Site protection and access control maintenance for the Tahiti-Faa’a airport

Context and challenges

Tahiti-Faa’a airport is located in the middle of the Pacific and drives the French Polynesian economy. As a result of its geographical location, it mainly serves international destinations (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, Santiago, Narita, Auckland) and is the second ranking French airport in terms of passengers to the United States. Thus, although of only a moderate size, it has to meet the same safety and security requirements as major airports such as Roissy CDG. The airport is audited every year by the STAC (French civil aviation technical authority) and the TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) for the United States, which represents a considerable requirement for the operator. In fact, non-compliance with security standards could result in the suspension or even prohibition of flights to certain destinations, which could paralyse the entire activity of French Polynesia.

The airport operator has awarded a contract to Assystem for a site protection mission, which includes the supply and maintenance of security systems for the inspection and filtering of passengers and baggage, and the maintenance of the site access control systems.

Project scope

Preventive and corrective maintenance of security and access control systems
Security of all site entry/exit points, with the installation of card readers, X-ray scanners and walk-through metal detectors
Upgrading of systems as a function of technical developments and regulatory changes (replacement of X-ray generators, enhanced image quality for scanned baggage)
Systems operating in compliance with airport security standards
Appropriate action following the STAC and TSA audits:
- Replacement of obsolete machines
- Upgrading of software
Installation, certification and commissioning of new X-ray scanners, walk-through metal detector and explosives detector systems:
- Operating compliance with STAC requirements
- Compliance of systems in terms of radio-protection

Client benefits

Compliance with regulatory airport security requirements through the operational serviceability and upgrading of the systems
Improved security personnel performance through the implementation of integrated software and the automatic generation of assessment reports
More effective passenger checking and better observance of the scheduled flight timetable, through the installation of faster and more efficient checking systems, for smoother passenger flows
Reactivity and personnel availability, to meet the customer’s needs, through the adoption of contracts with standby duties 24h/day, 365 days/yr, and action within 2h
Satisfaction of the customer, who has been working with Assystem for 15 years, and who subsequently wanted to extend the scope of the mission to cover the entire airport activity and the main active elements (including the civil aviation authority and the Air Tahiti Nui airline)