CEM Systems secure new €200 million Sky Court at Budapest Airport

CEM Systems, part of Tyco Security Products, today announced that the CEM AC2000 system at Budapest Airport, Hungary, has been successfully extended to cover the new €200 million terminal at the airport – the ‘Sky Court’. The extension was installed by Approved Reseller, Bull Hungary.

The project which began in June 2009 and was opened in March 2011, involved the construction of the 40’000m2 Sky Court building as well as the renovation of 55’000m2 of existing facilities. The Sky Court links two existing terminals at Budapest Airport – 2A and 2B – and will double the airport capacity. The CEM AC2000 system was originally installed at Budapest Airport in 1995 and has been continually upgraded over the years to keep up to date with current technology. This system has now been extended to cover the new SkyCourt building, with over 200 S610e & S610f fingerprint readers installed throughout the development.

S610e IP card readers feature LCD screens to provide staff with instant feedback on the system such as ‘Wrong TimeZone’, ‘Card Expiring’ etc. With the added benefit of a keypad, staff can also enter PIN codes for additional security. The S610e reader offers the highest level of reliability as it features an internal database for offline card validation. This means that should communication be temporarily lost with the host AC2000 server, staff can still validate cards using the card records stored in the reader’s internal memory.

The project also utilises the CEM S610f Fingerprint reader for added biometric security at critical airside/landside boundaries. The reader eliminates the need for a separate biometric system as fingerprint templates are captured at the same time as capturing other cardholder details on the AC2000 system, such as personnel information and image. The AC2000 software does not store an actual image of the fingerprint anywhere in the system. Instead a unique ID number is derived from the fingerprint scan and is stored into both the AC2000 central server database and the S610f Fingerprint reader database at the door.

“In addition to extending the AC2000 system to support the new SkyCourt building, Budapest Airport security system was also upgraded to meet their changing needs”, said Andrew Fulton, Business Development Manager, CEM Systems. “The upgrade included customised modifications to the airport’s AC2000 Visitors application, as well as the move towards highly secure PicoPass smartcard technology”.

“The move towards PicoPass smartcard technology was an important step for Budapest Airport as it brings their system in line with the latest technology” said Bela Troszt, Consultant, Bull Hungary.

With the upgrade to the Budapest system and the Sky Court now complete, Budapest Airport can continue to be a leading airport in Central-Eastern Europe.