Airports. We all know them. We have all been through them. While airports Are still defined as “sites and installations for the take of and landing of aircraft” , this is no longer an accurate description. Obviously aircraft still take-off and land at airports, but the have become far more than that. Airports are literally the hubs connecting people and goods. Every airport is equipped with large shopping centers, hotels and conference centers. Goods with high-added value are shipped through airfreight rather than through sea freight. Thus, airports increasingly have become industrial and commercial enterprises where aircraft happen to take-off and land.

It is no surprise that eliminating and mitigating threats to air traffic is one of the main objectives of the global air transport system. Ever since “9/11”, huge investments have been made in order to increase airport security, by both the public and private sectors. These expenses are eventually passed on to the passengers as increased spending in security either puts the profit margin of the airports under pressure or increases the cost of air traffic. Moreover the impact goes beyond the increase in direct expenses: additional security measures have also led to increased time at the airport, spent at security checks rather than on more productive activities. Thus, paradoxically the very effort to ensure that air traffic can continue unhindered and unthreatened, is putting a strain on it.

The combined security and economic pressures make it imperative to leverage any investment in airport security as efficient as possible. BEMOSA, an applied research project that is co-financed by the European Community, will contribute significantly to this objective by focusing on the human factors involved in the security process.

In short, airports have become the heart of the very infrastructure of the modern, civil knowledge-based society, embodying the principles of free flow of people and goods. This makes airports prime targets’ for terrorists that aim to disrupt modern civil society. This threat is taken very seriously by all stakeholders involved, ranging from policy makers to airport management, as well as law enforcement agencies. As said, this threat is viewed as a danger not only to human lives and property, but to the very values of civil society itself.