Is the Future Still Bright for Computed Tomography Across European Checkpoints?

The summer was eventful for aviation security professionals in Europe. Just as airports and regulators were starting to fully embrace Computed Tomography (CT) as the technology with the greatest potential to revolutionize the security checkpoint with unlimited liquids and laptops in the bag, the European Commission’s decision of July 2024 to temporarily introduce a restriction on liquid containers exceeding 100ml, effective from 1 September 2024, inevitably slowed European airports’ deployment of Explosive Detection Systems for Cabin Baggage (EDSCB).

Whilst the Commission stressed that restrictions on liquid screening will only be temporary, many are questioning what the situation might mean for the future.  One certainty is that European commitment to EDSCB is not going away.

The level of investment and trust regulators have placed in the technology are highlighted in ACI World’s 2019 CT Implementation Guide. Notably, the document states that CT will still be “one of the largest changes to cabin baggage screening in the last 15 years”. The European Commission formalized its trust in the technology and endorsement of CT in February 2023, through the publication of the Staff Working Document, Working towards an enhanced and more resilient aviation security policy: a stocktaking. EDSCBs are repeatedly defined as ‘high performance’, ‘innovatory’, ‘cutting-edge’ technologies, whose performance adequately address the need to increase preparedness and resilience to new threats. In the document, the Commission foresees EDSCBs to be one the main backbones of the new passenger checkpoint.

In line with this new approach to aviation security, the EU put in place several incentive mechanisms to accelerate the adoption of CT technology over the next few years. The C3 CONOPS allowing LAGs and large electronic items to remain inside the cabin baggage for example bring significant operational benefits and higher passenger satisfaction levels. The combined use of CT and APIDS will also allow a high percentage of bags to be automatically reviewed, reducing manpower costs and recruitment challenges. In addition to this incentivization strategy, the EU is likely to mandate CT for large European airports over the next years. This trend had already been observed at Member States’ level, as CT at checkpoints were mandated by the Netherlands in 2017, and by the UK in 2022.

It therefore seems clear that YES, the future is still bright for CT across European Checkpoints. However, the events of this summer offer important lessons:

1.      Cooperation is crucial. Operators, manufacturers, EU Member States, the Commission and the TSA had to work hand in hand to find common solutions and avoid diverging baseline security approaches. In particular, the past months revealed the need for an ever-stronger dialogue between EU and U.S. stakeholders.

2.      Testing & Evaluation Approaches Are Evolving. The European Civil Aviation Conference’s (ECAC) Common Evaluation Process for security equipment (CEP) for aviation security entered operation in 2010, with the first testing of EDS for hold baggage screening. The summer events emphasized the importance of ensuring that the ECAC CEP remains adaptable and responsive to shifting priorities.  Participating Member States and the ECAC Secretariat are actively reviewing how best to evolve CEP and parallel processes to 1) meet common objectives and 2) clearly delineate policy-related workstreams from technical ones.  

3.      Thorough Decision-Making Processes Rule. The summer events showed the importance of thorough and robust decision-making processes that evaluate consequence from all angles – and ensure that mitigation strategies are based on a full set of information and are equally applicable across stakeholders.

As updated algorithms undergo certification in the coming months and LAGs restrictions are lifted, national authorities and industry stakeholders can use recent events as an opportunity to strengthen European product evaluation approaches and create structures that support the fielding of new and emerging detection tech. Industry needs ECAC, the European Commission, and strong Member States.  Moreover, it needs all three to work seamlessly together.  #ittakesavillage