Security culture in the screening checkpoint of Brazilian airports

Abstract

In a previous study the incidence of errors and human factors in the security screening process at Brazilian airports was identified as a security challenge. This finding led to the analysis of teamwork activity in the screening checkpoints from a security culture perspective. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potentials errors and human factors that might influence the performance of the passengers screening checkpoints of Brazilian airports related to security culture. For this purpose, were analyzed 10 of 60 items of a self-observation questionnaire based on the theory of Generic Error–Modeling System (GEMS) and the framework about human factors recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The exploratory analysis focused on items that were directly linked with security culture and organizational environment. The results indicated the presence of fundamental elements for the formation of an adequate security culture among the professionals. Otherwise, the data also indicate the presence of human factors associated to the security culture with the potential of negatively influencing the performance of the passenger screening activity.