A new €2.5m security screening system has been unveiled at Shannon Airport.
Time spent going through passenger security screening at the International Airport is to be halved due to the state of the art facility which will allow up to 550 passengers be facilitated per hour at the four different security lanes which is double the previous capacity.
It forms the latest in a €17m programme of works underway at the airport campus, CEO of Shannon Group Mary Considine outlined. “Among these are a new €12.7 million Hold Baggage Screening facility which will be completed shortly, a series of airfield upgrade works, the extension of an airside covered walkway, and the upgrade to the customs channel and exit into the arrival’s hall in the terminal building. All of these projects are designed to futureproof the airport in the years ahead,” she explained.
Four new Rhode and Schwarz open architecture security scanners were installed which deliver a scan result instantly. Also introduced are four new Smiths Detection EDS CB security CT scanners with a rotating gantry rotating 130 times a minute to give high-definition 3D images.
Over twenty tonnes of new equipment was lifted into Shannon Airport via a second floor window at the front of the terminal building. Ten eight-wheel arctic trucks were needed to transport the new security screening equipment. This section of the five month project took three days to complete and prompted the temporary closure of the airport terminal forecourt.
As part of the project new larger airport trays designed to hold cabin bags have replaced the smaller airport trays. With this new system all liquid, gels, aerosols, creams, pastes and baby food, medicines and special dietary products that would previously have had to be put into clear sealed plastic bags and presented separate to hand luggage, can now remain packed in cabin bags. The restriction on liquids of more than 100ml no longer applies, and passengers can travel with larger quantities of liquids as long as they fit into a cabin bag. Electrical items, laptops and tablets no longer have to be separately screened and can remain in cabin bags.
“Our new security screening facility is a fantastic innovation and is the latest enhancement to the passenger journey at Shannon. For our customers it means a quick, smoother and easier experience. This, along with our combined USA TSA and Europe security screening, gives Shannon a unique edge over other airports internationally and lives up to our brand promise to make our airport experience even easier,” John Francis, Shannon Airport Security Manager remarked.
Since 2016 Shannon Airport has been, and still is, the only airport in the world to operate a combined European compliant and US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) compliant checkpoint system which means the passenger is screened once to both regulatory standards and therefore eliminates the additional screening requirements which apply at other preclearance airports.
