With regard to providing security, it is imperative to have an open and critical mind to truly understand if technology or human resources is a major contributor to the current level of security at the airport. To do so, first of all, one needs to understand what really happens “on the ground”. Most airports have an emergency plan in place, but case studies of various emergencies and disasters in complex organizations similar to airports have shown a large gap between plans and actual implementation by both managers and employees. This is a critical point, as having an emergency plan does not automatically mean being able to manage a security crisis, as crises by their very nature are dynamic and in many cases difficult to predict.

Therefore, it is important to understand how people behave in normal situations and how they act in crisis situations. As stated before, this should not only be limited to security personnel, but also people working on the airport premises in general (across organizational boundaries) and even extended to the largest group of people in an airport: the passengers. What procedures are in place and are these procedures or do they have a broader outlook? As is widely recorded, a crisis is an ever evolving situation when even most elaborate (static) plans cannot predict how decisions are made. And most important of all: what actual behavior indeed contributes to increased security and what does not!

Once a clear insight is obtained as to how people behave and what behaviour contributes to increase security, compared with alternatives, a dynamic and realistic model of social behaviour and security decision making during security threats in airports can be developed. By examining airports throughout Europe and focusing on key decision making groups such as control tower operators security employees, service vendors and passengers, BEMOSA will deliver the basis for a comprehensive and practical training program that considers all the airport security stakeholders. Advanced software simulations that ill help to capture and predict social behaviour under stressful emergencies will provide the platform for the training modules and training packages that can be readily applied at minimum cost to airports across Europe.

End-users with extensive expertise in social & behaviour sciences, aviation and security. All are dedicated to modelling the vital airport security decisions, which impact the maintenance of airport operational continuity. As a result, a set of training modules & packages will be developed that advance well beyond the current state of the art. Unlike most currently existing training packages, the BEMOSA training packages will be based upon how people make security decisions in the face of reality during the "normal routine" and crisis situations that occur in airports. This novel approach will lead to increased efficiency of air transportation by decreasing false alarms, as well as improve safety and coordination for all stakeholders in cases of an emergency and security threat. It will provide breakthrough advancements in real-world crisis handling, reduce some well-known effects of stress and time pressure on human behaviour, and will be readily applied across cultural and organizational boundaries.

Due to its holistic approach, the BEMOSA training packages will train the entire conglomerate of organizations in an airport in order to enhance decision-making across and within organizational boundaries, be it departments, divisions or different legal entities. It will result in an increased level of skill for all human resources within the airport by preparing them for sensitive decision making. It will make our airports safer, more secure and due to improved efficiency, more economically successful as well. An additional end result will ultimately be a much more pleasant experience for the ordinary passenger.