Security at Aena Airports
Dear passenger: In this brochure Aena provides you with everything you need to know about airport security and the protective measures put in place by the different administrations to ensure your safety. These measures are designed to make sure that when an aeroplane takes off it does so with every possible guarantee. Herein you will find a clear and simple explanation of the key features of Airport Security, the means available to passengers for obtaining information and filing complaints, as well as reference to the rules regulating security on airport sites. Aena, which collaborates with the State Security Forces to properly enforce these rules, wishes to convey how important it is for you to take them into account before packing your luggage, so as to avoid having to leave behind at the airport objects you value, since many items customarily carried in hand luggage on flights, such as cosmetics or certain toiletries, may be subject to these rules, and many others, such as equipment for martial arts, do not pose any problem in hold luggage, yet will be rejected as hand luggage at the security controls. Remember that the mission of all the agents involved in airport security is to require compliance with the rules and minimize risks at the least possible inconvenience.
Contents Security onboard aircraft begins at the airport 2 What are the rules and who enforces them? What is a security control? 3 4 What is a prohibited article? 6 Where are the airport security controls located? 8 Frequently asked questions 10 Examples of objects confiscated at security controls of Aena airports 12
Security onboard aircraft begins at the airport Hand luggage To guarantee in-flight security it is necessary to take a set of precautions at the airport, because when you travel by plane you do so along with many other people who do not know each other and who come from different places. During flight all these people can gain access to the objects they have introduced into the aircraft cabin, whether in their clothing or their hand luggage. For this reason, passengers and crews must pass a security control like everyone else to prevent them from introducing into cabins hazardous objects that may pose a security risk in flight. Transporting these hazardous objects in aircraft cabins is prohibited by the legislation in force and these articles are enumerated in the List of Prohibited Items detailed in the European Regulations that are referred to on the following pages. Checked luggage The luggage you check will likewise be screened by machines using varying technology to detect any suspicious object. But this luggage is stowed in the aircraft hold and it is not accessible during flight, so the objects that can be placed in it are subject to fewer restrictions. 2
What are the rules and who enforces them? The security measures implemented at Aena s network airports are based on the National Security Programme and different European Community regulations and compliance with them is mandatory. The European regulations can be reviewed online at http://eur-lex. europa.eu/en/index.htm where you will find all the Communitarian rules that are currently in force. Those in charge of implementing them at Spanish airports are the State Security Forces: Civil Guard, National Police and Autonomous Police (in public areas of their jurisdiction). But in Aena airport facilities and especially at the security controls there may be private security officers who are hired by Aena to collaborate with the Civil Guard in the duties to which they are assigned at these controls, as there is a collaborative agreement between Aena and the Ministry of the Interior to guarantee compliance with the abovementioned rules. To guarantee compliance with these rules and to ensure the provision of the required levels of quality, the security measures at Aena airports are audited by the pertinent organizations: the European Commission (EC), the State Agency for Air Security (AESA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). 3
What is a security control? It is the place at the airport where security personnel inspect all those who are going to enter security restricted areas of the airport, including aircraft boarding areas, in search of hazardous items they may be carrying, deliberately or not. So that screening may take place with minimal inconvenience to passengers, security controls are equipped with devices that facilitate the detection of hazardous items: Walkthrough metal detectors: designed for people and through which passengers, employees and crews pass. They detect metal objects, which set off visible and audible alarms. Machines for screening hand-luggage: enable visualizing potentially hazardous objects carried inside hand luggage. of people and their hand luggage, which are necessary in some cases: When a dubious object is detected by the hand-luggage screening machine, to determine whether it is actually hazardous When the walkthrough metal detector activates an alarm, so that the object causing this can be identified. Additionally, manual inspections are carried out to detect any objects that have not set off an alarm but that it may be necessary to examine in greater detail to be sure that they do not contain prohibited items. But the use of this equipment does not preclude manual inspections 4
Jackets and coats are always inspected through the handluggage screening machine, as required by the European regulations. Shoes constitute a special case because they often activate an alarm in the walkthrough metal detectors since they are often manufactured with metals, and also because, owing to their shape, they may contain prohibited items that are not made of metal. In the latter case, security personnel may request that they be put into trays so they can be inspected more thoroughly with the handluggage screening machines, before or after passing through the metal detector and even though the alarm has not been activated. To avoid unnecessary inconvenience, passengers are asked to remove all metal objects they may be carrying before passing through the metal detectors, since if they were to set off an alarm, a manual inspection would be necessary. It is important to emphasize the fact that, according to the rules, inspections are always performed, either by the screening equipment or manually, on any part of passengers attire that may contain or conceal a prohibited item, such as thick-soled shoes, some belts, hats, etc. 5
What is a prohibited item? It is that which the Aeronautical Authorities have deemed hazardous for people or aircraft due to the fact that it may inflict harm because it is pointed-edged, sharp, blunt, explosive, etc. This includes real weapons as well as fake ones that may create the same distress. There are special rules for liquids and they must be passed through security controls according to precise instructions or packed in luggage that is to be stowed in holds. These items are defined in the European regulations and a detailed list of them drawn up by the European Union in 2010 can be found in public regulation EC 185/2010. Aena provides passengers with informative flyers and signs detailing these rules at all its network airports. 6
It is important for passengers to be familiar with this list so that they do not arrive at security controls with objects that could have been placed in hold luggage but that cannot be carried in hand luggage and will be confiscated. The list includes articles that one might not expect passengers to carry, whose presence in luggage may be extremely surprising, but that security officers have frequently detected at controls. It also includes objects that are not apparently hazardous and yet could be employed to inflict harm due to their shape or dimensions. However, given the fact that it is impossible to enumerate all the objects that may be hazardous, the list of prohibited items is not an exclusive list and the Regulations of the European Commission permit security officers to deny security clearance to any person carrying an item that may raise suspicions even though it is not on the list. 7
Where are the airport security controls located? They are located at entrances to restricted security areas, which provide direct access to aircraft. At the airports there are three different areas that are distinguished by their levels of security: Public area: can be accessed by passengers, workers or visitors PIER B 2 BAGGAGE CLAIM AREA ARRIVALS 8
Controlled-access area: for authorized personnel only Restricted security/critical area: this area provides access to aeroplanes, so everyone entering must go through a strict security control. All people, whether passengers, crews or workers, and their belongings, must pass a security control. Therefore, this is considered a clean zone, wherein people and objects have passed the proper security control to prevent the introduction of hazardous items that may affect the security of flights. PIER A 1 CHECK-IN HALL Public area DEPARTURES Controlled-access area Restricted security/critical area 1 2 Security control One-way corridors 9
Frequently asked questions: Why may I fly with a bottle containing more than 100 ml of any beverage that I have bought inside the airport, yet not with one bought outside? You may board aircraft with drinks and other liquids of more than 100 ml capacities that are purchased in airport shops beyond security controls because they already have security clearance as required by the EU rules. You may not fly with liquids purchased outside the airport or prior to security controls. What is done with all the items confiscated at the security controls, such as liquids, scissors, etc.? In every case they are treated as waste: metal objects such as knives, razors and scissors are melted down; aerosols are handled as hazardous waste in keeping with the current environmental regulations, liquids are eliminated and their containers are recycled. Therefore, when you are packing it is important that you put into the luggage that is to be checked and 10
stowed in the hold those objects that must otherwise be abandoned at the security control in order to pass through it. Why am I asked to remove my belt before passing through the security checkpoint? To avoid inconvenience to you and delays for all passengers, since belts and certain shoes usually set off the alarms in the walkthrough metal detectors, which makes it obligatory to perform an inspection by hand or through the hand luggage screening machine. You can review the security section of Aena s website, www.aena.es, where you will find frequently asked questions and answers. 11
Examples of objects confiscated at security controls of Aena airports CANE WITH KNIFE INSIDE BULLET-SHAPED KNIFE MACHETE FLARES DIFFERENT TYPES OF FIRECRACKERS 12
THROWING STARS DEFENSIVE SPRAY GAS CONTAINERS MULTI-TOOL KIT IN TAPE RADIO-CASSETTE PLAYER BUCKLE-KNIFE FAKE GRENADES 13
Aena provides information about these rules: at Aena information desks in all its airports, through the flyer Items Prohibited on Aircraft on the signs posted at the check-in counters at the airports at www.aena.es by telephone: 902 404 704 If you would like to make a claim, complaint or suggestion: You can do so at the Aena information desks in the airports, where you will be given complaint forms. If you are no longer at the airport, you can make a claim through https:// administracionelectronica.aena.es or attain information about how to do so through customer service by telephone: 902 404 704. All these means of filing complaints are not only available for the security service but also for any other service provided at Aena network airports, such as cleaning, information, etc.