Toluca International Airport with Fiber Defender®

The Municipality of Toluca is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. Toluca’s location is 63 kilometers west of Mexico City and its total population of 819,561 residents is served by Toluca International Airport. In 2014, Toluca hosted the North American Leaders’ Summit that drew many high level dignitaries’ including U.S. President. Toluca International Airport is under the management of AMAIT (Administradora Mexiquense del Aeropuerto Internacional de Toluca S.A.).

As safe skies remain a worldwide focus, Fiber SenSys works with partners to find a robust, cost effective solution for Toluca International Airport.

The end user (AMAIT) needed a high-security intrusion detection solution suitable for their large airport perimeter. The need was to protect against vandalism, unauthorized intrusion and theft. Aircraft parts were being stolen from the facility and they were experiencing theft of materials from freight forwarders inside the perimeter. As the primary alternate airport to the Mexico City Airport, Toluca also shares international concerns about protection against terrorism and smuggling of controlled substances. To provide the best security response possible, airport security personnel needed to detect an intrusion as soon as possible after it occurred.

In order to meet this challenge, AMAIT contacted systems integrator to help specify the best equipment available, and it was asked to provide installation and maintenance services. After evaluating other systems, the system integrator decided on the Fiber SenSys FD508™ Alarm Processor Unit (APU), as it is high security solution that met the performance requirements of the end user.

The system detects intruders using a fiber-optic sensor that is deployed on the perimeter. For fence-protected perimeters, the sensing fiber is installed on the fence inside specially designed UV resistant polyethylene conduit. The FD508 incorporates Fiber SenSys’ proprietary and patent-pending technology that has been successfully deployed in thousands of sensors throughout the world, in a versatile fiber-optic sensor The FD508 detects intruders attempting to climb or cut through fences using a proven high-security technology.

Sophisticated algorithms distinguish between actual intruders and “nuisance alarms” that might be caused by wind, wildlife or other environmental conditions. The fiber-optic sensor works by measuring laser signals resulting from potential intruders who vibrate the structure to which the fiber is attached. When the FD508 detects intruders, it sends alarm messages to a head end, and also switches relay contacts that can be used to manage lights, cameras, sound alarms, etc.

Fiber SenSys was selected above other technologies including copper-based fence sensors. The FD508 eliminated the need for electronics in the field and reduced the security infrastructure needed. This reduced the cost of the installation and greatly increased the reliability of the system. This is a harsh environment with an abundance of lightning and EMI/RFI interference, and the FD508 fiber-optic intrusion detection sensor is ideally suited for this site.