Security improvements at Palma airport

Joan Collins THE start of work to install new security checkpoints on the fourth floor of the terminal building at Palma airport (which will be finished at the end of July) will, according to AENA (the Spanish Airports Authority), allow “more freedom to passengers throughout the whole of the commercial area, and also allow them to move more quickly through the control channels”. The moving of the security checkpoints to the area in front of the Aldeasa shop will extend their operating capability, make them easier to find (they will be opposite the stairs which take passengers from the check-in floor to the departure floor), and “will improve passenger service”, said AENA sources. The work will be carried out by the company Alif Imagen in three months at a cost of 406'000 euros. According to the sources the new checkpoints will be 100 percent operative by August. During these three months, the existing and new checkpoints will be used alternately, depending on how the installation is going. AENA said that the work had been planned so that it would not interfere with the normal operation of the airport. It will be done by areas, leaving the work which would cause most disruption for the quietest times with regard to passenger traffic. Also, the relocation of the checkpoint machines will be done when the work has been finished by the construction company. Taking into account the expected volume of passenger traffic, the aim of this improvement is to provide the users of Palma airport with quality, secure and modern infrastructures capable of dealing with the changes in passenger volumes which occur as much during the days of the week as they do between the summer and winter seasons. The project consists in the relocation of the security checkpoints on the departure floor in such a way as to make them more visible and comfortable for passengers. With this in mind, a location near the stairs from the check-in floor was chosen. The new access points to the restricted area will be equipped with 16 security checkpoints, easily extendable to 20 in case of necessity. Their modular construction allows the opening and closing of blocks of two checkpoints at a time, via a shutter, in response to the volume of passengers at any time. With this move, the space in front of the checkpoints will be doubled so that they will be less congested and this will improve the situation in the commercial area on the departure floor by avoiding queues forming at the checkpoints interfering with access to shops and bars, and to allow passengers to visit these facilities at their leisure once they are past the security checkpoints.