NEW SECURITY equipment will be installed at checkpoint lanes in Leeds Bradford Airport - with trays fed automatically to passengers and no need to remove electronics and approved liquids from carry-on baggage.

Airport chiefs have signed a major deal with leading science and technology company Leidos, which will deliver the 'industry-leading equipment' at the Yeadon airport.

In the recent past, frustrated passengers have raised concerns about the time it takes to get through security during peak periods, but airport bosses have promised that the improvements will make the process faster and smoother.

The first lanes are expected to be installed in the fourth quarter of 2023, with the project expected to be fully complete in early 2024.

Under the agreement, Leidos will deliver four integrated ClearScan and ProPassage lanes.

ClearScan is a computed tomography (CT) scanner with advanced threat-detection algorithms.

It means there will no longer be a need to remove electronics and approved liquids from carry-on baggage.

With ProPassage, trays are automatically fed to passengers to put their belongings in for screening.

The integrated lanes are designed to deliver higher throughput to allow LBA to meet the latest UK security requirements.

As part of the upgrade, LBA will also deploy Mosaic, Leidos' enterprise software platform, which analyses real-time data to create a centralized security management system.

This will give LBA the ability to upgrade to centralised image processing (CIP) capabilities. The initial deployment is for four primary and six secondary viewing stations, as well as one supervisor station.

With Mosaic, LBA will gain access to a real-time business intelligence tool to better manage the passenger flow at checkpoints, security bottlenecks and planned system downtime.

Damian Ives, Chief Operating Officer & Accountable Manager at Leeds Bradford Airport, said: "This is an important component of our plan to modernize LBA.

"When installed, Leidos' industry-leading equipment will make travelling through our airport a faster and smoother experience for passengers, enabling us to operate more efficiently and continue to meet the highest standards of safety."

Brad Buswell, Senior Vice President and Operations Manager at Leidos, said: "With travel demands hitting or exceeding pre-pandemic levels, the right technologies can help deliver the highest level of threat detection and a more seamless experience for passengers.

"We are delighted to work with Leeds Bradford Airport and provide our advanced security solutions."

Leidos is based in Virginia, in the US, and has 46,000 employees supporting projects for government and commercial customers, with revenues of about $14.4 billion for the fiscal year ending December 30, 2022.