Giving passengers better experience at airport screening 

Passengers removing laptops, mobile phones and other electronics, as well as aerosols, gels and liquids in their carry-on luggage has been the norm since 2006. Liquids have been under strict scrutiny since a terrorist plot involving chemical explosives was thwarted that year. Most scanners couldn’t detect liquids with passenger electronics in the way so, those laptops, tablets, and e-readers  had to be removed.

Responding to a technical issue, the European Commission (EC) has temporarily enforced restrictions on liquid screening at certain airports in the EU as well as Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Norway, using Explosive Detection Systems for Cabin Baggage (EDSCB).  These systems, also known as C3 scanners, enabled passengers to carry liquid containers exceeding 100ml. However, from 1 September 2024, this will revert to the standard 100ml for airports operating this equipment. No timeline has been put in place as to when this restriction will be lifted.

Airports that have invested in the new scanning equipment are now at a disadvantage with the cost of these C3 scanners on average eight times more expensive than the conventional x-ray screening machines they are replacing, while operating costs are said to be four times higher, say reports.

This seeming reversal of a passenger experience improving security screening has pointers for the African aviation sector. While airports work towards improving their screening systems with new technology, the process of crafting strategy will require questioning the effectiveness of present screening rules. Another is to hear the voice of travellers to see if security screening staff need customer service training. Some consideration should be given to the benefit if any there is from a little more consistency with screening procedures. A strategy of fast, easy, and friendly security screening can add significant value to the passenger experience.

Installing security processes while keeping an eye on ensuring safety and security should not also fail to listen to the voice of the customers to learn what passengers want. Privacy for instance is an important concern of travellers. Being photographed and scanned indiscriminately at an airport may not be too appealing to travellers. There have been concerns raised by travellers over the politeness of screeners and in some cases that they enforce rules unevenly. These dampen the passenger experience at the airport.

Handling passenger experience at airport security screening  though challenging, still has room for some strategies to improve it. Providing clear instructions and signs throughout the security process will be of great value to the passenger. These instructions and signs should take into consideration that travellers have various levels of anxiety, literacy and vision. They all need to be communicated to. This should be complemented with educating passengers on security protocols and requirements before they reach the checkpoint.

Implementing efficient queue management systems to reduce wait times will enhance the passenger experience at the screening point. Queues usually exist as a result of a bottleneck. A careful study of the queue will point out the bottleneck that needs to be resolved.

Ensuring security personnel are trained to be courteous, patient, and helpful is important. In a survey I conducted in some African airports, this was recurring in the customer feedback forms. Courtesy and helpfulness are a very much appreciated virtue in our African context. It makes a lot of difference to not only the passenger experience, it can affect competitiveness of airports within the same region, for instance, Lagos and Cotonou.

Airports should ensure that they provide comfortable waiting areas with amenities like seating, charging stations, and entertainment. With our hot African climate, drinking water taps should be readily available for passengers when thirsty in various areas of the airport. Airports should plan to offer expedited screening programmes for eligible passengers.

Airports, while putting in place measures to do away with unwanted conduct at airports by various individuals, should also recognise and reward security personnel for providing excellent customer service. A nomination process from customers will go a long way not only to make the security personnel to not only  feel appreciated for their efforts, but also put in them a consciousness of the fact that the customer is king and the voice of the king matters in the industry.

It is important to regularly assess and improve the security screening process to reduce stress and enhance the passenger experience. African airports will have to give serious thought to crafting security screening strategies which not only are not too expensive to put in place, but also are not time consuming and not easily circumvented as well.

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