Going through HEL - Passenger-Centric Guidance for the Transit Security Control Point of Helsinki Airport
Hustache, Adrien (2020)
2020
Ihmisen ja teknologian vuorovaikutuksen maisteriohjelma, FM (engl) - Master's Degree Programme in Human-Technology Interaction
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-05-19
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202005185422
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202005185422
Tiivistelmä
Millions of travelers pass through airport security every day. Since 9/11, increased screening technologies and stricter regulations are making air travel a highly safe means of transportation. At the same time, the added procedures are increasing the waiting time at airport security. Furthermore, the regulations and instructions are confusing and unknown to many passengers contributing to making the experience of the travelers unpleasant.
Previous research on the topic has been focusing on technologies to use or the behavior of the airport workers. In contrast, this thesis aims to study the behavior of the passengers traversing through the transit security control point of Helsinki Airport. After an in-depth investigation of the context, five different methods were used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, including two rounds of observation, 38 interviews, and the analysis of four data sources.
The results of this thesis show that close to a quarter of all the trays screened requires additional inspection. The main category of items being rejected is liquids, due to the strict EU regulations and the lack of knowledge of the passengers about airport security regulations. Instead, the passengers rely on their previous knowledge of the procedures as they do not look at the screens with security instructions that are not noticeable enough. Another significant finding made relates to the large proportion of non-English speaking passengers that cannot be adequately instructed by the airport workers.
Four recommendations are made to the airport operator to improve their security checkpoint ranging from giving their worker more tools to instruct the passengers with little command of English to instructing the travelers while they are still inside the aircraft of their previous flight.
The results of this study emphasize the need for further research on the behavior of the passengers in airport security and encourage other scientific and airport operators to conduct more field studies.
Previous research on the topic has been focusing on technologies to use or the behavior of the airport workers. In contrast, this thesis aims to study the behavior of the passengers traversing through the transit security control point of Helsinki Airport. After an in-depth investigation of the context, five different methods were used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, including two rounds of observation, 38 interviews, and the analysis of four data sources.
The results of this thesis show that close to a quarter of all the trays screened requires additional inspection. The main category of items being rejected is liquids, due to the strict EU regulations and the lack of knowledge of the passengers about airport security regulations. Instead, the passengers rely on their previous knowledge of the procedures as they do not look at the screens with security instructions that are not noticeable enough. Another significant finding made relates to the large proportion of non-English speaking passengers that cannot be adequately instructed by the airport workers.
Four recommendations are made to the airport operator to improve their security checkpoint ranging from giving their worker more tools to instruct the passengers with little command of English to instructing the travelers while they are still inside the aircraft of their previous flight.
The results of this study emphasize the need for further research on the behavior of the passengers in airport security and encourage other scientific and airport operators to conduct more field studies.