Introduction

The decade following the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York has seen the global airport market face intense scrutiny. It continues to face evolving threats and difficult challenges, including integrating new technology into airports and maintaining passenger satisfaction. The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released figures in July 2011 that showed there had been over 25,000 breaches of security since 2001. While the nature of threats has remained similar, the delivery, method and execution have continued to evolve. Naturally, terror attacks such as the recent incident at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport in January 2011, in which 35 people died and over 100 people were injured, take most of the headlines. They have the potential to, and sometimes do, cause the greatest damage; however for airport operators the perception of less sensational threats remains equally high.