The original airport building was constructed in 2000. As built, there were two sliding doors that passengers entered through between the main terminal and the tarmac. “The sliding door arrangement allowed passengers to exit the airplane, walk on a designated walkway and enter the lobby waiting area. Unfortunately, passengers could go back out the doors if they forgot something on the plane,” explained Jennifer Skoglund, Airport Manager, Walla Walla Regional Airport.

TSA security protocols require that once passengers have entered a non-secure area, like the terminal building, or passed a certain point in other airports, they cannot backtrack and certainly should not be able to return to the tarmac or to the parked planes in the secure area without first having to go through security again. “We had a few instances where passengers breached the sliding doors and went back outside towards the aircraft, where airline personnel stopped them and returned them to the terminal building,” said Skoglund.

This situation was not only unsafe on several levels, it meant that airline personnel were sometimes distracted from their main jobs in order to provide security. Skoglund again, “We knew we needed a better solution to meet security requirements, and in late 2014, we started looking at some alternatives. The cost for a security guard to watch the doors was prohibitive, so our architect suggested a one-way security revolving door. We visited a nearby airport to see how their door worked. We saw it handled traffic well and wouldn’t allow people to go the wrong way—and a guard wasn’t necessary to achieve that.”

Walla Walla airport worked with the FAA to secure Airport Improvement Funds (AIP) to make the renovations and purchase a new Boon Edam Tourlock 120S one-way security revolving door, which was commissioned into service in February of 2015. Now, passengers enter the building from the tarmac first through a sliding door and then flow into the revolving door that deposits them into the terminal. If people attempt to go the wrong way, the weight detection mats on the floor and the overhead sensors signal the door to stop and an audible message instructs the person to back out of the door.

“The new door set-up brings people into the terminal in a secure fashion. This upgrade has taken care of any security issues, and we’re happy about that,” reported Skoglund. “What we have now is what we need and eventually when we expand our secure waiting room area, we’ll move the current revolving door to the appropriate new location.

Walla Walla will probably need to do some expansion in the near future. Today’s traffic of upwards to 7,000 passengers per month is sure to increase, given the region’s growing reputation for fine wine, in addition to the already-famous Walla Walla onion.

Not only does the combination of the slider and revolving door provide added security, Skoglund also remarked that the doors do a great job keeping the terminal waiting area cool in the summer and warm in the winter as well as preventing prevailing winds from entering the terminal.