Aviation security specialists of Boryspil International Airport are trained on innovative computer simulators CASRA

14 August 2023

The ICAO Aviation Security Training Center of Boryspil International Airport has begun a cycle of training and testing of aviation security personnel using a computer training program developed by the international company CASRA (Center for Adaptive Security Research and Applications), which cooperates with airports and aviation security departments around the world.

Licenses for the X-RAY TUTOR training program(hereinafter referred to as XRT4) and the use of CASRA computer simulators were granted free of charge to Boryspil International Airport until the end of 2023, thanks to cooperation between the airport and the world well-known company Culmen International, a leader in the field of international security and technological solutions, with the assistance of the Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine. As part of the implementation of this project, it is also planned to train specialists in aviation security of other airports of Ukraine on the basis of the ICAO Training Center at Boryspil Airport. The maximum total number of participants who can participate in the assessment/testing and training on the interpretation of X-ray images is 3,000 people.

The training program XRT4 developed by CASRA using the latest technologies as an individually adapted computer-based training and testing program in order to assess the competence of aviation security professionals in the interpretation of X-ray images in 2D single-projection, 2D-multiprojection, 3D-CT images, which have been developed in close cooperation with CASRA with end users and based on scientific research. XRT4 is very flexible and configurable and also supports different user interfaces running in different internet browsers. The programme combines training and testing modules on one platform, and fully complies with EU standards. An important advantage of this program is the comprehensive libraries of modern images, that are constantly updated on the basis of a systematic assessment of the level of threats, taking into account existing and emerging new threats. The library contains high-quality X-ray images of several hundred prohibited items in various projections and several thousand containers (for example, bags, suitcases, parcels). This will allow Ukrainian aviation security specialists to keep up with current trends in the field of aviation security, to maintain and improve their knowledge, skills and abilities in detecting prohibited items and substances prohibited for transportation by air, to counteract the types of threats that may arise daily at international airports around the world.

Until the end of 2023 training and testing of about 500 employees of the Aviation Security Department of the airport will be conducted at the ICAO Aviation Security Training Center of the International Boryspil Airport, who have already begun to undergo training, including: operators of technical means of security control, instructors for operational training, supervisors of the control zone and other professionals responsible for aviation security. Each employee undergoes an online special profile training program for the corresponding division of the Aviation Security Department, as an individually adaptive system of difficulty levels is used, and each user is provided with images adapted to his/her individual level of knowledge, abilities, skills and practical experience. There are different user interfaces that simulate the operation of different X-ray machines. To make the training and testing process as realistic as possible, CASRA has integrated all common image enhancement features to provide the same viewing conditions that aviation security personnel would have at a real checkpoint.

Despite flight non-opeartion, Boryspil Airport continues to improve airport security measures and maintain the appropriate level of skills and knowledge of its personnel related to the implementation of civil aviation security measures, in order to be ready to resume flights at the highest international standards as soon as it is possible for safety reasons.