Frankfurt Airport has become the first airport to regularly employ walkthrough scanners for passenger security checks. Following a one-year test phase at Concourse A in Terminal 1, the German Federal Police have authorised the full-scale use of the Rohde & Schwarz QPS Walk2000 air travel security system. The QPS Walk2000 enhances passenger comfort and convenience during security checks: instead of adopting a fixed posture for scanning, travellers can simply walk through the scanner at a normal pace.
Approximately 18,000 departing passengers pass through this checkpoint daily. Plans are in place to extend the use of this technology to additional security lanes in Terminal 1 and to deploy it in the new Terminal 3.
“We’re the world’s first airport to set a new standard of passenger security with this 360° walkthrough scanner,” said Alexander Laukenmann, head of Fraport AG’s aviation division. “During the test phase we worked closely with the German Federal Police to optimize its operation and pave the way for its certification. This is part of our ongoing efforts to improve the passenger experience by using the latest technologies to make checkpoints faster and easier to navigate while upholding our high standard of security. A special thank you goes to the whole project team.”
Andreas Hägele, head of the microwave imaging department at Rohde & Schwarz, added: “The very successful joint testing and evaluation of the walkthrough scanner by the Federal Police and Fraport at Frankfurt Airport are an example of excellent collaboration by all of the involved parties. We’re very proud to be contributing to an advanced, innovative and globally new approach for screening passengers at airports.”
The millimetre-wave technology used in the QPS Walk2000 scanners penetrates clothing while an avatar highlights potentially dangerous objects in real time. If an alarm is triggered, security personnel can focus on the specific indicated area rather than conducting a full rescan of the passenger.
Since assuming responsibility for aviation security checks at Frankfurt Airport, Fraport has invested around €22 million (US$22.66 million) to equip security checkpoints with advanced CT technology and innovative lane designs.
