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As the global economy grows and the pace of business
transactions accelerates, the air transport industry faces greater challenges
and demands. Customer expectations for shorter delivery times and better
availability of in-transit service continue to grow. To meet these
ever-increasing demands, the air transport industry must provide higher levels
of service and guarantee higher levels of security. RFID, along with other AIDC
technology like Biometrics and GPS, will assist in overcoming some of the
barriers presented by current airport processes.
For airports and airlines, what looks like a deceptively simple
task is getting ever-more complex as lengthy security procedures, worsening
airport congestion, increased interlining and mounting passenger and baggage
volumes delays and complicate handling procedures. Routing more traffic through
central hubs also means that small problems at one site can rapidly snowball out
of control, affecting baggage and passenger transfers at other destinations down
the line.
RFID technologies offer many benefits to the air transport
industry. The use of these new technologies will allow air transport companies
to better manage operating expenses and provide higher levels of service to
their customers while operating more safely and securely.
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| RFID implemented process at
the Airport entrance |
RFID technology can strengthen airline industry and security by
tracking passengers baggage in real time, preventing the improper loading of
baggage, preventing baggage loss, preventing baggage cross-pickup, minimizing
sorting errors by the baggage handling system, minimizing the time needed to
match passengers and baggage, improving maintenance and tracking of unclaimed
baggage, checking passenger information regarding dangerous baggage in real time
to help identify suspicious people in real time, displaying information about
arrived baggage to baggage handlers and tracking man and material in real time.
Areas of Focus
Some of the areas of concern are baggage management, security (passengers,
personnel and baggage), and operations (check-in, boarding pass issue, operating
costs, efficient utilization of human resources, and accurate billing).
RFID Enabled Process
The process starts when personnel enter the entrance of the airport. All
employees are given RFID enabled ID cards that validate the staff at the
entrance through the RFID readers installed there.
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| RFID-based boarding pass generation |
When passengers check-in at the airport, they would be given
boarding passes. The boarding passes would carry data like flight details,
personal details, passport number, checked in baggage information (number of
bags, weight, etc), and associate passengers that are traveling as a family or
in a group.
The system would also read the new RFID enabled passports and
validate the information contained in it, and immediately associate the
passengers current flight details to their boarding pass. These details are
associated at the secure master database level with the serial number of the
RFID tags simultaneously as the employee is generating the boarding pass. Both
the passenger and the baggage are tagged, and associated with each other
All baggage, including hand baggage and the passengers would
carry RFID enabled tags with the same information as on the boarding pass with
the same ID number. If a family of four passengers is traveling together or
passengers are traveling in a group, they can be associated with each other.
| e-Passports |
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An RFID passport is the same as a
traditional passport with the addition of a small RFID embedded in the
back cover.The tightening of security required the border control to
take steps in cracking down on counterfeit paper passports with the help
of the new RFID enabled passports.
The RFID tagged passports will store
the same information that is printed on the data page of the passport,
including a digitized fingerprint, and will also include a digital picture
of the owner, which will facilitate the use of face recognition technology
at ports-of-entry, the unique chip identification number and a digital
signature to protect the stored data from alteration.
RFID tagged passports have been
issued by the US, the UK and many European governments and other countries
around the world. Among the very first RFID-based passports were issued by
the Malaysia government in 1998. The Malaysian RFID passports record the
travel history (time, date, and place) of entries and exits from the
country in addition to the basic information contained on the visual data
page of the passport.
To prevent unauthorized skimming
(reading) of the information contained in the RFID chip by readers when
the passport is closed, the passports will incorporate a thin metal
lining. Skimming isthe act of obtaining data from an unknowing end
user who is not willingly submitting the sample at that time.
Eavesdropping is the interception of information as it moves
electronically between the chip and the chip reader.
The International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), has set standards for RFID passports are contained in
ICAO Document 9303, Part 1, Volumes 1 and 2 (6th edition, 2006). ICAO
refers to the ISO 14443 RFID chips in e-passports as "contactless
integrated circuits". ICAO standards provide for e-passports to be
identifiable by a standard e-passport logo on the front cover.
The electronic passport logo is the
international symbol for an electronic passport. It signifies that
the passport contains an integrated circuit or chip on which data about
the passport and passport bearer is stored. The logo will be
displayed at border inspection lanes at all airports and transit ports
equipped with special data readers for
Electronic Passports
The special features of an electronic passport are:
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Securely
storedbiographical information and digital image that are
identical to the information that is visually displayed in the
passport
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Contactless chip
technologythat allows the information stored in an electronic
passport to be read by special chip readers at a close distance
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Uses digital signature
technologyto verify the authenticity of the data stored on the
chip. This technology is commonly used in credit cards and other
secure documents using integrated circuits or chips
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The electronic passport
facilitates travel by allowing automated identity verification and
faster immigration inspections
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Greater border
protection and security
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The passenger then proceeds towards the aircraft after the
immigration control and security check procedure. They system will update the
master database at each check point. If any passenger has not checked in at
these stations at the predetermined time before departure, then the system will
SMS the passenger that they need to immediately proceed to the specific area. Page(s) 1 2
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