Airports As High Reliability Networks and the Inherent Emerging of Security and Safety Threats

The theory of High Reliability Organizations tries to explain why organizations or its units can achieve error-free results in complex and error prone environments. After the application in the fields of nuclear power plants, air traffic control, etc. the theory was deployed to airport security screening procedures after 9/11 (Frederickson/LaPorte 2002). It is argued, that under the vital impression of 9/11 the security regime became enforced and prone to produce more false positives (error type I) rather than false negatives (error type II). Therefore, these false positives may become an argument to reduce security in favor of efficiency. To avoid cutbacks in security it is – according to the authors – essential, that airport screening organizations become high-reliability organizations.

We will argue that the focus on high reliable screening organizations is too narrow – instead the whole airport needs to function as a high reliability network of organizations. Since airports do not solely consist of security producing organizations but rather need to be understood as complex systems of heterogeneous actors such as airlines, airport management, retailers, etc., security regulations often can conflict with their standard procedures and organizational logics. To maintain the processes that are vital for these actors adaptive strategies evolve constantly and are passed on. These adjustments are often not formalized but remain informal since they transgress the rules of the security system. They are therefore frequently not reflected in the predominant security regime as they are not intended and the regime builds on idealized assumptions of compliance. Consequently, new safety threats for the airport system can arise due to the attempt to increase the security regulations in this critical infrastructure. The presentation builds on findings of a research project on the social production of (in)security on airports in Germany.