Civil Engineering Association

This document is intended to bring to the attention of the airport planning, design, and engineering community the serious security concerns that should be considered for incorporation into an airport design at the earliest possible planning stage, in order to bring the most efficient and cost-effective security solutions to bear. An undertaking as extensive and comprehensive as this requires the participation and cooperation of a wide range of aviation security professionals contributing time, experience, knowledge and insight. We hope that this document accurately captures the broad experience of the community and will help the reader anticipate future expansion needs.

To complete this fourth revision of the document, an Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) Working Group was formed. Under the auspices of this working group, over 100 persons attended meetings, contributed to the development of various drafts and participated in document reviews. A few participants, referred to as Section Chiefs, chaired team meetings and supervised edits of specific sections of the document. These and other participants rewrote outdated material, edited drafts, and brought current practices, real-world perspectives and new Federal regulations to the table, advising the Working Group of what would, and would not, work in an operating airport environment.

This document is not intended to be the final word on airport security design; it is meant to be a primer on the security issues important to airport development and a check-list of the more important things one should consider when deciding which of the many potential security approaches may be appropriate to a particular airport’s circumstances and requirements.