Apply for access authorisation for security areas of the airport
If you want to work in a security area at an airport, you need access authorisation. You will usually receive an airport ID card as proof of this. The ID card allows you to move around the airport unaccompanied in the areas relevant to your work. You may not give your ID card to any other person. If you lose your ID card or it is stolen, you must report this immediately to the airport issuing office.
You do not require access authorisation at an airport if you are working outside the security areas, for example in the generally accessible entrance hall.
You usually apply for access authorisation via the airport operator at the aviation security authority. The regulation applies to persons who regularly have to enter the security area of an airport, for example for
- Security checks
- check-in
- transport
- the inspection of air freight
The security area includes
- Parts of an airport where screened passengers may be present shortly before departure
- Parts of an airport where checked baggage is located or transported through
- Areas of an airport where aeroplanes and other aircraft are parked
- Areas for boarding and disembarking as well as loading and unloading
The regulation therefore also applies to
- Pilots,
- Student pilots and trainee pilots,
- Members of airport-based clubs,
- Student interns and trainees,
- Suppliers of goods and similar suppliers,
- Traders and business people and
- Employees of cleaning companies.
Responsible authority
Details
Prerequisite
- You need a positive background check.
- You must have completed various training courses.
Procedure
A positive background check is required before you can obtain access authorisation:
- As a rule, you apply for your background check together with the access authorisation. Unless you have already undergone an equivalent check.
If you apply for access authorisation in writing:
- You can obtain the form from your employer, the ID card office at the airport or download the form from the Internet (application for an airport ID card, application for a background check).
- In most cases, both applications are linked in one form.
- Complete the form pages and obtain confirmation from your employer. You can then submit the application to the airport operator yourself or have it submitted by your employer.
- The airport operator will check whether your application is necessary for operational reasons.
- The airport operator forwards the application for access authorisation and, if necessary, a background check to the aviation security authority.
- The aviation security authority will inform you of the result with a notification. Your employer and the airport operator will also be informed of the result, but will not receive a detailed explanation.
- If the result is positive and the airport operator also sees no grounds for obstruction, it will issue you with an airport ID card, provided the other requirements are met.
- You must appear in person to collect your airport ID card from the airport operator.
- Please note that the airport ID card is limited in time and is only valid for certain areas in the security zone of the airport.
- Please also note that the airport operator may revoke your access authorisation at a later date if there are reasons for doing so, for example, due to a background check.
Digital: For Baden-Württemberg, it has been possible to apply for a background check and access authorisation online since February 2025:
- Create a free service account in the Baden-Württemberg service portal.
- Complete the online application and upload all the required documents.
- Send the completed document digitally to the relevant authority.
- For employees: Print out the application PDF after completion, sign it and send it by post to the competent authority.
- The competent aviation security authority forwards the relevant data to the airport digitally and obtains confirmation that your application is operationally necessary.
- The remaining procedural steps are the same as the written procedure.
Deadlines
Application deadline: 1 month
Before starting work in connection with a background check, but in some cases a longer or shorter period is possible depending on the airport.
Required documents
General:
- copy of identity card on both sides or
- Copy of passport (presentation of a current registration certificate required)
- Proof of training
- Notification that you have passed the background check (if already available)
- Please also refer to the relevant information sheets from your aviation security authority or ask there.
If already available: Copy of the notification of the previous background check or an equivalent check.
Costs
none
Processing time
The processing time is three days to six weeks.
The processing time depends on the individual case and, in connection with a background check, on the level of knowledge about the individual person.
Miscellaneous
Access authorisation is valid for a maximum of 5 years. After that, it can be extended if the necessary requirements are met. In justified cases, your access authorisation (ID card) can also be withdrawn, especially if there are doubts about your reliability as defined by the Aviation Security Act.
Detailed information
Please contact the ID office at the airport.
Legal basis
Luftsicherheitsgesetz (LuftSiG):
- § 7 Zuverlässigkeitsüberprüfungen
- § 10 Zugangsberechtigungen
Release note
Machine generated, based on the German release by: Verkehrsministerium Baden-Württemberg, 09.05.2025