Vertical Markets

Airport contract

by Mark Rowe

The defence and security product firm Smiths Detection has been awarded a contract by the Spanish Airport Operator (Aena) to equip 24 of its airports with the new IONSCAN 600 explosives trace detector for passenger screening.

Almost 300 of the recently launched systems, made by Smiths Detection`s site in Watford, will be supplied through its Spanish distributor TECOSA. The multi-national says that it’s the first major aviation contract for the portable system which detects and identifies explosives from traces found on baggage or clothing. The IONSCAN 600will add a layer of security to X-ray scanners at security checkpoints, the makers say.

Tony Tielen, Regional Vice President – EMEA, at Smiths Detection said: “The Aena contract is a significant milestone for our latest explosives trace detector. The IONSCAN system has played a leading role in enhancing aviation security over the last 15 years, with nearly 25,000 of the previous versions installed world-wide. With IONSCAN 600 now approved by important regulatory bodies such as ECAC, we expect this success story to continue.”

The IONSCAN 600 features a proprietary non-radioactive Ion Mobility Spectrometry(IMS) source which eliminates the need for special licensing, handling or disposal requirements. This reduces the administrative and compliance burden for customers.

IONSCAN 600weighs 23 pounds (10.4 kg), is comes with hot-swappable battery to provide continued sampling and analysis capability when disconnected from the mains power.

Approval by ECAC(European Civil Aviation Conference) Management Group, earlier this year, means that IONSCAN 600 meets the EU Standard for passenger and cargo checkpoint screening. ECAC ruled that the IONSCAN 600meets the ETD (Explosives Trace Detection) EU standard, the first UK-built detector to pass the rigorous testing protocol.

About Smiths Detection

It is part of Smiths Group, in such markets as threat and contraband detection, energy, medical devices, communications and engineered components. Smiths Group employs around 23,000 people in more than 50 countries.

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