Ben Gurion Airport turns to AI, but new technologies raise Big Brother concerns
Forty-two startups competed in the Israel Airports Authority's Runway 26 program, which selected technologies for security, aviation safety and cyber defense. The winning systems could help locate people, analyze operational incidents and recover from attacks, but their deployment also raises questions about privacy and human oversight.
The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) announced on Monday the winners of its “Runway 26” program, in which 42 startups competed for the opportunity to develop and test their products at Ben Gurion Airport. Reflecting the current climate, most of the submissions focused on security and safety, incorporating AI solutions designed to streamline airport operations. But the technologies could also raise concerns about turning the airport into a “Big Brother” environment.
In the security category, the winner was Corsight AI, which has developed a patented solution for scanning and facial recognition across the airport. As previously reported by Calcalist, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used the company's technology after October 7 to locate hostages and apprehend wanted individuals in Gaza. The technology is designed not only to identify a specific person, but also to locate individuals within a crowd. The IAA believes it could serve a range of operational purposes, from helping passengers find lost children or misplaced luggage to identifying people who have left suspicious objects behind or committed offenses within the airport.
In the safety category, the winner was Airvrix, which is developing a system that combines real-time operational data with established protocols to support aviation incident investigations. By comparing procedures that specify what should happen with what actually takes place, including data on aircraft altitude and angles and the performance of pilots and air traffic controllers, the system can identify discrepancies. This could support regular operational debriefings and help detect problems before they lead to accidents or malfunctions.
In the cyber category, the winner was Salvador Technologies, which develops solutions that help organizations recover from cyberattacks by maintaining complete, air-gapped backups of their systems. These backups can be used to replicate systems that have come under attack and restore operations at critical infrastructure facilities, such as airports, where downtime can have serious consequences. The IAA is acutely aware of the cyberattacks targeting airports around the world, including incidents at three airports in the UK last summer, and the potential for such attacks to disrupt aviation operations. In Israel, where a single airport handles the vast majority of international flights, a similar incident could bring much of the country's aviation activity to a halt.
“We evaluated solutions based on product maturity, value, implementation complexity and, of course, innovation,” says Rafi Peled, head of the Innovation Division at the Israel Airports Authority. “We solicited proposals across six domains: passenger experience, cyber, operations, safety, security and commerce, with a separate challenge involving automation that has yet to be finalized. With such a range of offerings, making a selection is always difficult. However, we chose companies whose developments we believe have a high probability of success and implementation at Ben Gurion Airport. It is therefore in our mutual interest that these solutions are deployed here first.
“We announced in advance that we would reimburse expenses of up to NIS 50,000, covering infrastructure costs related to carrying out the pilot and making the necessary adjustments. Essentially, these companies are being given an opportunity that is otherwise unavailable in Israel: to conduct a pilot and test their solutions in the live environment of an active airport.”
While some of these technologies may already exist in the market, the opportunity to refine them inside an operating airport is unusual and could provide the breakthrough needed to turn a concept into a commercially viable product. At the same time, testing new systems in such an environment inevitably raises questions about their potential impact on airport operations and passengers.
“It is true that each of the selected developments affects passengers. For us, safety is measured by the complete absence of issues,” Peled says. “However, these technologies are still in the development and implementation phases, and they are not intended to have a day-to-day impact on passengers.” Much of the work, he says, can take place behind the scenes. “It could have an impact only during the trial phase, and the timing will be determined accordingly.”
The implications for passengers, however, extend beyond any disruption during testing. Alongside their potential operational and security benefits, the three technologies raise questions that will require careful oversight. Peled says the Innovation Division will need to vet each selected company and its personnel from a security perspective, particularly where access to sensitive information is involved. Specific regulations, as well as aviation and safety procedures, will also need to be established before the technologies can be deployed at the airport.
A facial recognition system could help locate missing people and prevent security incidents. Following the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight, such technology could also potentially be used to identify unauthorized crew members or individuals whose reliability is in question. But continuous biometric monitoring of passengers raises significant concerns over privacy, data retention and the security of identification databases. There is also the risk of misidentification, which could result in false accusations or the targeting of the wrong person.
The incident-analysis system presents a different set of challenges. Its effectiveness will depend on the reliability of the underlying data and the accuracy of the protocols against which it evaluates events. A false alert or incomplete analysis could lead to erroneous conclusions, while excessive reliance on automated assessments could undermine the professional judgment of pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation personnel. The technology should therefore support, rather than replace, human decision-making.
Even a system designed to ensure rapid recovery from cyberattacks requires rigorous testing. Air-gapped backups are not necessarily immune to compromise. Operators must verify that the backups themselves have not been infected, that entire systems can be restored from them and that restarting operations will not inadvertently reintroduce the attackers or the original vulnerability. At Ben Gurion Airport, where failures in critical systems could affect the country's wider aviation operations, a successful pilot cannot be the final measure of readiness. Deployment would also require human oversight, penetration testing, independent audits, clearly defined responsibilities and established procedures for restoring systems and maintaining operations through alternative workflows.
International experience suggests that airport innovation programs can deliver practical results, moving well beyond the presentation of ideas and prototypes. At Rome's Fiumicino Airport, for example, the “Runway to the Future” program tested technology developed by Outsight, which uses 3D LiDAR sensors and artificial intelligence to analyze passenger movement and congestion in real time. Following a successful trial in the border control area, the airport announced in April 2026 that it would expand the technology to nearly all shared passenger service areas.
Commercial success has also followed at Glasgow Airport in Scotland. Hello Lamp Post, one of the companies that participated in the “Connected Airport Living Lab” program, developed an interactive system for communicating with passengers and subsequently secured a multi-year contract with the AGS Airports group. In Athens, the “The Digital Gate” program helped Clio Muse, a developer of digital tourist guides, establish a partnership with the airport. That relationship later paved the way for collaborations with international companies including Booking.com and TripAdvisor.
These examples illustrate how airport innovation programs can do more than improve services and operations. They can also give technology companies an important first customer, provide a real-world testing environment and help open doors to international markets. The IAA is already considering extending its own program to two years, with a greater focus on automation solutions designed to streamline passenger entry and exit processes at the airport.
