The Last Mile of Airport Security: Modernizing Access Control in the Age of Contract Workers

The Hidden Security Gap

Most airports have sophisticated systems and protocols for badged employees, but these systems are inadequate for managing hundreds of temporary workers daily. These workers haven’t gone through security training like badged employees, yet they need access to critical areas of the airport.

Why Traditional Escorts Aren’t Enough

Airports traditionally use escorts to monitor these workers, but this approach is failing for several reasons:

• There’s a severe shortage of qualified personnel to perform escort duties. Typically, escorts can only monitor about five workers at a time while maintaining the required ‘span of control’—completely impractical when managing hundreds of construction workers.
• Even when airports find escorts, they face high turnover. It’s not like the old days when escorts worked at the airport for years and knew the property inside out. Today’s escorts often don’t stay long enough to develop that deep knowledge of security protocols.

A Smarter Approach to Security

Progressive airports are moving away from 100% dependency on escorts and toward more innovative, role-based geofencing with real-time micro-location awareness. Instead of trying to watch every worker physically, they establish virtual boundaries aligned with specific job requirements.

When a worker approaches or enters a restricted area, the system alerts both the worker and airport operations immediately. This helps prevent runway incursions and other security breaches before they happen.

Beyond Technology Alone

The most effective security approaches amplify human judgment rather than replace it. By knowing the exact whereabouts of workers in secure areas, escorts become dramatically more effective at maintaining a span of control.

The Future of Airport Access Control

Looking forward, airports need security frameworks that accommodate the operational realities of using contract workers while maintaining rigorous standards. This doesn’t mean more personnel performing manual checks – it means more intelligent systems extending security coverage to even temporary workers.

The airports leading the way won’t be those adding more personnel and costs—they’ll be the ones leveraging technology to extend security coverage seamlessly and everywhere, ensuring every person on their property is accounted for in real-time.”

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