Events such as those of September 11 2001 and other acts of international terrorism have highlighted the risks to aviation of terrorist attack. The UK has experienced a number of serious security alerts since 2006, including a direct attack at Glasgow Airport in June 2007. The International Civil Aviation Organisation and the EU have introduced additional security measures to combat these risks.

The UK government is responsible for establishing mandatory security rules and processes on airports to counter security threats. Since August 2006, increased demands for screening people and items, plus recommendations around improvement of forecourt protection measures have been placed on airports within the UK.

Our job is to implement an increasingly complex set of rules to protect everyone at the airport, while minimising disruption to our passengers. Airports also have an important role in keeping people safe from other causes of criminal activity, ranging from theft of high-value cargo to theft of passenger property. 

Our approach

At Gatwick we work with the government and our airport partners to pioneer new ways of sharing intelligence. The established MATRA (Multi-Agency Threat and Risk Assessment) process brings together all organisations involved in airport security, including the Home Office, customs and immigration (now the UK Border Agency), security services and business partners. MATRA makes sure that they are all aware of threats, are working to the same security plan and that optimum controls are in place to assess and mitigate security risks.

We operate in many ways to maintain a safe and secure airport, some activities you can see and some that are behind the scenes. Our activities are driven by joint threat assessments and Department for Transport regulations, and include:

• Searching passengers and hand luggage
• Searching staff and vehicles entering the restricted areas
• Providing the infrastructure for hold baggage screening
• Securing the airport perimeter
• Working in partnership with the Gatwick Airline Operators’ Committee, stakeholders and airport business partners, for example, catering companies and retailers, to share intelligence to operate the highest security standards
• Improving surveillance, x-ray and archway equipment
• Ensuring all pass holders (except our fully-trained security officers) complete general security awareness training
• Delivering a security awareness programme, including Project Griffin – a joint project with the Police. For more information see the working with our partners section.

Our performance
Our plans