The dogs have undertaken a rigorous new training programme set out by the UK Government to prepare them for cargo screening.

The UK Government has announced dogs capable of detecting minute traces of explosives concealed in air fr

The UK Government has announced dogs capable of detecting minute traces of explosives concealed in air freight are being deployed in cargo sheds.

Free-running explosive-detecting dogs (FREDDs) working with their human handlers are being used to check freight for a range of explosive materials.

Each animal has undergone 12 months of rigorous training to achieve Government certification before being set to work. As they carry out their operational duties they will go through a regular quality assurance programme.

In 2016, goods worth £178 billion were transported by air between the UK and non-EU countries. These detection dogs have the potential to play a vital role in helping to ensure such cargo is safe to fly.

Baroness Sugg, Aviation Minister, said: “Free-running explosive-detecting dogs are the latest addition to the Government’s multi-layered approach to tackling potential aviation security threats.

“The ability of these highly-skilled dogs to detect small amounts of vapour from explosives hidden in cargo will bolster our existing rigorous security methods, and I was really impressed to see them in action.

“The UK’s aviation security standards are already among the best in the world and we will continue to seek out new and innovative ways to ensure that passengers remain protected.”

Dogs are already used in a variety of ways at UK airports, for example, by helping police to identify criminals and prevent illegal activity.

In April, the Government published its aviation strategy next steps document, setting out its plans for the future of the industry. This involved a commitment to ensure that the UK is equipped to respond to changing threats.

While all cargo is made secure before it is allowed on to aircraft, the dogs offer the ability to detect minute traces of vapour from concealed explosives. This provides a high level of scrutiny as well as a highly mobile and time-saving way of screening freight, 2.4 million tonnes of which passed through the UK’s airports in 2016.

The dogs are already operating in multiple airports, and more will be deployed around the country as the number of approved canines’ increases.

Both the certification and quality assurance process that the dogs will need to go through is set by the Department for Transport (DfT) which will share oversight with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The CAA will have a further responsibility ensuring those who operate the dogs do so in line with the standards set out by the DfT.

source : international airport review

Last year, Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi, India)

hit an important milestone by handling 63.5 million passengers. In fact, it is now ranked among the top 20 busiest airports in the world. But, with these great numbers, also come great challenges. How can we maintain passenger convenience and comfort amidst this growth? How do we modernize verticals while improving check-in and baggage handling? Most importantly, how can we delight our customers? Technology plays a key role in all these aspects.

If you look at the Indian aviation landscape, you’ll see it has to evolve still in terms of getting into systems automation and installing the required hardware. Automation needs to be implemented in phases – this is how we initially implemented Amadeus Airport Operational Database, which is already at the heart of our IT environment. It has provided us with a state-of-the-art, fully scalable solution, combining a high level of security and great performance. Because of initiatives such as these, we have been able to secure numerous accolades including being ranked number 1 in the ACI Airport Service Quality Awards 2017.

One of our big priorities in the future, after optimizing our runways, is optimizing our check-in counters. We want to be flexible enough to share check-in counters between airlines. Currently, we feel they are under-utilized. This is a big challenge we need to tackle and we’re looking to do this through the optimization and automation of the whole check-in process.

We want the entire airport experience to be a positive one for our passengers. This means making it a memorable one for the right reasons. Innovation will be crucial in this process, helping us successfully take on the check-in process and much more. We’re confident that partners like Amadeus will be there working hand-in-hand with us during this journey.