he airport screening technology market is going to grow markedly over the next several years, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan. The report predicts that spending on passenger screening technologies will rise from $1.42 billion last year to $1.63 billion in the year 2020.

According to Frost & Sullivan researcher John Hernandez, the growth is to some extent a response to customer demand – with passengers eager to avoid long queues and wait times – and airport managers looking to advanced screening technologies such as biometric identification to help ease the flow of travelers through security gates. It’s also simple pragmatism: the report cites a prediction from the International Air Transport Association that the total number of airline passengers around the world will grow from 3.3 billion last year to 7.3 billion by the year 2034; and of course increasing passenger volume will demand more efficient processing. The trends point to a future in which passenger screening becomes an automated, passive process, according to the report.

As Hernandez notes in a report synopsis, many of the technologies involved in these trends are already in play. “Airports already employ automated systems such as automated passport control kiosks and automated border control, eGates, for international travel,” he says. And indeed, as the European Union assesses the potential of biometric border screening, automated systems aimed primarily at passenger convenience and screening efficiency are already starting to proliferate in the US and are popping up in other parts of the world, too. It now appears almost inevitable that the screening process will become nearly invisible in the long term.

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September 1, 2015 – by Alex Perala