Airports in Spain to Enhance Security with Ionscan 600 Detector

Smiths Detection has been won a contract from 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, manufactured by Smiths Detection`s Watford, UK, facility, will be supplied through its Spanish distributor Tecosa.

It is the first major aviation contract for the advanced, portable system which detects and identifies explosives from traces found on baggage or clothing.

The Ionscan 600 will add an additional layer of security to existing X-ray scanners at security checkpoints.

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 technology behind the Ionscan 600 includes a breakthrough feature with a proprietary non-radioactive Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) source which eliminates the need for special licensing, handling or disposal requirements.

Ionscan 600 weighs just 23 pounds (10.4 kg) and is equipped with an 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 rigorous EU Standard for both passenger and cargo checkpoint screening. ECAC ruled that the Ionscan 600 meets the ETD (Explosives Trace Detection) EU standard, the first UK-built detector to pass the rigorous testing protocol.