Security Measures at Zurich Airport

CSS Analyses in Security Policy CSS ETH Zurich N0. 208, May 2017, Editor: Matthias Bieri

Security Measures at Zurich Airport After the 2016 attacks in Brussels and Istanbul, security measures at international airports were temporarily tightened, as was the case in Zurich. As a result of the attacks, ways of improving landside security are now being discussed, as well as whether certain security checks ought to be brought forward. However, no fundamental changes were made to the security arrangements as a result of the events.

By Matthias Leese and Lisa Wildi

The security risk in aviation once again became the subject of public awareness on March 22, 2016, when three assailants launched a bomb attack on Zaventem Air- port in Brussels. Only three months later, Atatürk Airport in Istanbul was the target of a bomb attack. In both cases, “Islamic State” (IS) claimed responsibility for the bombs set off in the entrance areas of the airports. After the attack, Brussels-Zaven- tem was closed for about ten days. Once the closure ended, every person arriving at the airport was checked before entering the airport area. However, this measure was re- voked after only two months due to com- plaints from many travellers. In Istanbul, tightened security measures had already been in place before the attack. Baggage items were checked before entering the airport building, and suspicious vehicles in Shortly after the attacks on Brussels airport in March 2016, at Zurich Airport, too, police presence and front of the terminal were inspected by po- security checks were increased. Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters lice officers. As the perpetrators arrived by taxi, they were apparently able to avoid a closer inspection of their vehicle. airside, airports nowadays generally also view of security, this means that the exact Since the attacks, the issue of enhanced have a large area that is accessible to the demarcation of an airport is often not en- airport security is once again the topic of public. This so-called landside not only tirely clear. conversation, also in Switzerland. Zurich comprises the check-in counters but also Airport, which is an international transport shops, supermarkets, restaurants, service The interaction between security services at hub, serves as an example in this debate. providers, conference and office complexes airports is similarly opaque and varied. Na- as well as hotel facilities. Airports are em- tional, regional or local police authorities, The Airport as a Security Area bedded in the local and trans-regional customs and immigration authorities, air- Modern airports are complex entities with transport infrastructure so that passengers, port operators or private security providers many different functions. Besides the con- consumers and other stakeholders are able may be involved, depending on the nation- trolled access to gates and aircraft, called to arrive and depart. From the point of al security landscape and the respective le-

gal framework. National authorities often The emergency services (Schutz & Ret- Operating Costs Zurich Airport take part in border control because they are tung) of the City of Zurich provide the responsible for border protection and cus- medical and fire services. toms, and airports constitute borders within a country. As a result of cooperation, ju- Flughafen Zürich AG (FZAG) is respon- risdictions and competences may also sible for purchasing the equipment neces- overlap, even though the political regula- sary for screening passengers and baggage, tion – as in the case of passenger control and for financing all security measures. The standards – has now been strongly harmo- technical equipment and the security mea- nized at the international level. Modern sures must comply with the requirements airports bring together a multitude of in- of the Federal Office of Civil Aviation terests and competences, which require a (FOCA). These, in turn, are based on inter- sophisticated and well-coordinated securi- national standards adopted by the United ty arrangement. Nations’ International Civil Aviation Or- ganization (ICAO) and the European If nothing else, airports are also symbolic Commission and which are mandatory for places. A modern airport represents a glo- their members and associated partner balized lifestyle, and as such it can become countries. The FOCA is responsible for en- a target for attacks. In addition, terrorist suring that the minimum requirements of groups hope that an attack against such a the ICAO and the EU are met. It can im- heavily frequented transport hub will affect pose additional security measures on Swiss many people and severely disrupt interna- airports, which also happens. Compliance tional air traffic. As a result of this complex with these standards is monitored by the situation, security needs at airports are FOCA, EU delegations and in writing by high, which in turn leads to proportionally the ICAO. In addition, FZAG’s security greater security precautions. In comparison department and the airport police carry out with other public and semi-public spaces, internal quality control checks, which are airports are subject to stricter rules of con- also prescribed by the FOCA. duct, more security personnel are present, and more powerful and more expensive The FOCA and the airport police cooper- technologies are used. ate with numerous partner institutions to provide information about the risk situa- The Zurich Airport Hub tion and to ensure the best possible re- the rest of Europe, Zurich Airport is Zurich Airport is connected to the wider sponse to any emergency. These include the unique in that operational security is ad- transport network by the freeway, train, bus Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), the ministered practically by a single source and tram. In addition to the flight infra- Border Guard Corps, the Federal Office of and the actors are integrated within the re- Police (fedpol), police authori- gional security architecture. Thus, it is able The authorities are continually ties at home and abroad, part- to design and implement an inclusive and ner airports, immigration au- comprehensive security concept. reviewing, questioning and, if thorities, law enforcement and necessary, adapting the security customs authorities but also Evolving Security Measures airlines and foreign aviation au- When Zurich Airport was opened in arrangements at Zurich Airport. thorities. The coordinated re- 1948, there was neither a fence around the sponse to emergencies is regu- site nor any checks on baggage or persons. structure, there are numerous restaurants, larly trained through exercises that are Five civilian employees of the cantonal po- shopping facilities, offices and one hotel in based on current threat scenarios. The pre- lice were responsible for passport control; the airport building. Nearly 27,000 people ventive work of the FOCA, the airport po- the city police force of Kloten was respon- work at the airport, and more than 27 mil- lice and the airport operator also consists of sible for criminal cases; two night watch- lion air passengers were handled in 2016 preparing for eventualities. Therefore, the men, a gatekeeper and a cantonal police (see box p. 3). The airport police, which are authorities are continually reviewing, ques- officer were responsible for guarding the part of Zurich Cantonal Police, are respon- tioning and, if necessary, adapting the secu- site. In 1959, the airport perimeter was still sible for ensuring security throughout the rity arrangements at Zurich Airport. The not secured even though more than one entire airport area. Plainclothes and uni- airport police, in particular, take into con- million passengers were already using the formed police officers patrol the area. In sideration possible emergencies such as hi- airport. A police post was only established addition, „airport police security officers“ jackings, attacks, major fires, traffic and in 1961 together with the airport guard. and „border control security assistants“ railway accidents, cyber attacks or pandem- This unit, originally consisting of five work for the airport police and carry out ics, and prepare for them. members and reporting to the cantonal checks on baggage, persons and passports. public works office, was armed in 1966 and The staff of Custodio, a private security The responsibilities of the airport police one year later increased to 25 members. company, carry out security checks on the range from public order tasks to policing The number of passport controllers was cargo and airmail. Together with the com- measures related to security, crime, traffic also raised. In 1968, 24 border police offi- pany Protectas, they are also responsible for and borders all the way to the screening of cers checked the passports of around 3.5 the security checks on airport employees. passengers and baggage. Compared with million passengers.

The first security controls were introduced Zurich Airport in Figures 2016 at the end of the 1960s in response to terrorist attacks and hijackings. In the wake of Number of passengers 27.67 million (compared to previous year: +5.3%), the attack on an aircraft operated by the Is- of which 27.6% are transfer passengers raeli airline EL-AL in February 1969, se- In comparison: Brussels-Zaventem 2015 23.46 million curity measures at Zurich Airport were im- Number of aircraft movements 269,160 (+1.5%) mediately reinforced. Almost hastily, police Number of tons of freight 433,577 (+5.3%) officers from all departments of the can- Number of destinations 125 European destinations in 38 countries 53 intercontinental destinations in 27 countries tonal police were deployed to guard air- Number of retail stores 59 on the landside and 66 on the airside craft. After that, border police officers car- Number of restaurants 28 on the landside and 20 on the airside ried out the first random security checks; Total employees at the airport* almost 27,000 passengers and hand luggage were searched Number of public transport users per day 2015 68,000 in front of the stairs leading to the aircraft. Police officers 520 One year later, a parcel bomb brought down a Swissair plane over Würenlingen. Airport police security officers approx. 900 Another aircraft was hijacked by terrorists Border control security assistants approx. 80 and blown up in Jordan after the hostages Total security personnel around 1,500** had been released. As a result, security * incl. Flughafen Zürich AG ** excl. employees of private service providers measures were drastically increased. From then on, airmail was X-rayed, the airport fire brigade was armed and “total passenger and hand luggage control” was introduced. Security checks were relocated from the airfield to the airport building, and addi- Airport. In addition, new control measures in this area is comparable to safeguarding tional security personnel were recruited as and technologies have been introduced. other spaces accessible to the public such as quickly as possible from police forces, bor- Therefore, the cost of the security infra- railway stations or town squares. Security der guards, border police and Swissair em- structure has increased in recent years (see measures such as video surveillance or pa- ployees. Soldiers assigned to the cantonal figure). New measures are mostly the result trols are used accordingly. The measures are police guarded the site of Zurich Airport of new international requirements, which adjusted based on the assessment of the for several months. In 1971, the federal in turn are often inspired by security-relat- current situation. This allows security per- government and the cantons withdrew ed incidents. At the beginning of 2002, for sonnel to respond dynamically to threats personnel support for the systematic checks example, checks on shoes were intensified and to confront potential offenders with on persons. This task was transferred to the after a passenger in Paris was found to be unforeseen defensive measures. border police, which had to recruit new carrying explosives in his shoes. Further personnel. The military troops were also significant changes include the restriction Just a few hours after the attacks in Brus- withdrawn, and the airport guard once on the quantity of liquids allowed in hand sels and Istanbul, when no details about the again took on the responsibility of securing luggage, which has been in force since background to the attacks were known, the the airport. 2006, as well as the requirement, which police presence and security checks at Zu- took force in 2008, that employees who en- rich Airport were increased. Among other As a result of further terrorist attacks on ter the secure airport area must also under- things, the number of patrols with explo- international airports, the airport guard go checks. The last major change was the sive detection dogs was raised. In addition, was permanently placed under the com- introduction of explosive detectors. Since vehicles approaching the airport were mand of the cantonal police from 1975 on- 2015, passengers are randomly selected to stopped and checked. In some cases, bag- ward. Since then, Zurich Cantonal Police have their hands, clothes or bags checked gage control checks were already carried have been responsible for all security mat- for traces of explosives. In the last few out at this point. In addition, the security ters. In 1980, the police post at the airport years, new technologies have also been officers of the airport police were told to be became a main department known as “Air- tested at Zurich Airport during normal particularly aware of identifying and re- port Police” and the airport guard became operations. In 2014, for example, the so- porting suspicious behavior. Security offi- the “Airport Security Police”. Until 2004, called “body scanner” met with the positive cials at Zurich Airport emphasize that it the training for airport security, border and approval of passengers. For the time being, was not necessary to redefine the security cantonal police officers differed in a -num however, it will not be introduced due to concept after the attacks. The security ar- ber of ways. Today, all those aspiring to join operational and economic reasons. rangements are designed in such a way as Zurich Cantonal Police receive the same to provide a fast and adequate response to basic training and work at the airport in the The Response to Brussels and Istanbul major emergencies and to allow for the ex- second year of their training. The border The attack on Brussels Airport last year isting security concept to be expanded and police officers – today’s “airport police -se was not the first attack on the landside of built upon in the event of an emergency. curity officers” and “border control security an airport. In 2011, the arrivals hall at Also, the threat scenario has not changed assistants” – undergo a nine- to ten-week Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport was tar- fundamentally. Since the attacks in Paris in training. geted in an attack, and in 2012 it was the November 2015, threat levels continue to turn of the arrivals terminal at Burgas Air- be high. Since then, police presence has Over the years, the increasing number of port in Bulgaria. Thus, security officials been increased at critical points. In addi- passengers has also meant an increase in have also directed their attention toward tion, after the attack in Nice in the summer the number of security personnel at Zurich protecting the landside. Ensuring security of 2016, parts of the Zurich police force

were equipped with new bulletproof vests as the attack in Istanbul also showed. For ing the landside will remain a priority. The and their machine guns were fitted new these reasons, this approach is not being large-scale building project “The Circle”, sighting devices. The aim of all these mea- pursued further for the time being. which is being built right next to the air- sures is to be able to deliver an appropriate port, will attract many visitors with its nu- response in the event of an emergency but Foreseeable Innovations merous shopping facilities, hotels, restau- also to give travellers a sense of security and The attacks in Brussels and Istanbul did rants, office and conference rooms and a trust and to deter potential perpetrators. not lead to any overly zealous activity in university medical center. Zurich. They did, however, push the discus- After the attacks in Brussels and Istanbul, a sion on how to improve landside security Changes are also foreseeable in the area of fundamental review took place at Zurich measures further up the agenda. More so technology. In the next few years, scanners Airport. On the one hand, structural secu- now than before, security measures at Zu- are expected to be more sensitive to differ- rity aspects that would come to bear in the rich Airport are being designed and ent materials, so that it will no longer be event of an attack were reviewed. On the planned for the long term, so that the over- necessary to remove and screen electronic all concept does not have to be devices and liquids separately. Further- More so now than before, security questioned in the wake of indi- more, the concept of unpredictability will vidual attacks. Security officials gain in importance, which reinforces the measures at Zurich Airport are are not only acting in response risk-based, forward-looking implementa- being designed and planned for to major emergencies, but they tion of protective measures. Security offi- are also trying to anticipate cials at Zurich Airport are also working on the long term. emergencies in a preventive the assumption that after years of increas- manner. Meanwhile, regula- ing security controls, intelligence informa- other hand, it was considered whether cer- tions on airport security are constantly tion will be of growing importance, so that tain security checks could be brought for- evolving. At the international level, new individual passengers who raise suspicions ward. However, a security check for arriv- concepts, technologies and measures are can be filtered out. ing vehicles would entail the vehicles being being discussed and adopted. These may checked after exiting the freeway, which then have to be implemented at national would lead to traffic jams on the freeway. and regional level and reconciled with in- Dr. Matthias Leese is a Senior Researcher at ETH Railway passengers would probably have to frastructural, structural and, not least, fi- Zurich’s Center for Security Studies (CSS). Among pass through a security check at Zurich’s nancial aspects. other things, he is the author of Governing main train station. This would prove diffi- Airport Security Between the Market and the cult to implement at a train station serving Presumably, the ICAO regulations on Public Good (2016). more than 400,000 passengers a day. In ad- landside security measures, which have so dition, the crowds gathering at the security far been formulated fairly generally, will Lisa Wildi was a Researcher at the CSS until the checkpoint could, in turn, become a target become binding standards and thus will end of March 2017. Her publications include Per for attacks. Moreover, relocating security draw attention to the part of the airport ac- aspera ad astra: Der lange Weg zur einheitlichen checks does not provide a safety guarantee, cessible to the public. In Zurich too, secur- Polizeiausbildung (2016).

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