The Milipol Paris Newsroom spoke with Frédéric Lagandré, Head of Security and International Employee Protection at airport operator Groupe ADP, in an exclusive interview.

Maintaining security at airports is complex, as Frédéric Lagandré well knows from his experience heading up the security department at Groupe ADP, a worldwide airport operator that manages a network of 28 airports in France and around the world, including Paris’ main airports: Paris-Charles de Gaule and Paris-Orly.

We caught up with Mr Lagandré in the VIP lounge after his visit to this year’s Paris Milipol and asked him about his goals at the show and his impressions of Milipol this year.

Can you tell us about what you do at Groupe ADP and the relevance of Milipol Paris for your job?

I work with airport facilities both in Paris and abroad with respect to security. An airport is a place for commercial activities that implies a lot of security issues, security issues that can affect passengers, planes, and all of the airport’s activities. In addition, an airport can also be considered an interface between the sky and the ground, an interface that connects with rail networks, roads, and terminals, so there are a lot of safety issues everywhere.

Why is coming to Milipol Paris of particular interest to you?

At Groupe ADP, we are constantly looking for the best technologies to protect airports and maintain their  activities, both in the sense that we want to keep them from becoming degraded, and also in crisis management situations. We are involved in everything from the safety of  passengers, to luggage, vehicles, and staff, and in that context, we must remain aware of new developments, and be up-to-date on new technologies, including the fight against drones, and the new possibilities offered by artificial intelligence with respect to security.

Did you come to Milipol Paris with any specific objectives this year?

There are a number of technologies that I already know about, and then there are surprises and new technologies to discover. And so, for me it very interesting to come to Milipol and discover them, particularly because there are a large number of foreign companies exhibiting here, and because there are things that are shown here that we don’t necessarily get an opportunity to see at other shows.

There are all sorts of protection systems on display, for example. And new inspection systems for people and luggage using video, but also there are all the information search solutions available on the Internet. 

Everything that can contribute to the security of information, or to the protection of information is especially of interest to me. I don’t think I can cite any precise examples, or provide names, because I don’t want to be biased towards any specific brand, or company.

Has your visit to Milipol been a positive experience?

Yes, it has been very interesting and seeing all of these things that relate to my work in one place is very useful.

Did you visit Milipol Paris with your colleagues, or in some other way?

My visit this afternoon was organised by the French Club for Corporate Security Managers (CDSE), a club that brings together people involved in security from very diverse companies within the public and private domains, about 48 different sectors of activity in all.

The club organised a private visit of the show for its members, and during our visit we were also able to exchange ideas with our colleagues with respect to security technologies

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