If you work in or at the airport, in many cases you will need a background check beforehand. This is a prerequisite for obtaining access authorisation. As soon as the background check and access authorisation have been granted and you have completed the necessary training at the airport, you can receive an airport ID card that allows you to move around the airport in security areas without being accompanied.

The regulation applies to persons who are regularly entrusted with

• Security checks
• check-in
• transport
• the inspection of air freight and
• entering security areas in general

Security areas include

• 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, for example, to

• Pilots
• Student pilots and trainee pilots
• Members of airport-based clubs
• Student interns and trainees
• Suppliers of goods and similar suppliers
• Traders and tradespeople and
• Employees of cleaning companies

The background check checks whether you pose a risk to the safety of civil aviation. The check includes

• Personal details,
• past periods of employment and training and a record of any gaps in the past five years,
• Your residences in the past ten years,
• A check of criminal records,
• Information from authorities.

The fact that you are being checked serves the safety of civil aviation. As a rule, you must apply for a background check yourself via your employer; your employer will cover the costs.

Obligation to co-operate:
You are obliged to co-operate in your check. In rare cases, this may also mean that you have to undergo a test for narcotics.

As a rule, your reliability will be denied if

• You have been sentenced to a custodial sentence, juvenile sentence or fine of at least 60 daily rates for an intentional criminal offence or
• You have been sentenced twice or more frequently to a lesser fine and five years have not yet elapsed since the last conviction became final.
• You have been sentenced to at least one year's imprisonment for a crime or other intentional criminal offence and ten years have not yet elapsed since the last conviction became final.
• there are factual indications that you are pursuing or supporting endeavours in accordance with Section 3 (1) of the Federal Protection of the Constitution Act (BVerfSchG) or have pursued or supported such endeavours in the last ten years (for example, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has observed you in the last ten years and, for example, endeavours have been identified that are directed against the free democratic basic order, the existence or security of the federal government or a state).

You can waive a background check if you

• have already been checked in accordance with the Security Check Act. In this case, the background check can be waived upon application,
• only need occasional access to security areas at the airport and can therefore work with a day pass, for example (observe the regulations of the respective airport) or
• work exclusively in generally accessible areas of the airport (public areas).