The airport has taken a call on the increase in the security after the failed Christmas Day bombing. Israel Airports Authority has developed the Unipass Airport Management System, which is tested on El Al Matmid Frequent Flyer Club members, before being gradually expanded to include all departing passengers who voluntarily register, a process that would take about two years.
At the first stage of the security check, the passengers would be required to get their passports scanned at a machine, and take fingerprint and facial imaging samples to create a biometric signature. This information would be stored on a smart card that would be issued to each passenger; this would be a one time process. Passengers having their smart cards would proceed to the first security stand, where they will be asked to swipe their cards and passports through the machine, here the computer would confirm their biometric match, after which the passengers would be presented with a series of security questions that were usually asked by the airport personnel. The IAA added that these security check points would have guards standing next to them to address any query that the passengers might have.
The next stage which is the luggage X-ray would also require the passengers to swipe their Unipass cards through a scan, confirming that they have cleared the first stage of security check. At the airline’s check-in desk also the passengers would be required to swipe their smart cards by which the clerks would know that all stages of the security check have been cleared. Swiping of the card would also be required at the hand luggage scanning stage.
With another development called the Hold Baggage Screening, the passengers would not have to go through the baggage X-ray scanning.
The IAA said this system would save a lot of time of the passengers and that the biometric information stored on Unipass computers would be fully secure and could not be accessed by outsiders.
