Aviation security automation: The current level of security automation and its impact

Passengers dream of using air travel without experiencing the mandatory security and identity checks. The way to make this dream come true is based on the automation of security processes. Since there have been many attacks in the aviation sector, especially on airports and airplanes, the requirements for security systems and their development have risen sharply, with the consequence that passengers have to accept increasingly deeper intrusions into their privacy. To ensure these requirements, passenger and baggage screening systems must meet the highest standards. In this paper, we present opportunities, risks and impacts of a fully automated security system on passengers. To this end, we examine processes at the airport and their current level of automation with a focus on security. Using Airport 4.0 as an example of strong digitalisation at airports, the degree of complete digitalisation, which serves as the basis for automation, is evaluated in the context of airports. Digital transformation defined by Airport 4.0 affects mainly the use of technologies for process automation such as eg identity management, and passenger involvement such as eg passenger preferences. Thereby, the prerequisites for digitalisation, concerning effort and costs, are elaborated. Automation through digitalisation is examined using the example of the application of Artificial Intelligence. Furthermore, we evaluate the progress of automation in various areas by way of examples. The existing degree of digitalisation and automation, especially through the use of artificial intelligence, makes the realisation of the dream of using aviation without even noticing the mandatory security and identity checks seem closer. However, digitalised systems may be subject to cyber attacks manipulating eg databases containing biometric data. Therefore, future work will address cyber security on the one hand, and on the other, a method that applies the power of Artificial Intelligence to the control of all parts of the security infrastructure, such as cameras, access controls and border controls. Automation combined with Artificial Intelligence can be trained to detect hidden correlations that reveal potential threats.