What is the highest level of security within an airport?

The highest level of security within an airport is the Secured Area. This area encompasses locations that are accessible only to authorized personnel who have undergone thorough background checks and are equipped with security identification badges. Within the Secured Area, stricter security measures are in place to control access and monitor activities, thus ensuring the safety of passengers, employees, and airport operations.

While the SIDA Area (which stands for Security Identification Display Area) also contains restricted access similar to the Secured Area, it refers specifically to the zones where individuals must display a SIDA badge. The distinction lies in that the overall Secured Area status encompasses all operations related to security, including those in SIDA, but without the specific badge requirement.

Public Areas are accessible to all individuals, making them less secure than both SIDA and Secured Areas. General Aviation Areas typically apply to smaller, non-commercial aircraft operations and do not reflect the same level of security measures as the Secured Area within commercial airport operations. Thus, the Secured Area represents the highest tier of security within the airport environment.