Combining a rapid flow of people, friendly service and a high level of security is the challenge faced by security staff at Lyon St Exupéry airport, the third-largest airport in France.
“We are a demanding customer. The behavior of the security officers is very important to our customers, the airlines,” says Xavier Mary, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Operations for Aéroports de Lyon. “The planes must leave on schedule. The operators want to be able to empty, fill and dispatch the plane in as close to the minimum time as possible, i.e. in 25 minutes.
Lyon airports have been working with Securitas for ten years. “We have held tenders twice since then and both times we have chosen Securitas because they have a good offer and a good quality-price ratio,” Mary says. “Securitas specializes in airports, which is important to us, since our reputation is on the line.”
Traffic increasing by percent
Aéroports de Lyon consists of two airports, Lyon - St Exupéry and Lyon Bron, and is run as a limited company. In 2007, 7.3 million passengers passed through the two terminals and the number is growing by about 8.4 percent per year.
In order to continuously develop the quality of aviation security services, the Securitas Transport and Airport Security Division looks for best practices at airports around the world, often finding ways to work smarter without adding staff. “Today, we have a very good result, but we must keep up this development,” Mary says. “We are keen to try new methods and Securitas has ideas.”
Securitas employs 240 security officers at the airport. A little over half of them are women, a good ratio to be able to handle all passengers. Team members alternate duties. For example, the person on duty at the X-ray machine changes every 20 minutes. Most security officers work at the security control, but Securitas also monitors four entrance alarms and checks check-in luggage.
Continuous security training
A new recruit receives 35 hours of training. To staff the hand luggage screening, another 21 hours of training are required. After that, everyone has to take part in training every three months to help keep them aware of the context and their role and the responsibility that comes with it.
This training is put to the test by the police every day, when plain clothes police officers try to pass through security control with prohibited items, bomb-like objects or an invalid badge.
Didier Martin, Chief of the Police aux Frontières (border police), gives the Securitas security officers high marks. “Collaborating with Securitas, a private company, is a new experience for me, but we have a good relationship,” says Martin, who took up his responsibilities for Lyon airport in 2004. “We delegate the execution of certain services to Securitas. But we, the police, are still responsible.
“Security officers from Securitas call us to help them handle passengers who refuse to follow instructions or who abuse their staff. And we immediately share information on for example new objects that are difficult to identify in the scanner.”