Airports, one of the key components of the aviation sector, play an indispensable role in facilitating fast movement of man and materials, thereby fostering international trade and commerce, tourism, and the creation of massive and decent employment opportunities. Currently, airports facilitate movement of more than 2 billion passengers every year and about 40% of the interregional exports. However, with such a large number of aircraft movements and passengers, aviation security has remained and will remain to be a major concern since airports and planes have emerged as the primary targets of terrorists, where thousands of people have lost their lives as a result aviation terrorism. In this regards, the proposed study will seek to explore the security innovations adopted to improve security management at the Dubai International Airport and how the adopted innovations impact airport users. The study will pursue to meet tree research objectives: (i) to assess the innovation in security measures at the Dubai International Airport; (ii) to evaluate the impact of the improved security measures on the users of the Dubai International Airport; and (iii) to recommend possible ways in which the available security measures can be improved to enhance satisfaction of the Dubai International Airport users. Based on the nature of these research objectives, the proposed study will be qualitative in nature whereby the exploratory case study research design will be employed. The intended data will be collected from a sample of 12 respondents which will be recruited using the purposive sampling and random sampling techniques. The desired data will be gathered through two main data collection instruments namely, interviews and gathering data from secondary publications.
Key words: air transport industry, aviation sector, aviation security, airports, The Dubai International Airport, airport users, innovation in security measures.
1.1 Introduction
Air transport is currently ranked among the most important industries in the world. The industry is reported to have grown more than seventy-fold since 1949 when the first jet airliner flew. Currently, statistics from the International Civil Aviation Organization, among other leading global aviation organizations show that aviation transports more than 2 billion passengers every year, and about 40% of the interregional exports (by value) are transported by air. According to the 2016 International Civil Aviation Organization report, approximately 40% of international tourists nowadays travel by air, and the aviation’s direct, indirect, induced, and catalytic global economic impact is estimated to be US$ 2.9 trillion, accounting for 8% of the world Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (International Civil Aviation Organization, 2016, pp.2-32).
The air transport industry comprises of two main sectors namely, the aviation sector and the civil aerospace sector where the former comprises of airports, airlines, navigation service providers, and the general aviation, while the latter involves manufacturing and maintenance of aircraft systems, engines, and frames. Airports, one of the key components of the aviation sector, play an indispensable role in facilitating fast movement of man and materials, thereby fostering international trade and commerce, tourism, and generation of employment. In 2015, for example, the world’s 20 busiest airports, among them the Dubai International Airport (DXB), were reported to have moved more than 700 million passengers (Wensveen, 2015, p.45; Abeyratne, 2016, pp. 207-214).
To be precise, the airport, currently ranked as the world’s busiest airport with respect to the traffic of international passengers, registered approximately 403,517 aircraft movements and handled about 78 million passengers and 2.51 million tonnes worth of cargo. These figures are projected to increase dramatically in the near future, where the DXB’s strategic expansion plan indicates that the airport will be serving more than160 million passengers annually by 2020, contributing about $53 billion to the UAE’s economy (37.5% of the GDP), besides supporting 750,000 jobs (Abeyratne, 2016, pp. 207-214). This is an incredible growth that will see the airport become the leading hub airport for people and retain its status of being the world’s busiest international airport.
1.2 Problem statement
However, with such a large number of aircraft movements and passengers, security has remained and will remain to be a major concern, considering that the UAE is located in a region that is highly vulnerable to terror attacks. Reports recently released by security agencies across the globe have shown that airports and planes are currently the primary targets of terrorisms. Some of the worst international terrorist strikes at the airports or attacks that originated from the airports include the 9/11 US terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 2,993 people and injured 8,900 people, the 1985 mid-air bombing of Air India flight which killed 329 people, and the 1988 UK mid-air bombing of Pan Am flight where 270 people lost their lives (Johnstonsarchive.net, 2015, para1-18).
In this year alone, a number of terrorist attacks targeting airports and airplanes have been witnessed, among them the March 22, 2016 Brussels Airport attack that claimed 32 lives and the May 19, 2016 Egypt Air Flight 804 crash which killed all the 66 people on-board (Bolduc, 2016, pp.1-36; McFate and GamBHir, 2016, pp.1-32). These incidences confirm that airports are the primary terrorist target, probably because airports and aircrafts are very valuable and high-cost objects, besides accommodating a large volume of people passing through virtually all the time. These factors make a terrorist attack on an airport or/and aircraft attract maximum media attention and inflict intense fear globally, which is the primary goal of any terrorist activity.
Though the vast majority of the airports across the globe are reported to have improved their security following a series of devastating terrorist attacks, it is unfortunate that terrorists are still able to maneuver the security measures implemented at the airports and end up making deadly attacks as illustrated there above. As a result, failure to adequately assess and improve security at the airports may have detrimental long run effects on the air transport industry if appropriate measures are not taken swiftly. As noted earlier, the aviation sector plays a critical role in generating employment, promoting tourism, and in fostering international trade and commerce, with UAE, a country that boosts having the world’s busiest airport being not an exception.
Therefore, aviation security is a core priority for the UAE, particularly at the Dubai International Airport. Though the country or rather the airport may not have suffered any major terrorist attack, there is a need for assessing the security measures, innovations, and any other approaches that may have been adopted to deter terror attacks, considering that UAE is situated in a region most vulnerable to terrorism due to the presence of numerous Jihadist militant groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) (McFate and GamBHir, 2016, pp.1-32).
So far, a number of studies have assessed the security level in the UAE (Al Hamili and Aysha, 2010; Arif, Mohammed, Aman Gupta, and Aled Williams, 2013), though no study has explored the impacts of the increased security innovation measures on the users’ satisfaction. Security measures at the airport have been reported to intrude user’s privacy, hence causing a lot of discomfort. Therefore, there is need for investigating the airport’s security innovation and its impacts on the users.
1.3 Research aim and objectives
Based on the identified research problem and research gap, the proposed study will seek to explore the security innovations adopted to improve security management at the Dubai International airport and how the adopted innovations impact airport users. In this regards, the proposed study will seek to meet the following research objectives:
- To assess the innovation in security measures at the Dubai International Airport;
- To evaluate the impact of the improved security measures on the users of the Dubai International Airport; and
- To recommend possible ways in which the available security measures can be improved to enhance satisfaction of the Dubai International Airport users.
1.4 Significance of the study
Findings made in the proposed study will go a long way in informing the users and potential users of the Dubai International Airport on certain security measures that have been put in place to protect them and their properties. In addition, the study will inform security agents in the Dubai International Airport about the security measures they should capitalize in, as well as the loopholes that need to be sealed as par the recommendations made in the proposed study.
The findings made may also be essential to other airports across the world that may be interested in enhancing their aviation security measures because they can implement the high tech security measures proposed in this study. Moreover, this study will aid in providing information to researchers who may wish to further their research on this topic or scholars who may require information on the security measures at Dubai International Airport.
2.1 Aviation safety and security concerns in the UAE
UAE is among the countries that have confirmed their commitment to ensure the highest achievable safety standards. To achieve this, the UAE government implemented the Safety Enforcement Manual that allows diligent coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the existing enforcement. This contributes in the provision of clear guidance to the aviation industry. The manual has been a fundamental part of the State Safety Program (SSP), which was prepared through a well-structured, detailed and inclusive consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
A technical committee that is made up of members in the industry and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) meet often to examine any issues regarding the regulations. UAE takes a leading position in the international airline safety in the Middle East Regional Aviation Safety Group. The country also coordinates all the operations of the Runway and Ground Safety within the Middle East. This is an appointment that occurs as recognition of the work undertaken by the UAE’s National Runway Safety team. In addition, the UAE has also been selected as the champion for Performance Based Navigation (PBN) in the Middle East. Moreover, the UAE coordinates the Task Force for Aerodrome certification in the Middle East region (Arif et al., 2013, p.05).
The main objective of the UAE in the area of aviation security is protecting the civil aviation from unlawful interference. In pursuance of this objective, the UAE undertook an amendment to the program of National Civil Aviation Security and Civil Aviation Security Regulations. The process of developing and enhancing aviation security measures and programs incorporates all the relevant stakeholders, which in return foster the partnership between the relevant parties. However, the nature of the aviation security threat is dynamic and requires progressive management measures.
2.3 Empirical literature on aviation security
According to Marks, Maytha, and Rietsema (2015, p.260), the nature in which the security threats are affecting aviation security is evolving demands for a reasonable investment in the advancement of new security technologies. This has also affected the general aviation security planning strategies. In their study Marks, Maytha, and Rietsema (2015) identified various security threats and challenges facing the aviation industry as airport infrastructure’ protection; passenger detecting equipment and screening baggage; cargo screening detection equipment, ensuring secure information sharing and systems the record of passengers and the operational security and ATM.
In expounding on these security threats they identified the key objective of the aviation security with regard to protection of airport infrastructure as the ability to control the entry and exit in the protected areas. These areas include the sensitive areas in the airport such information systems, monitoring systems and airport terminals. Similarly, Elias (2009) identified airport surveillance as a critical element of airport security management. Airports surveillance takes place in different form such as the use of intelligent video surveillance and biometrics to authenticate the identity of the airport staffs that have access to secured areas. The common form of biometric data used in the identification of the staffs includes face recognition, vascular recognition, fingerprints and iris recognition.
Regarding passenger detecting equipment and screening baggage, Freitas (2012, p.112) found that development in screening, tracking and scanning devices is an area where innovation in technology is contributing in the identification of both goods and people. The main variety of equipment used in passenger’s detection and screening baggage are body scanners, X-ray screening, neutron beam based technologies, Explosive and chemical trace detection systems (ETD) and X-ray based explosive detection systems (EDS) (Mitchener-Nissen, Bowers, and Chetty (2012, p.235).
The most common types of the detection and scanning devices employed in most of the international airports are EDS, ETD and X-ray technologies. According to Stewart and Mueller (2013, pp.896), the US Transport Security Administration has made a remarkable progress in fitting EDS and ETD systems in more than 400 airports for screening all the baggage for explosives. However, the use of scanning and detection systems have been challenged on the ground that it imposes a high financial cost, consumes a lot of time and is labor intensive as it requires the rigorous procedural implementations and a prior need to spot individual passengers using pre-selection process (Stewart and Mueller, 2013, pp. 899).
In a different study Mitchener-Nissen, Bowers, and Chetty (2012, p.241) noted that despite the significant investment in the improvement of the passenger screening, there is a need for the improvement in the cargo screening. Therefore, there is a need to enhance the conventional detection system to ensure that threats that are requires enhanced detection capabilities are detected.
According to Hall, Timothy, and Duval (2012), use of detecting equipments to screen cargo is not only meant to fight terrorism, but the screening of cargo is necessary in curbing illicit good trafficking such as counterfeit goods and illegal substances. Since Air cargo is highly sensitive to time, it requires the security agents to undertake screening fast and then get solutions as fast as possible to be able to penetrate a large collection of configurations’ packaging. Nonetheless Stolzer, Halford, and Goglia (2011) noted that the current methods of screening and technologies suffer from detection limitations due to low sensitivity, high automation and operational costs.
Stolzer, Halford, and Goglia (2011) further argued that the threat posed by liquid explosives calls for innovation for security detection systems that easily distinguish the various types of fluid material with the highest level of accuracy possible. Hall, Timothy, and Duval (2012) also noted that the technologies for cargo screening must solve the unnecessary and expensive false alarm obtained from operational inefficiency associated with the screening of the cargo that is packaged in bulk or in large containers.
Press, Pranić, Roehl, and West (2009, p.123) also found that insecure sharing of passenger information can result to serious aviation insecurity issues. There is a need for adherence to data protection and privacy policy to ensure that the passengers’ information is not used for other purposes beyond the airport operations. Considering that some information provided by passengers such as credit card is extremely sensitive, the aviation management has the responsibility of ensuring that this data is protected from unauthorized access and use.
However, there is a significant challenge in ensuring that this information is passed on to the aviation agencies without undermining the principle of privacy and confidentiality. Press Pranić et al. (2009, p.127) presented that secure sharing of information in aviation security management requires a holistic coordination among the relevant players such as airport operators, airlines and public authority tasked with security.
2.3 Chapter summary and the research gap
According to various studies that have focused on aviation security across the world, the use of advanced security technologies such as iris and fingerprint detection is proving important and more convenient to the passenger in undertaking passenger identification and authentication. The use of this technology has enhanced the cross border security and promoted the confidentiality of the passengers. Despite similar aviation threats facing all the airports across the world, very few efforts have been made to investigate the airport security and innovation in the United Arab Emirates. Specifically, no literature exists on the airport security innovations implemented at the Dubai International Airport leaving a lacuna that this study seeks to fill.
3.1 Introduction
This chapter covers the methodological framework that the researcher will adopt in conducting the proposed study. The chapter presents the research design, the sample size and sampling techniques, tools that will be used to collect data, and the approach that will be used in the analysis of the collected data. The chapter also contains the ethical considerations that the researcher will adhere to and the limitations that the researcher is likely to face during the study.
Research Design
Mitchell and Jolley (2012, p.12) define a research design as the framework adopted by researchers in deciding on the information required in a study, how the data will be collected, the tools that will be used in the study and the techniques of data analysis. Mitchell and Jolley (2012) further hold that the nature of the research design adopted influences the accuracy, reliability and effectiveness of the data collected for the study. Consequently, the accuracy and reliability of the study findings are affected by study design employed in a study. According to Myers, Well, and Lorch (2010, p.08), the type of the research design that researcher can adopt is affected by various factors such as the objectives of the study, the nature of the study, the type of data required and the skills and knowledge of the researcher among others.
In consideration of the nature of the research objectives of the proposed study, the researcher will adopt a single case research design in undertaking the proposed study. As stated in chapter one, the aim of the proposed study is to explore the innovations in the airport security management and how the adopted innovations impact airport users, a research aim that can only adequately been met using qualitative data. According to Christensen, Johnson, and Turner (2011, pp.121), using a case study in a qualitative research does not necessarily need to observe a minimum number of case studies because each case study should be treated as independent case from the others. Therefore, the researcher believes that data that will be collected during the proposed study will give results that are reliable and accurate.
Therefore, the researcher intends to use a qualitative technique in the collection of the required data. Silverman (2013, p.46) explain that a qualitative approach is appropriate where the research objective are descriptive in nature. The researcher will also employ a qualitative approach because the researcher needs to make observations, record data and interpret non-verbal communication from the participants of the proposed study. Lewis (2015, p.15) also noted that a qualitative technique is appropriate for a case study because it employs an in-depth examination for a small sample size which in return aid in the construction of research hypotheses. The expected research findings are also more descriptive, thus promoting the use of the qualitative technique.
3.3 Research population and the sampling technique
A research population refers to the number of research objects that a researcher targets or intends to use in a study. Ritchie et al. (2013, p.54) explains that a research population can be institutions, human beings, materials, objects, animals or other objects that the researcher may be interested with. As stated above, the proposed study will employ a case study approach in meeting the aim of the proposed research. The study will consider the Dubai International Airport as the case for this study. As a result, the researcher will collect the desired data from personnel based in the airport management and security department.
In this regards, the researcher will interview a total of 12 respondents from the Dubai International Airport. The researcher will use purposive sampling in selecting the best respondents for the proposed study. Purposive sampling is preferred because the researcher requires sensitive information that cannot be collected from any respondent but from specific respondents. As such the researcher will seek to obtain four respondents from the top management team of Dubai International Airport, four respondents from the airport security management team and four respondents from the security personnel on the ground. The four respondents from each category will be selected through random sampling.
3.4.1. Interviews
According to Zikmund et al. (2012, pp.12), interviews are an appropriate instrument of gathering data in a case study, considering that the researcher is able to directly interact with the respondents, an aspect that helps in evaluating the sincerity of the information provided by the respondents. In the proposed study, the researcher will use semi-structured interviews that will contain structured and unstructured questions. The researcher will conduct a face-face interview with the airport senior managers and the staffs involved in the aviation security at the Dubai International Airport. The researcher will also interview the users to access their knowledge of the aviation security measures undertaken by the Dubai International Airport and their satisfaction levels. The researcher will also be ready to conduct telephone and Skype interview in case some respondents will not be able to meet the researcher physically.
3.4.2 Secondary sources
The proposed study will also utilize secondary sources in meeting the objectives of the study. However, the information will only be collected from sources that are reliable and credible. The research will use documents that are available in the Dubai International Airport and other external sources such as magazines, newspapers, and previously carried out researches. Despite a challenge from a number of researchers arguing that information collected from the organization under study should not be relied upon because they can be subjective. Bryman and Bell (2015, p.52) explained that that the instruments are considered reliable in the event that a researcher acts as an explicit viewer. The researcher will also ensure that the interaction between the researcher and the participants enables the researcher to evaluate the reliability of the information collected from the internal sources of the Dubai International Airport.
3.4.3 Data analysis
Gelman et al. (2014, pp.33) define the process of data organization, data summarization, interpretation and presentation in a form that makes it easy to understand by a common reader as data analysis. After the process of collecting data, the researcher will code the information and analyse it through the traditional thematic content analysis. The process of coding data will reduce the chances of occurrence of errors. The researcher will also present information in the form of tables, figures and graphs where appropriate to simplify the understanding of the findings.
3.5. Ethical considerations
In adherence to ethical considerations, the researcher will seek permission from the Dubai International Airport authorities for the airport to be used as a case study. In particular, the researcher will seek an express willingness of the management team to participate in the study and other participants. In addition, the researcher will also ensure that each participant signs on a form that shows their consent to participate in the study. The participants will also be informed about their rights to withdraw from the study any time without necessary informing the researcher in advance or providing an explanation for the withdrawal. In addition, the researcher will adhere to confidentiality policies, destroy all the material that will be used in the study, treat human beings with dignity and ensure transparency and accountability during the study.
Appendix
The following is a representation of weekly activities in the course of the study.
| Weeks | Activity | Duration |
| 1-2 | Planning | 2 weeks |
| 3-4 | Review of literature | 2 weeks |
| 5-6 | Sampling of participants | 2 weeks |
| 7-8 | Designing the interview scripts/protocols | 2 weeks |
| 9-16 | Data collection | 8 weeks |
| 17-20 | Data processing and analysis | 1 month |
| 21-23 | Report writing | 3 weeks |
The proposed activities will require the research to utilize resources presented in the following budget.
| Activity | Cost ($) |
| Planning | |
| Transport and communication | |
| Materials and reagents | |
| Administration of questionnaires | |
| Data analysis | |
| Report | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Total expenditure |
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