Who says ‘passengers aren't baked beans’? Making passenger security screening productive while delivering high service levels

‘Passengers aren't baked beans’ is often one of the first comments made when an airport's passenger security screening process is being reviewed. While this statement is unarguably true, the inference — that passengers are unpredictable and cannot therefore be processed in the same way that baked beans are processed on a factory production line — is far from the truth. This paper looks at the predictability of passenger behaviour and how that behaviour is changing. It demonstrates that understanding and managing passenger behaviour is an essential part of delivering an optimum balance of customer service and efficiency in passenger security search operations.