development that it is being described as a new district for the city that, in the words of the mayor, will play a vital part in the future growth of the Chinese city.

Though not labelled as an ‘airport city’, the Hongqiao project is the first real attempt in China to make air transport the anchor of local economic growth, and thus the first to create a real impact, rather than being merely a concept that may or may not become a reality.

Other Chinese cities and airports are watching the project with interest and are expected to try and follow Shanghai’s lead and approach in their own airport city developments, though few may match the magnitude or duplicate the value of the Hongqiao programme.

And without wishing to labour the point, one of the most attractive aspects of the Shanghai project to potential investors is the governance of the programme – the mega-project being driven by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created by the local government, and majority-owned and led by Shanghai Airport Authority.

There is little doubt that airport cities and the diverse range of business activities that they encourage will soon start to become key economic drivers in dozens of large Chinese cities.

Indeed, the new source of income that they generate will make airports less dependent on passenger revenues and possibly provide them with an economic buffer when traffic throughput dips.

Quite a few airports in China are reaching the “magic threshold” of 10mppa that will put them on the radar of airport city investors wishing to diversify their business and transform them into multi-billion dollar assets.

Among them are Changsha, Qingdao, Dalian and Xiamen, the latter, of course, having already attracted the interest of Fraport, which paid €50 million for a 24.5% stake in 2007.

As the newly finalised corporate development strategy of one key PRC airports states, “aviation investment and management companies will spearhead the growth of many local Chinese economies for years to come”.

China really is the land of opportunity.

Asia-Pacific Airports 2009 Issue 4

Louise Driscoll and Joe Bates discover that airport development continues at a pace across the Middle East despite the global economic slowdown.

With an estimated $86 billion being spent on expansion projects, there is no denying that the Middle East region is one of the hottest places on earth for airport development. According to the latest research by Frost & Sullivan, 90% of the big spend will be concentrated on the expansion or creation of new airports at 12 destinations across the region – Abu Dhabi (UAE), Amman (Jordan), Bahrain (Bahrain), Beirut (Lebanon), Cairo (Egypt), Doha (Muscat), Dubai (UAE), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait (Kuwait), Muscat (Oman), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Sharjah (UAE).

“The current economic slowdown will not impact on the Middle East commercial aviation industry and airport development activities will persist, despite the slowdown as most expansion activities are funded by governments in these countries,” notes Frost & Sullivan’s research analyst Gautam Ratan Kanal.

And in many cases the ambitious expansion plans go hand-in-hand with the rapid growth of the airport’s home carriers with Etihad (Abu Dhabi), Emirates (Dubai) and Qatar Airways (Doha) being among the fastest growing airlines in the world.

Dubai’s new $8.1 billion Al Maktoum International Airport – the centrepiece of Dubai World Central, a planned ‘urban aviation community’ spread across a huge 140 square kilometre site – will officially open for cargo operations on June 27.

Although yet to set a date for the launch of passenger operations, a 7mppa capacity terminal is currently under construction.

When complete, it is expected to handle low-cost, regional and charter flights, providing some relief for Dubai International Airport, which handled 40.9 million (+9.2%) passengers last year and predicts 13.6% growth in 2010.

Both airports will eventually be linked by high-speed rail and, in the long-term, Al Maktoum is set to boast two mega terminals, six runways and six concourses capable of handling more than 120mppa.

Elsewhere in the UAE, the nation’s second largest gateway, Abu Dhabi International Airport, is constructing a new Midfield Terminal as part of its $6.8 billion expansion programme.

The new Midfield Terminal, which will effectively replace today’s existing facilities, will raise the gateway’s capacity to 20mppa when it opens in 2015.

The massive project is in-line with the Abu Dhabi government’s ‘Plan 2030’ to diversify the Emirate’s economy to decrease its dependence on oil and gas.

Abu Dhabi Airport Company’s vice president of corporate marketing and communications, George Karamanos, says: “We already have 45 airlines here and the number is growing.

This growth, coupled with Etihad’s fast expanding network and frequencies, means that we have simply outgrown our existing facilities.

We anticipate steady passenger growth for the next five years and beyond.

” The airport has more than doubled its passenger numbers in the six years since Etihad Airways has been operational.

Perhaps central to this rapid growth, the Middle East is geographically well positioned to develop as a primary logistics and transfer hub, feeding passenger traffic and trade between Europe and Asia.

As the Gulf airports transform themselves into ultra-modern new gateways, mega terminals are springing up to serve the world’s biggest passenger aircraft.

One will be in Qatar, where the government is funding the construction of a new $14 billion gateway for capital city, Doha, which is claimed will be one of the first gateways in the world designed to accommodate the A380.

Due to open in July 2011, the New Doha International Airport will initially be capable of handling 24 million passengers and 1.3 million tonnes of cargo per annum.

Its multi-level 350,000sqm passenger terminal – an area equivalent in size to 50 football pitches – will boast 40 gates, a distinctive wave shaped roof to reflect Qatar’s seafaring past and its own 100-room transit hotel and public mosque.

Also aligning airport development with the needs of its airline customers, Oman’s largest gateway, Muscat International Airport, has begun the first phase of its modernisation programme designed to raise its capacity to 12mppa by 2012.

And further expansion is planned in three phases in a bid to boost the airport’s capacity to 48 million passengers by 2050.

Building market share continues to fuel yet more airport expansion.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, state-owned Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) plans to triple its handling capacity to 27mppa and become a ‘mega airport’ for the region through multi-billion dollar investments.

Major construction is due to start this year and includes the addition of two new terminals: Terminal 1A – (adjacent to the existing facility) and demolishing and rebuilding the present terminal with a new Terminal 1B.

BAC is now tendering a design contract for the overall development and has started receiving bids from HOK Architects, Naco, Aéroports de Paris Ingenierie, Mott Macdonald, Jacobs Gibb and Dar al Handasah.

In Amman, Jordan, Airport International Group’s 25 year concession (awarded in 2007) to redevelop and expand Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) includes overseeing a $750m redevelopment and expansion project, as well as the construction of a state-of-the-art 100,000sqm passenger terminal in readiness for a spring 2012 opening.

The long-term objective is to transform QAIA into a key regional hub, while raising capacity from 3.5 to 9mppa.

“We are continuing to experience strong traffic growth despite the dire global economic conditions of the past year,” says AIG’s CEO, Curtis Grad, who notes that passenger throughput increased by 6.5% to 4.7mppa in 2009 while aircraft movements soared by 12.6%.

In Saudi Arabia, major new facilities are planned in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam and the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has unveiled plans to invest up to $5 billion on five new gateways, including a possible fourth airport designed to serve the Muslim holy city of Medina.

GACA estimates that in excess of $13 billion needs to be invested on modernising and expanding Saudi Arabia’s airports, with Jeddah– King Abdulaziz being the main beneficiary of the largely government funded upgrade.

In addition to a new 400,000sqm crescent-shaped passenger terminal in Jeddah, the gateway’s $1.5 billion upgrade includes new runways, a state-of-the-art 450,000 tonnes per annum capacity cargo complex, new ATC tower and railway station in readiness for a rail link to both downtown Jeddah and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

A planned Automated People Mover (APM) will provide the ground transportation links between the new 42-gate terminal and the Hajj Terminal, which is being expanded and redeveloped by the Hajj and Umrah Terminals Construction and Development Co (HTDC) on behalf of concessionaire SBG.

In addition to King Abdulaziz, a master plan currently being drawn up by NACO will involve increasing the capacity of Riyadh–King Khaled International Airport from 14mppa to 40mppa by 2038.

“We are also conducting studies at King Fahd International Airport (Dammam) and 13 other regional gateways which we believe are most in need of extra capacity.

Of these, Abha is our top priority as it is the fifth busiest airport in the Kingdom,” says HH Prince Turki Faisal Al-Saud, GACA’s vice president of international organisation affairs and ACI Asia-Pacific’s acting first vice president.

Meanwhile Kuwait International Airport is planning to upgrade its airfield and construct a 90,000sqm second terminal that will treble its capacity to in excess of 20 million passengers per annum by 2013.

Additional expansion plans include a two million square metre cargo and logistics complex that when complete will be capable of simultaneously accommodating up to 70 A380s and around six million tonnes of freight annually.

The hugely ambitious development programme, being drawn up by the airport as it prepares its master plan for the next 30 years, would create an impressive new ‘front door’ to Kuwait that will help the airport cope with rising demand of up to 17% per annum.

In the short and medium-term, the greater need for capacity and the drive towards airport infrastructure development will continue as the home carriers in the Middle East continue their growth paths across pan-Arabian and Intercontinental networks.

Asia-Pacific Airports 2010 Issue 1

A multi-layered approach is the best way to secure the airport perimeter, writes Alec Owen.

While airports have unique characteristics and requirements for perimeter security, they still follow the fundamental protection rules known as the Five Ds – define, deter, detect, delay and detain.

An effective perimeter security system consistently prevents intruders from reaching their target.

Like any perimeter security application, the key to effective airport perimeter security is to develop a multi-layered intrusion detection package.

And by taking a holistic approach to site security, the individual elements or layers complement each other, working together to provide a strong security regime to protect against both known and perceived threats.

There is no single ‘quick-fix’ technology in the market to take care of this. Each element plays a critical role in securing a perimeter.

The first step is risk profiling the site to be protected. For example, is this an international or a domestic airport? Are there buildings (potential hiding spots) on or near the perimeter? Is the area open and flat or undulating? Is it subject to weather extremes like strong winds or snow?

Next, profile the types of intruder you may encounter – vandals, petty thieves, trespassers, or professional ‘special forces’ type intruders?

Next, assess the ‘attractiveness’ or potential targets contained within the site – are there goods of high value or worth on site, or are aircraft the target?

Once you have profiled and documented the site, the first layer to examine is the perimeter fence. Is the fence suitable for the application and potential or expected risks and will it provide a suitable deterrent for intruders?

If vandals and trespassers are the major threat, then a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire is probably adequate, whereas if you are expecting a professional intruder trained to a higher level, then you may want to consider a razor wire topped anti-climb fence.

There is no point spending more money than you need to on a fence, but conversely, the fence must match the profiled security risk.

It should not only define the boundary of the site, but also provide enough of a deterrent and delay to give security staff time to swing a CCTV camera around and visually verify the intrusion attempt or activity and respond accordingly.

An important point here is the delay element. The perimeter fence should be situated a reasonable distance away from the buildings, hangars, or items to be protected so time is needed by an intruder to cross this ground.

If fences are close to these buildings, they need to be more difficult to scale or penetrate in order to provide enough delay for security staff to respond.

A perimeter intrusion detection system (PIDS) attached tothe fence is the first line of warning of an intrusion on the perimeter and identifies the location of an attempted entry. There are a multitude of systems and technologies on the market for detecting intruders climbing fences and airports have unique requirements to consider.

As airport perimeters are typically in the 12 to 16 kilometre range with some as large as 25km, a traditional zoned-based system may not be as cost effective as it would be for smaller sites.

It’s not simply the cost of the controllers installed on the perimeter fence, but the cost of providing the power and communications infrastructure to support these controllers around an entire airport perimeter.

These infrastructures and their associated installation costs can often be significantly more than the cost of the intrusion detection system itself.

Of course, if the airport you are securing has a section of radio-transparent fence near an ILS or radar system, then you will need a non-metallic type of sensor on the fence in that area.

On occasion, airports have one or more sides open to the ocean. In these environments, airports would be advised to avoid systems containing copper or steel as they will corrode and have much higher ongoing maintenance requirements.

As airports are typically large, flat, open areas and subject to winds, you will need a technology that can not only compensate for the wind without generating a nuisance alarm but still maintain sensitivity so it can continue to detect intruders.

The newer PIDS technologies employ some fairly advanced signal processing to achieve this, whereas the older technologies struggle to cope.

The next layer will involve the detection and tracking of an intruder once they have penetrated the perimeter. This can be done using a variety of technologies, but commonly comes down to CCTV, microwave, ground based radar systems or similar open area technologies.

CCTV with video analytics uses computers to automatically identify, track, and record intruders as they move away from the fence breach to other areas within the airport, without the operator having to constantly monitor the video.

Linked to a digital video recorder (DVR), CCTV systems also provide forensic video documentation of an intrusion event and the intruder.

There have been many advances in video analytics and intelligent video in recent years. Higher quality systems now include an image tracking feature which allows monitoring of a number of separate intruders simultaneously by drawing a different coloured line around each of them and creating a trail line of where they have been.

Determine where and how many cameras you will need, and also the power and communications infrastructure required. Should you have a number of perimeter cameras, or a just few good quality centrally located PTZ cameras? Can you share the power infrastructure with other devices?

Cameras mounted on buildings tend to be easier to install and more stable than cameras set on the perimeter on poles.

Microwave sensors are volumetric motion detection devices that fl ood an area with a high-frequency fi eld. Any movement within this area disturbs this fi eld and sets off an alarm.

Microwave sensors can be used to monitor an open area or along the inside of a perimeter fence line. As with CCTV, determine the area to be covered and where to position the microwave sensors to pick up power and communications.

Like microwaves, ground-based radars continuously scan large open areas, detecting movements within a defi ned perimeter. Rarely used as a stand-alone intrusion detection system, ground-based radar is more often used in conjunction with intelligent tracking cameras, with the radar used as the detection device and the CCTV camera as the verification and tracking device.

Combined ground-based radar/CCTV systems can provide an effective intrusion detection system for large flat open spaces – especially those difficult areas where you don’t want a physical barrier, or cannot install one, such as over water or on a coastline.

These combined systems have a maximum detection range of typically 200 to 1,000 metres.

Next will be the physical security information management system or PSIM. This is where all of the information from the detectors in the field, the CCTV and/or ground based radar is analysed and prioritised to identify situations that need urgent attention.

A good system presents the entire intrusion scenario to the security staff in a simple to understand manner with clear instructions and procedures to handle them.

Lastly, you need to have enough suitably trained and equipped security response staff, as well as a clearly documented response and escalation procedure to handle intrusion events.

This needs to specify what situations can be handled by the security staff on-site, and what situations require the assistance and backup of police.

The aim of a comprehensive package such as this is to provide a warning that someone has breached the airport perimeter, track them as they move around within the grounds, and delay them long enough for the appropriate security response to take place – before the intruder can reach their target.

Asia-Pacific Airports 2010 Issue 1