Airport security: A qualitative research on the problems of private security employees with passengers (Antalya case)

Tourism has quite sensetive nature to domestic and outside influences especially to economic situation, social and enviromental factors. Therefore, tourism activities are easly affected by both human oriented activities such as war, terrorism, rubbing, thief and also to nature oriented disasters as contagious diseases, floods, earthquicks and other enviromental problems (Yıldırım, 2005 :63, Bayhan, 2014: 20). Due to its sensetivity, all the precations from entering to country to take off from the airports must be taken without any relaxations. The security units and their responsibilities cover all aspects of the tourism sectors directly and indirectly from single case to multiple cases. The security activities in details in and at the airports are vitaly important from landing to take off. In this respect, private security units have very important responsibilities for the security of the airports (Sayın, 2011: 1). In order to get the targeted answers, the following questions were asked to the employee: What are the basic problems in nature at the gates you are dealing with? What kind of metaphores you create in your imaginations as being an employee in private security organization? The purpose of this study is to give information about airport security, meantime, to reveal the basic problems faced with at the airport entrances and and evaluate them with a holistic approach. The aim of this study is also to determine the fundamental questions in accordance to airport security and approaches of whole security personels to encountarsed problems. This is a case study, thus single case study research design method was used. In this study, advantage of the qualitative research approach was used. In the single case studies, there are a number of sublevels or units for a single case. Two qualitative data collection methods were used in this particular study. The first data collection methods, semi-structured interview was applied, and the other was observation forms. All the analysis in this stuy were realized by using contents, data and observation analysisThe universe of the research was the securty employees of the Antalya Airport, Terminal 1. The study groups were mede of a group of 17 private security workers. It is thought that detailed data obtained regarding the problems between the passengers and airport security employees can be accessed. According the results of this particular study, the presant problems between passengers and security personels were determined such as close contact, not wanting to comply with the liquid -mainly fresh water- restriction rules, refusing to operate electronic devices, and also remove or give away metal items, no intention of leaving prohibited items along with the communication and language difficulties. Finally, logical and legitimate solutions to the encountered problem were successted. In addition, it was also determined that all metaphors produced by airport privat security emplouee evoked positive qualities. Keywords: Security, Private Security, Tourism, Airports, Airport Securities