Airports Review Security as Missile, Drone and Cyber Threats Rise, Dubai Airport Show Hears
Why It MattersDefence against aerial and network attacks is moving from add-on measure to core design requirement for airport infrastructure, particularly across Gulf transit hubs.
Industry experts at the Dubai Airport Show on Monday said airports worldwide are rethinking how they protect passengers and keep flights running, as missile and drone attacks pose a growing threat to civilian aviation. Repeated Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, alongside months of disruption from the war in Iran, have exposed airports' vulnerability to modern warfare. Smoke and flames rose from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh after a Houthi attack on October 8.
The Ministry of Defence has recorded 2,265 drone attacks on the country since February 28, when the Iran war broke out, and Dubai International Airport has handled 111 aerial threat alerts. Future developments, including the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport, will feature blast-proof designs and hardened concrete shells to strengthen defences against aerial attacks. Gateways across the region have added perimeter screening and police patrols near airports, and others have introduced terminal entry checkpoints.
Tim Walder, chairman of the British Aviation Group, said resilience is never 100 per cent but that operators learn faster, and that losing passenger confidence in a crisis can have long-lasting effects. He cited a cyber attack a few months ago in which hackers targeted check-in software and affected a number of European airports, including London and Brussels, and said such attacks hit networks rather than individual airports or airlines. Binu Gopal, chief operating officer at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, defined resilience as the ability to continue operations during disruption, maintain critical activities and return to normal safely and efficiently, spanning terminals, airlines, ground handling, customs and immigration.
Exhibitors at Dubai World Trade Centre displayed countermeasures. Udi Lowy of D-Fend Solutions said the company's EnforceAir Plus system uses cyber techniques to detect a drone's communications and take over its controls, landing it safely nearby.
