Airports are cautious and slow to add biometric security systems. That’s the sentiment that has been expressed among aviation officials attending and aviation summit in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports airport security officials at the Feb. 9 summit at the Westin Casuarina Hotel expressed the opinion that airports won’t spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on biometric security systems until the government adopts a uniform standard.
“Airports do not want to invest in different technology if the TSA [Transportation Security Administration] will come out with new regulations overnight,” Ian Redhead, vice president for airport facilities and services for Airports Council Int’l, told the Review-Journal. “All airports are committed to doing whatever is necessary to enhance security, but they want smart security.”
Redhead says the TSA is evaluating several biometric systems for access control, but was not sure if the agency was prepared to select on system for use at U.S. airports.
Bill McGinty, Johnson Controls’ manager of fire and security systems, told the Review-Journal a successful system must have a minimal failure rate. “’People that have to use this technology will find some systems are friendlier than others, and some are costlier than other,” McGinty says.
