Smart security at Milan Linate: One year on

Credit: SEA Milan

The new state-of-the-art EDS-CB (Explosive Detection Systems for Cabin Baggage) machines installed for hand baggage screening at SEA Milan’s airports uses a technology similar to CT scanning, replacing the traditional X-Ray technology. These devices provide the highest security standards for hand baggage screening and, at the same time, enhancing passenger experience. In short, passengers don’t need to remove their liquids, laptop, etc. from their hand luggage anymore. Basically, there are no quantity restriction for liquids, creams, and perfumery in general, as well as for wines and spirits.

The new technology increases the effectiveness of security checks thanks to the automatic recognition of explosives and to high-resolution 3D images, enabling the employees to quickly and accurately assess each baggage while reducing the time needed to perform the checks. While security is more effective, waiting times reduced and congestion decreased: while passenger experience during the journey throughout the airport is significantly enhanced.

When comparing data at Linate recorded in February 2023 versus those of February 2019, with the same number of passengers in the month, SEA Milan observed a decrease of almost 50% in waiting times at security checkpoints (four minutes and 47 seconds in 90% of cases in February 2023). This was a result of the high efficiency of the new machines, measured in number of passengers per lane per hour: from approximately 125 passengers/hour per lane recorded in 2019, in 2023 the number has grown to 200 passengers/hour per line with peaks of even more than 250 passengers/hour. The effectiveness of the choice to invest in smart security is confirmed by the improved in passenger perception (ACI ASQ data): in a scale from one to five passenger feedback grew from 3.5 in 2019 to 4.3 in 2022.

The higher productivity of the new EDS-CB (Explosive Detection System for Cabin Baggage) machines has also helped to overcome the post-COVID crisis, which most European airports experienced in the 2022 summer as a consequence of the shortage of qualified staff to operate security filters: with the new technology fully deployed in Linate, during the summer of 2022, the number of passengers screened was practically equal to the pre-COVID levels, despite a lower availability of security staff.

Credit: SEA Milan

SEA has been investing since a long time in technological and sustainable solutions to improve passenger experience and travel quality (FaceBoarding, self-bag-drop etc) for those passengers choosing to fly from Milan airports. The commitment to pursue innovation and sustainability is also positively reflected in SEA’s reputational, which registers an increase of more than 2 points, touching an all-time high of Reputation 74.3pt (data from The RepTrak Company).

“We installed the smart security lanes“, commented Armando Brunini, CEO of SEA Milan Airports, “as a relevant component of the refurbishment of Linate airport. It has been an important investment, carried out during the COVID period, the worst crisis experienced by our industry. We are extremely happy with the results we have achieved, but above all they are an incentive to continue pursuing high-performance advanced solutions that technology makes available to us”.