Driven by the ever-present threat of terrorism, and the growing need to provide safety, comfort and care to air passengers, the world airport security equipment market is projected to reach US$131.7 billion by the year 2010.  Development of novel-enabling technologies, such as, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, and biometrics, are emerging into dominant forces igniting growth in the market.   With research and development investments on the rise, the global market is expected to witness the commercialization of new technologically advanced and upgraded products in the medium to long-term.

The rise in air traffic is creating an acute need for an efficient security solution capable of safeguarding the entire airport network, right from the outer perimeter to detect anomalies, to inside the airport to identify intruders and detect suspicious movements.  The changing facets of security threats are additionally necessitating the need for security solutions that go beyond the conventional metal detection.  In addition to metal weapons, the diversity of modern threats ranges from materials such as powders, ceramics, plastics, explosives, to liquids, among others.  This has fashioned demand for futuristic security solutions, which address all threats on a seamlessly integrated platform, compatible with all routine airport processes.  RFID-based security systems offer optimal, and dual protection against both criminal offence and operational inefficiencies such as errors in passenger data collection, and verification.  Biometric-based solutions, i.e., fingerprinting and iris recognition, extend foolproof passport verification, centralized identity management, and physical and logical access controls.   As stated by the recent report published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., growth in the world airport security equipment market is led by perimeter and access control equipment, which are expected to post a robust CAGR of 19.5%, and rise by US$ 13.5 billion between the period 2007 to 2010.  Within the perimeter and access control equipment market, biometrics equipment, as a product sub-segment, is expected to drive growth by reflecting the potential to reach US$12.5 billion by the year 2010.  Fire and explosives detection market ranks as the largest product market in airport security, with market size averaging to US$ 37 billion in the year 2006. 

The United States constitutes the largest market for airport security equipment, cornering a little over 37% share.  In Europe, the second largest market, digital surveillance equipment market, a part of the monitoring equipment market, stands poised to rise by US$1.6 billion between the period 2007 to 2010.  In Asia-Pacific, the fastest growing market worldwide, perimeter control equipment market and X-ray and infrared equipment market, together are projected to reach US$ 11.4 billion by 2010.