SECURITY SOLUTIONS

Bologna Airport

Italy

Bologna Airport chooses Navtech's AdvanceGuard to increase their perimeter security protection. The security team rely on the radar-based solution to continuously monitor the perimeter and automatically alert them to intruders.

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Receives 8.5 million passengers per year

Italy's 7th busiest airport

AdvanceGuard implemented in 2019 by Navtech

CHALLENGE

Protecting the perimeter at all times.

Bologna’s Guglielmo Marconi Airport is an important regional airport for Italy, with approximately 9.4 million passengers in 2019. Situated on the main route between north and south Italy, 75% of goods transported in Italy pass through the city of Bologna. Freight passing through the Airport’s cargo facility has grown constantly over the last ten years, due in large part to its geographical position – it’s a convenient distance from the most important industrial areas of the country.

A key objective of the security team at the airport is to prevent actions that could endanger the safety of people, infrastructure, and aircraft. To enhance security at the airport, Guglielmo Marconi identified the need to increase the level of protection at the airport to prevent potential intrusions attempts from the external perimeter.

“We needed to protect the airport perimeter fence with a continuous monitoring system. We needed not only to detect intrusion attempts, but also to track the target. Then, we wanted a reliable system with few false alarms.”

“AdvanceGuard’s reliability is higher than other systems. We can definitely say airport security conditions are better than before, and our patrol can be employed on other tasks than to control the perimeter fence.”

Luca Voltolini
Security Manager, Bologna Airport

approach

Radar-based threat detection solution with PTZ camera integration

Following an in-depth analysis of other surveillance technologies, Bologna Airport selected Navtech’s AdvanceGuard radar-based detection solution. They turned to Crisma Security, an Italian system integration company that designs and installs innovative security systems for critical site protection, using cutting-edge technologies to design and implement an integrated solution.

At Bologna, AdvanceGuard is continuously protecting the airport’s perimeter. Potential intruders can be identified and tracked across the entire airport grounds. The radar-based automated detection system works in all conditions, day and night, including fog, rain, and snow. Alerts detected by AdvanceGuard are displayed and managed on a user-friendly interface which pinpoints the exact location of intruders on a map of the airport.

At the airport, AdvanceGuard’s HDR311 radar sensor can detect a person up to 1km in all directions and has a range resolution of 15.5cm. Due to the radar’s long-range, Bologna is benefitting from achieving wide area coverage, using only a minimal number of sensor when compared to other technologies. Crisma integrated PTZ cameras with the AdvanceGuard solution. The AdvanceGuard software then automatically directs the cameras towards targets. AdvanceGuard’s highly configurable rules-based software accurately defines alarms and virtual detection zones, leading to very low false alarm rates. In commissioning, AdvanceGuard was set up to meet the precise requirements of the airport.

impact

Efficient integration, enhanced security

AdvanceGuard’s scalability and adaptability meant the system was easily integrated into the airport’s existing systems and infrastructure. This lowered the overall cost as no new infrastructure was required.

Due to their long-range, 360° detection, fewer radar sensors were needed for coverage of the entire site. This kept the overall costs of ownership low and boosted site security.

Any intrusions into Bologna airport are tracked and monitored on a simple, user-friendly interface. This shows the exact location of the intruder and their direction of movement. Camera integration provides added visual information.

Installation and commissioning images

Bologna Airport