Airport World, Issue 3, 2020

In the spotlight: Leadership and COVID-19 Airport report: Salt Lake City Cargo hub: Amsterdam Schiphol Plus: Anaerobic digestion, robots & investing in airports

Leadership: The key piece of any success story Volume 25 – Issue 3, 2020 www.aci.aero

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Airport World Editor Joe Bates +44 (0)1276 476582 joe@airport-world.com Design, Layout & Production Mark Draper +44 (0)208 707 2743 mark@airport-world.com Sales Directors Jonathan Lee +44 (0)208 707 2743 jonathan@airport-world.com Gary Allman +44 (0) 7854 239 426 gary@aviationmedia.aero Advertising Manager Andrew Hazell +44 (0)208 384 0206 andrewh@airport-world.com Subscriptions subscriptions@aviationmedia.aero Managing Director Jonathan Lee +44 (0)208 707 2743 jonathan@aviationmedia.aero

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Leading the way Airport World editor, Joe Bates, reflects on the ‘leadership’ theme of this issue, the traffic decimating impact of COVID-19 on aviation, and the industry’s efforts to turn the tide on the coronavirus.

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n many ways it feels like 2020 is turning out to be the year of the unimaginable happening, with the world effectively paralysed by a deadly virus and the industry struggling to survive against the backdrop of lockdowns, border closures and new quarantine rules.

The dire situation has already led ACI World to warn that airports could lose at least 40% of their passengers and 50% of their revenues in 2020.

Things can surely only get better, and we maybe beginning to see the first signs of this happening with a number of international services resuming at airports across the world, and others appearing quite close to joining them.

There are, of course, still many obstacles to overcome before the industry can return to anything like it was before COVID-19, and you have a feeling that it could be very much the case of for every one step forward we take two steps back over the next year to 18 months.

After all, we are very much in unknown territory and in such an uncertain world, the need for good, and strong leadership, is possibly more important than ever before to help aviation, and indeed the world, get over COVID-19.

Unquestionably, ACI World has had a good leader for the last 12 years, so it is only fitting that in our last issue with Angela Gittens as director general of the association, we pay tribute to her by hearing from some of those that worked most closely with her during her tenure.

Our leadership themed section also includes articles about the the management qualities that will be needed to help airports survive and bounce back from the current crisis; and IT leadership.

It may not be in the themed section, but our main airport feature on Salt Lake City International Airport could well be as executive director, Bill Wyatt, talks to us about everything from the soon-to-be-finished first phase of SLC’s $4.1 billion Airport Redevelopment

Program to the need to restore the public’s confidence in flying post COVID-19.

Our COVID-19 related articles include an overview feature from ICAO airport consultant, Inderjit Singh, who notes that global collaboration and co-operation will be needed to help ease and hasten the industry’s recovery from the coronavirus.

We take a closer look at a number of pioneering initiatives airports are undertaking to ensure that they comply with the new social distancing measures, new COVID-19 health requirements and other concerns passengers have expressed about the risks of travelling through airports.

In fact we take a deeper dive into some of these measures in an extended, COVID-19 focused World Business Partner (WBP) section, and also hear from NUCTECH’s chairman, president and CEO who tells us more about what he expects to happen over the next few years as a direct result of the pandemic.

We also consider what impact COVID-19 is likely to have on the investment appeal of airports in 2020 and beyond.

Elsewhere in this issue we learn more about how anaerobic digestion can help airports become more environmentally friendly and reduce their carbon footprint; discover how a robot is helping Denver International Airport transform its Great Hall; and find out how cargo operations are faring at Amsterdam Schiphol.

This busy summer issue of your favourite airport magazine also features our regular ‘People matters’ column; and ACI news, which reports on ACI and IATA’s roadmap for the recovery of the aviation industry post COVID-19.

Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to say goodbye and good luck to outgoing ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, and a warm welcome to her successor, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, from whom we’ll be hearing a lot more AW from very soon.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2020

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 3 Volume 25

In this issue 3 Opinion Airport World editor, Joe Bates, reflects on the ‘leadership’ theme of this issue, the traffic decimating impact of COVID-19 on aviation, and the industry’s efforts to turn the tide on the coronavirus.

8 World in motion External relations manager, Bojana Jeremic, reports on ACI and IATA’s roadmap for the recovery of the aviation industry post COVID-19.

11 View from the top Outgoing ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, reflects on the growth and development of Airports Council International over the past 12 years and highlights the importance of some ongoing initiatives.

12 Keeping faith Bill Wyatt tells Joe Bates more about the ongoing transformation of Salt Lake City International Airport and restoring confidence in air travel over the next couple of years.

18 Leading lady Aviation leaders pay tribute to outgoing ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, by sharing their personal memories of working with her during her 12-year tenure at the helm of the ‘voice of the world’s airports’.

24 Follow the leader Dr Richard Plenty and Terri Morrissey consider the importance of strong leadership and the management qualities that will be needed to help airports survive and bounce back in these uncertain times.

26 Touchless travel Airports are leaders in the use of new technology, which will make touchless travel possible and hasten aviation’s recovery from COVID-19, writes Collins Aerospace’s Tony Chapman.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2020

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CONTENTS

Director General Angela Gittens (Montreal, Canada) Chair Martin Eurnekián (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Vice Chair Aimen Al-Hosni (Muscat, Oman) Immediate Past Chair Fredrick J Piccolo (Sarasota, USA) Treasurer Emmanuel Menanteau (Osaka, Japan) ACI WORLD GOVERNING BOARD DIRECTORS

30 Global effort Collaboration and co-operation will prove key to overcoming COVID-19 although aviation potentially faces a long road to recovery, writes Inderjit Singh.

32 Road to recovery Airport World provides a global snapshot of how airports have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and are planning for a brighter future.

36 All change?

Lufthansa Consulting’s Catrin Drawer and Andreas Jahnke consider what the impact of COVID-19 is likely to be on the investment appeal of airports across the globe.

39 Green energy Anaerobic digestion can help airports become more environmentally friendly and reduce their carbon footprint, writes the World Biogas Association’s Jocelyne Bia.

40 Speaks volumes Amsterdam Schiphol is a vital cargo gateway for the Netherlands and has helped keep essential cargo moving across Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic, writes Justin Burns.

43 Cutting edge Aviad Amalgor reports on the use of one of Boston Dynamics’ autonomous robot dogs during the ongoing revamp of Denver International Airport’s Great Hall.

44 The next step Professor Zhiqiang Chen, chairman, president and CEO of NUCTECH, gives his thoughts on aviation’s battle against COVID-19 and the new technologies and solutions that will ensure that airports are safe environments for passengers and staff.

46 WBP news We shine the spotlight on a handful of initiatives designed to help airports safely resume operations after the global COVID-19 lockdown ends and air travel is back on the agenda.

50 People matters Terri Morrissey and Richard Plenty share their thoughts on some of the early lessons learned from COVID-19.

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Africa (3) Zouhair El Aoufir (Rabat, Morocco) Emanuel Chavez (Maputo, Mozambique) 1 Vacancy Asia-Pacific (9) Aimen Al-Hosni (Muscat, Oman) Kjeld Binger (Amman, Jordan) Geoff Culbert (Sydney, Australia) Fred Lam (Hong Kong) Seow Hiang Lee (Singapore) Xue Song Liu, (Beijing, China) Emmanuel Menanteau (Osaka, Japan) PS Nair (Delhi, India) 1 Vacancy Europe (7) Daniel Burkard (Moscow, Russia) David Ciceo (Cluj-Napoca, Romania) Elena Mayoral Corcuera (Madrid, Spain) Jost Lammers (Munich, Germany) Yiannis Paraschis (Athens, Greece) Stefan Schulte (Frankfurt, Germany) Nazareno Ventola (Bologna, Italy) Latin America & Caribbean (3) Ezequiel Barrenechea (Lima, Peru) Martin Eurnekián (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Andrew O’Brian (Quito, Ecuador) North America (6) Lew Bleiweis (Asheville, USA) Joyce Carter (Halifax, Canda) Deborah Flint (Toronto, Canada) Joseph Lopano (Tampa, USA) Candace McGraw (Cincinnati, USA) Sam Samaddar (Kelowna, Canada) Regional Advisers to the World Governing Board (10) Diego Arrosa (Montevideo, Uruguay) Chellie Cameron (Philadelphia, USA) Arnaud Feist (Brussels, Belgium) Pascal Komla (Lomé, Togo) Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid (Delhi, India) Hector Navarrete Muñoz (Merida, Mexico) Augustin de Romanet (Paris, France) Brian Ryks (Minneapolis-St Paul, USA) 2 Vacancies WBP Advisory Board Thomas Duffy (ADB SAFEGATE) Tunde Oyekola (El-Mansur Atelier Group) Correct as of June 2020

ACI WORLDHEAD NEWS RUNNING

World in motion External relations manager, Bojana Jeremic, reports on ACI and IATA’s roadmap for the recovery of the aviation industry post COVID-19.

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he COVID-19 pandemic has brought airports around the world to a virtual standstill and continues to have a dramatic impact on the wider aviation ecosystem.

Most airports are operating at vastly reduced capacity, and almost all have introduced operational measures to deal with the ongoing crisis.

ACI World now estimates a reduction of more than 4.6 billion passengers and more than $97 billion in revenue across all regions for 2020. Travel restrictions and lockdown measures introduced in response to the pandemic continue to remain an existential threat to the aviation industry unless governments can provide sustainable and effective relief measures.

For airport operators the main aim remains the same – to protect the health and welfare of travellers and staff, and to reduce opportunities for the further spread of the virus.

As the aviation sector prepares to resume operations, ACI World and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have called on governments to ensure any new measures introduced for airports and airline are supported by scientific evidence and are consistent across the world.

Collaboration and unity between states, airports, airlines, and other international organisations will be essential for the global recovery of aviation.

The two organisations have jointly issued a paper laying out a pathway for restarting the aviation industry – Safely Restarting Aviation – ACI and IATA Joint Approach. Seen here: https://bit.ly/2zfioRh Airlines and airports have co-operated to build a roadmap for an eventual re-start of operations, which reassures passengers that health and safety remain the top priority.

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The joint recommendations propose a layered approach of measures across the entire passenger journey to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19 at airports and onboard aircraft, and to prevent aviation becoming a meaningful source of international re-infection.

Such measures should be globally consistent and subject to continued review, improvement, and removal when no longer required, to ensure an even recovery.

ACI and IATA are both central members the COVID-19 Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) being led by the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

CART enables the collaboration – among governments and between governments and industry – that is vital to ensure the harmonisation and consistency of measures that are essential to restoring air connectivity and passenger confidence in air travel.

“Airports and airlines have come together with ICAO and the wider aviation industry to address the biggest challenge ever faced by commercial aviation in restarting a global industry while continuing to halt the spread of COVID-19,” says ACI World director general, Angela Gittens said.

“There is currently no single measure that could mitigate all the risks of restarting air travel but we believe a globally-consistent, outcome-based approach represents the most effective way of balancing risk mitigation with the need to unlock economies and to enable travel.”

As airports and the entire aviation ecosystem face the challenges of COVID-19, ACI World continues to be led by its members’ needs, and diligently provides relevant data and guidance to help airports survive and recover from the global crisis.

ACI WORLD NEWS

ACI events

2020

2020

November 9-11

October 20-22

ACI-LAC/World Annual General Assembly, Conference & Exhibition Buenos Aires, Argentina

ACI Europe Annual Assembly & Congress Geneva, Switzerland

ACI offices ACI World Angela Gittens Director General PO Box 302 800 Rue du Square Victoria Montreal, Quebec H4Z 1G8 Canada Tel: +1 514 373 1200 Fax: +1 514 373 1201 aci@aci.aero www.aci.aero

ACI Africa Ali Tounsi Secretary General Casablanca, Morocco Tel: +212 660 156 916 atounsi@aci-africa.aero www.aci-africa.aero ACI Europe Olivier Jankovec Director General Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 (2) 552 0978 Fax: +32 (2) 502 5637 danielle.michel@aci-europe.org www.aci-europe.org

ACI Asia-Pacific Stefano Baronci Director General Hong Kong SAR, China Tel: +852 2180 9449 Fax: +852 2180 9462 info@aci-asiapac.aero www.aci-asiapac.aero

ACI Latin America & Caribbean Rafael Echevarne Director General Panama City, Panama Tel: +507 830 5657/58 jmartinez@aci-lac.aero www.aci-lac.aero ACI North America Kevin Burke President & CEO Washington DC, USA Tel: +1 202 293 8500 Fax: +1 202 331 1362 postmaster@aci-na.org www.aci-na.org

As of January 2020, ACI serves 668 members, operating 1,979 airports in 176 countries. ACI is a non-profit organisation whose prime purpose is to advance the interests of airports and to promote professional excellence in airport management and operations. According to ACI’s 2019 Annual World Airport Traffic Report, in 2018 airports worldwide welcomed 8.8 billion arriving and departing passengers and handled 122.7 million metric tonnes of cargo and 99.9 million aircraft movements.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2020

AW

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ACI VIEWPOINT

View from the top Outgoing ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, reflects on the growth and development of Airports Council International over the past 12 years and highlights the importance of some ongoing initiatives.

A

fter twelve years of leading ACI World, I will step down as director general on June 30, 2020, and hand the reins over to Luis Felipe de Oliviera, who is leaving his post as the executive director and CEO of ALTA, the Latin-American American and Caribbean Air Transport Association.

I know he will bring the kind of collaborative, win-win approach to problem-solving that will be necessary during the crisis and which fits so well in the airport environment. His experience in multiple sectors in our industry will be a benefit, as will his appreciation for the federated nature of ACI which is key to forwarding the progress of the highly diverse airport sector.

I am proud of what ACI, World and Regions, have become as we have evolved in step with the dynamic changes in the airport business environment.

We all have engaged Boards that impart their strategic insights and support management in their decision-making. We all have members that lend us the time and talent of their subject matter experts which allows us to ‘punch above our weight’. We all have skilled staff that have given ACI a strong voice on World and Regional stages, in keeping with the vision of our founders. We all struggle along with our members in this time of crisis, but we work together in the understanding that our members need us now more than ever.

Looking back at the World office, I see two key milestones in our maturation. The first was the relocation to Montréal in 2011, a decision made by the World Governing Board and ratified by the World General Assembly in Bermuda in November 2010.

The physical proximity with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) enabled our subject matter experts to have daily contact with counterparts at ICAO. As a result, ICAO learned more about airports, we learned more about ICAO, and significantly more fit-for-purpose decisions benefitting both airports and their regulators were made.

The other milestone was the launch and success of the Airport Excellence (APEX) in Safety programme, which solidified ACI’s status as a respected solution provider. Not only did the programme help our members, but it also helped ICAO and regulators achieve their goals of raising safety standards worldwide.

This was followed by APEX in Security, which was developed at the request of both members and regulators and will likely reach into other important airport disciplines. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, we were piloting an APEX in Environment programme.

Even now, as airports and aviation face the challenges of COVID-19, ACI continues to be led by its members’ needs, and diligently provide

relevant data and guidance to help airports survive and recover from the global crisis.

Of course, we stand on the shoulders of those that came before us.

Our two largest services, the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programme and Global Training, were put in motion by my predecessors and reflected the evolution and growth of the industry.

ASQ is a response to the growing sophistication and customercentric nature of an industry that evolved from being mere providers of infrastructure to businesses in their own right. As such, airports seek data and measure their performance, assessing the return on their investments and seeking a competitive advantage.

As well, the growth in demand for air services put great pressure on airport management’s ability to recruit and develop a skilled workforce.

Responding to this challenge, ACI developed and has grown its educational offerings, in multiple channels: classroom, on-line, in-house, and now we are developing the ‘virtual’ classroom in response to worldwide travel restrictions.

We can expect more innovations in the weeks, months and years ahead. Even before the COVID-19 disaster, we have looked ahead to what the airport world could be.

Ongoing projects such as Smart Security and NEXXT started before the pandemic and will help our industry get to the next generation of passenger, baggage, cargo and aircraft processing. We will soon publish the Smart Security Vision 2040, which had envisioned a ‘touchless’ passenger journey before ‘touch’ became a health hazard.

Working with our members, our industry colleagues and our regulatory communities, ACI will be part of the solution to gain the resilience to the myriad of shocks that our industry, our world, faces. We have new ones, like new contagious diseases, and we have old ones like climate change.

As someone who was an ACI member in three different Regions, who was an airport member and a World Business Partner before coming to work for the organisation, my faith in, and support for, Airports Council International is boundless.

I bid you all a fond farewell as I step aside. I will remain a participant on a part-time basis and wish the best for our great industry.

These are all needed to run an environment where employees are not necessarily employed by the airport but where everyone must work AW together for an efficient system.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2020

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AIRPORT REPORT: SALT LAKE CITY

Keeping faith

Bill Wyatt tells Joe Bates more about the ongoing transformation of Salt Lake City International Airport and restoring confidence in air travel over the next couple of years.

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alt Lake City has been one of the Midwest’s key transportation centres for over 150 years, firstly due the railroad and in more recent times because of its airport, and current executive director, Bill Wyatt, has no doubt that this lofty status will be cemented and strengthened by the opening of effectively a new gateway over the next four years.

Being built on the same site as the existing facility, the first phase of the new Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) is slated to open on September 15.

It includes a new state-of-the-art central terminal; the first phase openings of Concourse A (South Concourse) and Concourse B (North Concourse) initially with 25 and 20 gates respectively; a 990ft long tunnel connecting the two new facilities; a 3,600-vehicle capacity parking garage; and a new two-level roadway.

The new additions are the key projects of SLC’s $4.1 billion Airport Redevelopment Program (ARP), which is designed to address the Utah gateway’s operational needs, existing seismic requirements and security standards at the same time as creating one of the world’s most modern and distinctive airports.

When fully onboard they will equip the airport to handle around 38 million passengers per annum, which might not be appreciated for a couple of years now due to the fall in traffic caused by the coronavirus crisis, but make no mistake about it the extra capacity will be needed as SLC has been operating above its design capacity for over a decade.

Indeed, a record 26.7 million passengers (+6%) passed through SLC in 2019 even though the airport’s facilities were only designed to handle 10mppa.

And such has been the upward trajectory in passenger numbers since 2010 – when formulating SLC’s current capital development

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programme the airlines projected growth of 1.5% to 2% per annum and the reality has been more like 5% to 6% – that Concourse B was added to the already underway first phase of its ARP in 2016.

Wyatt, who leads the Salt Lake City Department of Airports, says: “Without doubt, the new facilities are needed as they will transform the airport’s operational efficiency, set new customer service standards and enhance safety and security.

“They will also finally put us in the position to be able to attract new airlines to Salt Lake City and expand our route network, which is something we have been hindered from doing in the past by the capacity and operational restrictions of the existing facilities.”

The new facilities will also be designed to withstand earthquakes up to 7.2 in magnitude, which was a top priority in the planning process as Salt Lake City is located in an active earthquake zone.

In fact a 5.2 magnitude quake struck SLC on March 18 this year forcing it to close for six hours while air traffic controllers temporarily relocated to a new facility while the ATC tower was made safe, sensitive security checkpoint equipment was reset and staff carried out an inspection of the airport site.

Luckily the damage caused to SLC was restricted to a few ceiling tiles and a burst water pipe, and Wyatt is quick to point out that the airport’s well drilled response on how to respond to an earthquake ensured that it was up and running again within a few hours.

“One of the reasons we are building a new airport is to bring it up to 21st Century seismic standards, and knowing that we will soon have facilities capable of withstanding a 7.2 magnitude earthquake is reassuring, and I am sure will also be welcomed by our passengers,” enthuses Wyatt.

AIRPORT REPORT: SALT LAKE CITY

Unique new terminal Built to allow SLC to cope with rising demand, the new terminal is expected to take the passenger experience to another level courtesy of bigger, better and more user-friendly facilities and a design that is said to reflect “Utah’s natural beauty”.

In addition to more space and an easier to navigate check-in hall, customs and immigration facilities, the terminal will boast a single centralised security checkpoint for all departing passengers, a plethora of new technologies, and around 30 new retail and F&B outlets chosen to complement rather than compete with each other.

Wyatt believes that passengers will be particularly impressed with the new security checkpoint, which he assures will be kitted out with the latest technology in automated screening lanes provided by Vanderlande Industries.

The new airport will also include a ‘sterile corridor’ that allows some gates to simultaneously handle domestic and international flights and impressive new SkyClub facilities for Delta’s business and first-class passengers.

However, arguably the thing that will make the biggest favourable impression on visitors is the Main Plaza with its sense of place Utah canyon wall (The Canyon) and giant ‘window wall’ through which passengers will be able to see the magnificent Wasatch Mountains in the background.

In this respect, Wyatt says that SLC has really listened to local residents and given the community what it wanted in terms of building a new airport that reflects the beauty of Utah.

Indeed, it was a key brief of architect, HOK, which actively worked with The Canyon creator, Gordon Huether, to ensure that his artwork was integrated into the design of the terminal.

Restoring confidence in aviation Right, you’ve heard what’s coming later this year and why SLC needs the new facilities, but how confident is Wyatt that his airport will bounce back from the current COVID-19 crisis and, just as importantly for people’s livelihoods, how long does he think the recovery will take?

Wyatt has absolutely no hesitation in stating that SLC will bounce back, citing over a decade of year-on-year growth prior to COVID-19, the fact that the airport is a key hub for Delta, the appeal of Salt Lake City, and aviation’s record of overcoming adversity as reasons why the good times will return for Utah’s gateway to the world.

But he is less sure about the timescale, believing it may take SLC and aviation longer to recover than people would like, despite his airport arguably still faring better today than many others.

He also believes that the demand for leisure travel will return much more quickly than for business, feeling that there is already “pent up demand for personal travel” to visit friends and families, whereas economically challenged companies may take business travel off of the agenda for some time.

“I think we could be looking at anywhere between three to five years to return to anywhere near last year’s traffic figures,” says Wyatt. “I could, of course, be wrong, and hope that I am and that the industry recovers much quicker, but this will very much depend on public confidence and the country opening up for business again.

“We will have to restore people’s faith in flying and allay their fears about whether it is safe to travel through our terminals. In this regards, it will be vital that we get the message out that we are doing all we can to ensure the safety and wellbeing of passengers and, of course, airport staff, both now and when the current travel restrictions are lifted.”

For now, SLC, like most major airports in the US and across the globe, has introduced a number of measures and processes and procedures to protect passengers and staff from COVID-19.

Wyatt says that virtually everyone working at SLC now wears a mask and that the airport’s COVID-19 prevention measures include social distancing – reinforced by signs and messages throughout the airport as well as by new plexiglass ‘shields’ in hold-rooms and at ticket counters, gates and other passenger processing areas – and the introduction of hand sanitising stations across the campus.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2020

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AIRPORT REPORT: SALT LAKE CITY

He notes that most US airlines have also introduced their own measures, which for many include requiring all passengers to wear face masks on flights, and that the TSA is looking at introducing temperature checks at airports. Frontier Airlines already carries out pre-boarding temperature screening at SLC.

Traffic and economic stability A decade of year-on-year growth counts for nothing, of course, when it comes to COVID-19, so in an all too familiar story, SLC has seen its passenger numbers plummet in 2020 as people have been told to stay at home and put air travel on hold.

The result has been a 91% drop in passenger traffic in the first four months of the year. SLC’s runways haven’t been empty though, as most domestic destinations continue to be served by at least one flight a week as US airlines are required to maintain a network presence on all routes.

“We’ve lost frequencies rather than routes and load factors have fallen dramatically,” comments Wyatt. “To give you an idea of how this has translated into daily operations, we’ve gone from nine flights to JFK and 12 to Atlanta to about two a day, where a load factor of 25% would be considered good. It’s not ideal, but the connectivity is vital to Salt Lake City and the region.”

He believes that possibly a few green shoots of recovery have been witnessed by the doubling of passenger numbers using SLC in recent weeks, but as previously mentioned, feels that it could be some time before today’s 3,000 odd daily travellers returns to the 26,000 to 30,000 it was before COVID-19.

The traffic downturn has severely dented the airport’s 2020 revenues, but Wyatt expects SLC to have the financial reserves to be able to ride out the current storm without having to furlough or layoff any of his 480 staff.

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A year of promised emergency relief funds from the federal government courtesy of the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act will certainly help, of course, but Wyatt notes that SLC is a lean organisation with historically one of the lowest costs per passenger enplanement in the US (Under $4 in 2019).

“We are in a really strong cash position, and the view of the City of Salt Lake is that this is not a permanent condition and that we will come out of it one day, so we have placed a premium on maintaining staff,” he says.

“The CARES funding will last until April 2021 and my feeling is that although things won’t be back to normal by then, they will be significantly better.”

Bringing forward next phase of SLC’s development Wyatt reveals that the current decline in traffic has actually given him and the Salt Lake City Department of Airports the opportunity to bring the next phase of the ARP forward and even rescale it to meet demand.

Bringing it forward is possible because it now seems unlikely that SLC will have to keep any gates open in the existing terminal to compensate for those lost in the impending demolition of Concourses F, C and D before work can begin on the second phase development of the new North and South Concourses.

“With maximising gate numbers no longer looking like a priority, for now anyway, we may end up rephasing the second part of our development programme to finish it 2024, two years earlier than originally planned, as it will be a lot easier to complete if we don’t have to build around existing facilities because we need to keep gates open,” explains Wyatt.

AIRPORT REPORT: SALT LAKE CITY

“The change in circumstances means that we also have more flexibility to scale the second phase to whatever business demands. I am happy about this as none of us really know where things are heading. So, we can now build another 40 or 50 gates or we can build 20, depending on growth.”

Describing the differences between the first and second phases of the ARP, Wyatt says the former was like building on a green field site as there was “nothing to be moved out of the way”, whereas “everything has to be moved out of the way” in the second phase.

The current plan is to add an additional 22-gates to Concourse A and 11-gates to Concourse B in the second phase of the ARP, which is due to take place between 2021-2026. Whatever path is taken, with the exception of the airfield, SLC will effectively be a completely new airport upon completion of the ARP, with brand new facilities replacing the bulldozed old terminal and its concourses.

Positive thinking Like most people, Wyatt is working from home at the moment, although he still visits SLC’s construction sites once or twice a week to check up on the progress of the ARP to make sure everything is on course for the big September 2020 opening.

He admits that new technology and video conferencing tools such as Zoom for team meetings have made doing his job remotely easier than he expected, but he certainly has no desire to do it any longer than is absolutely necessary.

“The current situation we all find ourselves in is far from perfect, but we just have to make the best of it and eventually we will all come through it, and for us, that means a brand new airport in just a few

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Driving SLC’s development Park Assist has been awarded the Parking Guidance System (PGS) contract for Salt Lake City International Airport’s latest parking 3,600-space parking garage.

The new facility is equipped with Park Assist’s camera based M4 PGS, which is designed to decrease the time motorists spend searching for parking spaces, therefore easing traffic congestion in the garage and increasing customer satisfaction levels.

The camera based M4 smart sensor system uses colour-coded LED lights to guide drivers to vacant spaces; triggered to turn from red to green when spaces become available, these lights remove all confusion from the parking journey.

And upon returning to the garage, travellers are promised an equally effortless experience finding their car by utilising Park Assist’s Find Your Car software add-on to locate their vehicles.

“As the airport transforms for the future, Park Assist hopes to deliver an equally innovative parking experience,” notes regional account manager, Jeff Sparrow.

Site work is scheduled to begin in May and the installation is slated for completion for SLC’s grand opening in September 2020. months’ time that is really going to amaze people, particularly in terms of its grandeur and scale.

“What do I miss most about not going into work? I think it’s the water cooler conversations with colleagues where you can really catch up with people. On the other hand, an upshot is that whenever I call AW someone now, they are always there to answer the ‘phone!”

SPECIAL REPORT: LEADERSHIP

Leading lady Aviation leaders pay tribute to outgoing ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, by sharing their personal memories of working with her during her 12-year tenure at the helm of the ‘voice of the world’s airports’.

I

t is fair to say that ACI World reached new heights under the leadership of Angela Gittens, who oversaw the game-changing move of the association’s global headquarters to Montréal and a new period of co-operation, partnership and understanding with ICAO, IATA and other industry bodies.

Arguably, her legacy will be that she leaves behind an association that is stronger, more united and more active and influential on the global stage than at any time in its history.

Not surprisingly then, her efforts in spearheading the association have been recognised by airports leaders far and wide, ACI World Governing Board members past and present, and the director general and secretary general of IATA and ICAO respectively.

ICAO secretary general, Fang Liu, says that Angela “has always provided proactive support and contributions to the wide variety of initiatives that ICAO has undertaken under my leadership”, noting that on a personal level, she “greatly appreciated her generous and kind nature.”

Liu praised Angela’s “unwavering support” for ACI/ICAO’s joint efforts to enhance the accessibility of careers in aviation for women and youth; co-operation on joint training initiatives; and for helping grow the success of the joint Global ACI-ICAO Airport Management Professional Accreditation Programme (AMPAP) and Airport Excellence (APEX) programmes.

Liu states: “Angela will be warmly remembered for having brought ACI to its natural home in the heart of the World Capital of Civil Aviation, Montréal.

“This insightful move placed the organisation figuratively and literally at the centre of global aviation policy making. By becoming our neighbour, ACI dramatically enhanced its ability to contribute to all

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aspects of ICAO’s standard-setting and aviation advocacy work, resulting of course in better outcomes for operators, consumers, and the almost unimaginably vast constellation of communities and industry sectors that depend on airports for their connectivity to the world.”

IATA director general, Alexandre de Juniac, says that he will always fondly remember his time working with Angela, whether that was sharing opposing views on different issues or collaborating on various ACI/IATA initiatives.

He says: “Angela is one of the people that I have met most often in my job. We see each other all over the world as a kind of informal double act talking about the top industry issues. That’s quite appropriate as it reflects the partnership of airlines and airports.

“Sometimes we agreed; and sometimes we did not. But I have always been impressed with Angela’s enthusiastic and tireless efforts in representing the interest of airports.

“She was a driving force for improving the work that IATA and ACI do together to make flying better. That helped IATA and ACI to tackle the environment challenge head-on, to develop a new relationship on slots and to address security issues.

“Angela should be proud of the mark that he has left on aviation.

Although I find it difficult to imagine Angela kicking back and relaxing, I wholeheartedly wish her a very long and extremely happy retirement.”

Another big fan of Angela’s is Greater Toronto Airports Authority’s president and CEO, Deborah Flint, who enthuses: “While we are women of the skies, I met Angela for the first time on a boat. The ACI Economics conference was being held in Miami and the welcome reception was waterside. I was the head of Capital Development at OAK, and Angela was a known industry legend already.

SPECIAL REPORT: LEADERSHIP

“She was revered for her intelligence, vision and tenaciousness. I recall being so excited to meet her, and I was struck by how warm and personable she was. In a time when the industry was tight knit, she made me feel welcome.

“In life you’re remembered by how people make you feel. In a conversation with Angela, you will feel like her friend; you’ll feel like a diplomat engaging in global aviation policy; you’ll feel respected for your opinion because she will inquire and genuinely listen, and you’ll feel inspired to make the industry better. You may be inspired to do a little shopping, too!”

Former chair of ACI World and president and CEO of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in Florida, Fredrick Piccolo, actually spearheaded the search committee that recommended her appointment as director general of ACI World, and says that Angela still jokingly tells him today that she would have asked for a higher salary had he been more transparent about the challenges ahead!

He says: “I have served on the ACI World Board during her entire tenure and she is a great friend and wonderful colleague.

She is one of the smartest, strongest, energetic, and most ethical people I have ever known. She is tremendously respected by every sector of the aviation community whether they were friend or foe.”

As for the highlights of her tenure, Piccolo says: “Angela has done so many things for ACI and aviation, however, I believe her greatest accomplishment was the pre-eminent status she has raised ACI World to throughout our industry worldwide.

“She had to move the organisation to Montréal from Geneva, establish a headquarters and staff, gain credibility with our members around the world, go toe-to-toe with IATA when the combative Giovanni Bisignani was their director general and get respect and credibility from ICAO and its leadership.

“Additionally, she needed to expand the training and financial strength of the organisation. She accomplished all of these objectives and made it look easy. Her ability to get individuals of so many different cultures to not only listen but act upon her counsel is a further testament to her ability.

“She overcame all the business and hidden challenges with her energy, wit, intelligence and warmth. I think she will be remembered as the most consequential figure in the history of ACI.”

On a lighter note, he fondly remembers Angela being impressed by his dancing at one event, even comparing his moves to those of Bruno Mars. “Her comment to this day always brings a smile to my face, because either Angela needs stronger glasses, or her kindness knows no bounds,” says Piccolo.

Athens International Airport’s CEO, Yiannis Paraschis, first met Angela during her selection process for job as director general of ACI World, noting: “I vividly recall how she impressed us all during that meeting, and, in fact, Angela never ceased to impress us.

“Looking back in retrospect at the 12 years since our first encounter, I sincerely don’t think a better choice could have been made back then.

Angela made a difference at first sight, and eventually made a difference all the way steering ACI World, the family of the world’s airports.

“Under Angela’s leadership, ACI became a totally transformed organisation in a twofold manner: both in the way the global membership is served but, very importantly, also in the way external peers look at airports’ trade association.”

Like many in Asia-Pacific, Airport Authority Hong Kong’s CEO, Fred Lam, considers Angela to be a great supporter of the region’s airports and is truly appreciative of Hong Kong being given the opportunity to host last year’s joint ACI World Annual General Assembly/ACI AsiaPacific Regional Conference.

“She works tirelessly for worldwide airports, big and small, as demonstrated in the ‘Leave No Airport Behind’ initiative,” says Lam. “I share and fully support her vision of helping smaller and less resourceful airports improve standards for security and safety, which benefits the whole aviation industry.

“Angela has been an exceptional leader during her tenure at ACI World. She is instrumental in strengthening the relationship between ACI and ICAO and fought hard to make the voice of airports heard in the aviation industry, raising airports’ collective influence and contribution on global aviation affairs. It has been my pleasure to work with Angela, who is always positive and supportive. She will be missed at ACI and I wish her all the best in her future endeavours.”

Andrew O’Brian, president and CEO of Corporacíon Quiport and president of ACI Latin America & Caribbean (ACI-LAC), calls Angela the “Empress of aviation” because of her tireless efforts championing the cause of the world’s airports, adding that she actively encouraged him to get more involved with ACI and work to do more for the ACI-LAC region’s airports.

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“For me, she has been a mentor who fuelled my interest in leading ACI-LAC,” says O’Brian. “She is one of the most respected voices in the industry and particularly the airport sector. Above all, Angela is an extraordinary person who has a vast wealth of wisdom to share.

Her generosity is a distinctive trait.”

Pierre Coutu, programme administrator for AMPAP and president of Aviation Strategies International, notes: “At every single annual AMPAP graduation ceremony since 2008, Angela would start her allocution with the same words – ‘this is my favourite time of the year’.

“No other words could better express her sincere pride for all those airport executives who would be beaming equally with pride, and also for the programme. AMPAP has reached airport executives in 116 countries to date and a big portion of its success is due to Angela’s unwavering support for its mission and for the development of airport management as a profession!”

TAV Airports president and CEO, Sani Şener, is equally glowing in his praise for Angela, particularly for her “successful management of change”, and for “creating collaboration and a unified voice for airports in the face of complex economic and environmental challenges”.

He says: “Angela Gittens’ appointment as the head of ACI World in 2008 coincided with a very crucial period in my career. At the time, TAV was quickly expanding beyond Turkey and was on track to become a global player in airport management. ACI provided us with the opportunity to network with our peers.

“Later, I had the chance to work closely with Angela during my tenure on the ACI World Governing Board. She was always a good listener, analytical and a firm believer in collaboration among industry stakeholders. Today, I’m proud to consider her a friend and a very respected industry colleague.”

Halifax International Airport Authority’s president and CEO, Joyce Carter, describes the retiring Gittens as an “icon in our industry”, remembering that she immediately “connected” with her when they

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met at an informal gathering of female leaders in aviation a few years ago, and quickly learnt that Angela was “kind, personable and keen”.

“I will remember Angela for always promoting women in aviation, and for always taking the time to connect with me, no matter how busy her schedule was or what time zone she was in. She’s an empowering leader who will have a lasting impact on ACI World. She will be greatly missed,” says Carter.

Greg Fordham, managing director of Airbiz and a leading advocate for ACI’s World Business Partner programme, reveals that he was first inspired

by Angela when she “demonstrated her brilliant leadership to ensure that Atlanta airport ran like clockwork for the 1996 Olympic Games”.

He says: “I got to know Angela through ACI where her diplomacy skills shone as she managed the transition and success of ACI World’s relocation to Montréal. But as a true legend of our industry, I am always impressed when Angela is able to answer any question on a diverse range of aviation topics with clarity and insight – regardless of how many aeroplanes she has jumped on and off during the previous few days!”

Another impressed by her leadership qualities is Seow Hiang Lee, CEO of Changi Airport Group (CAG) and president of ACI’s Asia-Pacific Region, who believes that Angela will be best remembered for giving a stronger voice to airports around the world, and for making the strategic decision to move ACI World’s office from Geneva to Montréal to be nearer to ICAO and IATA. He has no doubt in stating that the strategic move paid off and enabled ACI to foster a much stronger working relationship with both ICAO and IATA, elevating the voice of the world’s airports on the international stage.

However, he also has many fond personal memories of working with Angela and enjoying her company over the last decade, choosing to share two stories with us.

“During a chat with Angela at a recent board meeting, I found out that she had travelled to more than eight countries consecutively to attend meetings and speak at various forums, and she had not been home for about a month,” says Lee.

SPECIAL REPORT: LEADERSHIP

“Angela’s dedication to ensure that ACI continues to be seen and heard at the international level is inspiring, and her energy is most admirable, as I fully appreciate the struggle of adapting to different time zones, being a frequent traveller myself.

“Another fond memory I have of her occurred after a conference dinner in Gold Coast, Australia. Groups of dinner attendees began to dance when the after-dinner music started playing. Someone invited Angela to join in the dancing, and she gamely obliged. Following her lead, many of the Regional Board directors let their hair down too, and we danced the night away.

“Not only did I get a glimpse of the fun and lighter side of Angela that night, her persuasion skills at getting some of the non-dancers to join the floor left a deep impression on me.”

Not surprisingly, Angela is a hugely popular character at ACI, with all of the association’s regional leaders lavishing praise on her engaging personality, stamina, and leadership skills.

Long serving ACI Europe director general, Olivier Jankovec, has worked alongside Angela for over a decade and had these warm words to say about his long-term counterpart at ACI World.

“Angela has been a game changer. She is the one that brought the ACI Regions together and raised the profile and standing of ACI World – especially with ICAO,” says Jankovec.

“She really managed to build upon our regional strengths, while respecting our differences and autonomy.

“She built trust and has enabled effective co-operation between the five regions and ACI World, ultimately allowing the airport industry to come out of the shadows, to be considered and listened to. Her leadership skills have been a tremendous asset to our organisations. I confess I have a hard time thinking of ACI without Angela.”

His favourite memory of Angela is unexpected, funny and perhaps best sums up the type of friendship they enjoyed over the last 12 years.

“It is that moment when I proposed... to take a ride with me through the streets of Rome on my scooter,” he says. “We were out of an ECAC

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meeting and she went for it with no hesitation, taking the risk of my (sometimes adventurous) driving skills.

“We did our own (modernised) remake of ‘Roman Holiday’, the 1954 movie starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. I think she felt as much like Audrey as I did Gregory!”

Recalling his favourite memory of their time working together, ACI Asia-Pacific director general, Stefano Baronci, says: “It was late afternoon on a gorgeously sunny Spring day in Montréal. We had just concluded a three-year process of negotiation with airlines and slot co-ordinators to agree that airport operators should have equal rights to set the slot allocation rules at a global level. The reform was long overdue. We hugged each other and shared a celebratory drink. It was a great moment and one I will never forget.

“Angela is a true leader, a true fighter, a true woman. And a truly good dancer. She will be remembered for all of this.”

We’ll leave the last word to former Munich Airport CEO, Michael Kerloh, who believes that Angela’s achievements should earn her place in aviation’s Hall of Fame.

He says: “Certainly one of her great achievements is that ACI is now on eye level with the big partners of ICAO, IATA, CANSO and others. In fact, ACI’s input for improving the quality, safety and security of air travel is now welcomed by all rule-making authorities and bodies on both the national and international level.

“The voice of airports is clearly being heard and listened to and our influence has significantly grown.

“I also have to mention her worldwide physical presence, which was legendary. There are not many people who can say that they have delivered speeches on different continents on the same day. She is a member of this exclusive club.

“Thanks to her fitness and her genes – both her parents are still happily alive – I think she could happily be invited into the hall of fame for the world’s ‘Wonder Women’. She definitely deserves a prominent place in World Aviation’s Hall of Fame. She would be a perfect first AW member. She is a role model for all of us. Thanks for inspiring us.”

SPECIAL REPORT: LEADERSHIP

Follow the leader

Dr Richard Plenty and Terri Morrissey consider the importance of strong leadership and the management qualities that will be needed to help airports survive and bounce back in these uncertain times.

D

espite the fact that a global pandemic had been widely anticipated and predicted for many years, the world has been caught completely unprepared for the scale, speed and impact of the COVID-19 virus and, in the space of less than three months, everything has changed.

There are, of course, a number of dimensions to the crisis. First and foremost, it is a human tragedy, with the hundreds of thousands of lives lost engendering fear and anxiety.

But it is also an economic and social disaster, with massive job losses globally. And, arguably, few industries have been more badly affected than aviation, where passenger traffic has effectively ground to a halt, potentially posing an existential threat to the industry as a whole.

Leadership challenges We will be faced with some huge leadership challenges as the industry strives to work out how it can best survive and operate.

Indeed, the circumstances the world faces are ‘unprecedented’, a word which innovation thought-leader Dr Christian Busch points out is itself currently experiencing an exponential rise in usage.

There are enormous immediate issues to deal with: redesigning airports and their operations so they comply with health and safety requirements, in particular social distancing; dealing with the economic reality, including reducing variable costs through redundancies and use of technology; and looking at how best to get airports up and running again, which will involve innovative and more flexible working practices.

Difficult decisions will have to be made. Organisations will have to be restructured, costs cut, and people released in order for airports to survive. And all of this needs to be done with an eye on the future rather than as a kneejerk reaction to what has just happened.

Still, it is in looking to the unpredictable future that leaders are likely to face their toughest challenge. Faced with this degree of uncertainty, John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow Airport, argues that leadership needs to help shape the future; to use the power of technology; to build scenarios for recovery and also to anticipate future shocks.

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In a recent article in Business Travel News (May 4, 2020) he said: “Whilst Heathrow will continue to be guided by the medical experts, we will be showing leadership in assessing what all options could look like at our airport in the future. Change is coming, and Heathrow will be at the front of helping to shape what that looks like.”

Who will take the lead?

Who will lead these changes? In the current crisis, many people are looking for a ‘strong leader’ to take them forward. Some are waiting to be told what to do next; some are asking for clarity; others simply ache for a reduction of uncertainty.

In the immediate stages of recovery, a top down directive approach may well be necessary. But it is unlikely to be sustainable in the longer term. In times of uncertainty, over-reliance on instructions and orders from a single leader is risky. No-one has all the answers, nor can they have knowledge of all the circumstances.

Traditional ‘command and control’ structures tend to break down under the pressures of information overload, unclear evidence, and the need to take immediate decisions. In practice, leadership is necessary at many levels.

Typically, local leaders and teams emerge who are able to assess their own situation and take swift action. The most effective role that senior leaders can play is to choreograph change, providing a sense of purpose and meaning.

This allows the development of leadership capacity and capability, and ensures it is channelled positively and connected to a broader vision.

How can this best be done? If we stop for a moment and ask ourselves the question, “What are people really looking for?”, the answers most likely to come back are “Reassurance things will eventually get better”, “A sense of direction” and “A way through all of this”.

Those senior leaders who are credible, trusted, and can set priorities are likely to be able to meet these needs. Those who can do this and empower and inspire others to come up with their own answers are likely to be the most successful.

SPECIAL REPORT: LEADERSHIP

Developing leadership competencies What combination of skills and competencies are needed to meet these demands? Many modern leadership models are variants of a threefactor approach, highlighting skills that are likely to be needed in three principal areas, generally categorised as follows: • Strategic/business thinking: Seeing the big picture; critical thinking; systems thinking; innovation; commercial mindset • Building relationships: Teamwork; collaboration; networking; influencing and persuasion; emotional intelligence; empathy; communication • Self-mastery: Taking personal responsibility; managing emotions; self-awareness; resilience, humour; keeping up to date, relevant and current In times of uncertainty, we believe that there is a fourth area of competence that is sometimes overlooked by writers on leadership, which is even more critical. This area we call our ‘core’.

This ‘core’ is central to our being and consists of our values, ethics, and character. It is essentially who we are, what we stand for, our personal authenticity. It is about our sense of purpose.

In a world where decisions sometimes have to be made on the basis of scant information, where being trusted is essential, having a strong core is vital.

In our new book, Uncertainty Rules? Making Uncertainty Work for You we use the Irish shamrock as a metaphor for how a person’s ‘core’ character, personal values and purpose are an integrating and supportive element for the different competencies of strategic thinking, self-mastery and building relationships. We call these the Richmor Competencies.

One person who exemplifies all these qualities was Nelson Mandela, whose character, sense of purpose, intellect, self-

discipline, and interpersonal skills enabled him to survive over twenty-five years of imprisonment and still manage to change the apartheid system in South Africa.

The way ahead At the most senior levels of leadership, developing collaboration and co-operation between aviation, health and international bodies is likely to become an area of increasing importance.

For those working in airport management, critical thinking and innovation skills will be tested to the full; and for those leading teams in the front line, resilience and mental toughness skills are likely to be necessary for the foreseeable future.

We will need leaders at all levels with the competencies to make this happen. These skills can be developed systematically through exposure to different roles, coaching and formal training.

Investment in upskilling and reskilling those who remain will help faster recovery.

The principal leadership lesson we can learn is that our airports need to be resilient and designed for sustainability as well as efficient operation.

We need to consider a broader range of scenarios when making plans. A multi-disciplinary approach to assessing risk is important. The unthinkable can happen. We need to learn to expect the unexpected.

AW

About the authors Terri Morrissey and Dr Richard Plenty are directors of This Is… and deliver ACI World’s Airport Human Resources training. You can contact them at info@thisis.eu

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Touchless travel Airports are leaders in the use of new technology, which will make touchless travel possible and hasten aviation’s recovery from COVID-19, writes Collins Aerospace’s Tony Chapman.

T

here was a time not long ago when commercial airline passengers arrived early at airports to shop at high-end boutiques, eat at nice restaurants and enjoy a cocktail before their flights.

Indeed, the airport visit was often viewed as the start of an adventure and passengers looked forward to these pre-departure activities as a fun and relaxing way to begin their journeys.

ACI World’s recently released Airport Economics 2020 Report, notes that retail concessions remain the biggest source of nonaeronautical revenue for airports, accounting for 28.9% of all non-aviation related income in 2018. That was then. This is now.

COVID-19 has changed our world.

Tough times ahead ACI World has announced that it expects the world’s airports to lose 4.6 billion passengers and close to $100 billion in revenue in 2020.

While recent data from OAG for the year-to-date shows scheduled capacity for North America down by 75%. Astronaut, Buzz Aldrin’s 1969 description of the Moonscape as magnificent desolation perfectly describes most airport terminals and concourses in mid-2020.

While no one has a crystal ball, what is crystal clear is that the global airport industry will continue to struggle until passengers feel safe and confident to travel again. If no solution is implemented, airport revenue may lag the return of the commercial air transport industry, as passengers avoid airport boutiques, restaurants and bars altogether and plan just-in-time arrivals.

Make no mistake about it, because of the number of people who normally cycle through global airports daily – and the close proximity of passengers to each other at numerous airport touchpoints – airports are one of the key battlegrounds in the fight against COVID-19.

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Leading-edge technology is a crucial weapon To ensure that the global airport industry gets back on its feet as quickly as possible, one area for the industry’s overarching focus is to ensure that airports are no longer defined by interminable, seemingly endless lines of passengers in close contact with each other.

Passengers must feel safe and confident to travel again; long, slow moving lines, accomplish exactly the opposite.

After all the media public service announcements and celebrity reminders to wash our hands, wear face masks, disinfect everything, and use common sense, the answer for the airport industry may be leading-edge technology. And, specifically, technology that enables a touchless travel experience.

The IATA illustration on the right shows the major touchpoints of a passenger’s journey from the moment they enter the airport to the departure gate. Each touchpoint can be seen as a crucial engagement in the airport’s overall war against the virus.

The outcome of the battle at one touchpoint determines whether a departing passenger moves forward safely and confidently to the next touchpoint.

This illustration clearly shows the challenges that airports face.

There are numerous passenger touchpoints and each one is an opportunity for passengers and staff to come in contact with each other and COVID-19.

The good news is that leading-edge technology is available now, and other technology is under development, that will help passengers move safely and confidently through each touchpoint.

It’s all about reducing contact between passengers and airport personnel and eliminating the physical act of touching surfaces where the virus could be viable. One technology stands apart as a great enabler – biometrics.

SPECIAL REPORT: LEADERSHIP

Biometrics – enabling the touchless travel experience Biometrics is not a new technology. It’s already in use at airports around the world, primarily for immigration and border control.

But when leading-edge biometric technology overlays each airport touchpoint so that a passenger’s face becomes that passenger’s identification – instead of a driver’s license, passport or boarding pass – all airport touchpoints become part of a single end-to-end biometric journey that is touchless, seamless and faster.

And that is new. It could be a game-changer in the war on COVID-19 and enabling passenger safety and confidence.

The ideal airport encompasses a fully connected journey made possible through a cloud environment with ironclad security and robust identity management. This, in turn, decreases the length of lines and the time passengers spend in lines.

In one recent test of biometric technology used for boarding, the time it took for an international traveller to walk up to an automated boarding gate, allow it to capture their biometrics, send the biometrics to a matching database at the CBP Traveler Verification Service, confirm the match, and send that notification back to the airline departure control system that allowed the gate to open and register the passenger as boarding, was, astonishingly, four seconds.

In other recent tests of people wearing face masks, the 120-point biometric facial scans routinely picked up passenger identity from just the passenger’s face showing above the mask.

Currently, Collins Aerospace has leading-edge biometric technology working at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas and for JetBlue at JFK Airport in New York. Biometric trials are being conducted with easyJet between Bristol, England, and Dublin, Ireland.

Addition of health measurements to biometrics shows promise With the advent of the COVID-19 global pandemic, airports are also looking for more effective ways to screen for potentially sick travellers.

One way is to add health measurements, such as temperature scanning or thermal imaging, to an airport’s biometrics overlay.

Not every airport touchpoint will require this more robust health measurement technology, but one could see the advantage of having it at Arrivals, before any significant interaction with other passengers, and, again, at security screening, before passengers mix on concourses and before they board their aircraft.

Collins is currently testing thermal imaging and temperature scanning Beta technology in its labs.

Data privacy issues must be thoughtfully considered and answered One point to emphasise clearly and unambiguously is the need for thoughtful consideration of data privacy issues. While the greater good suggests that passengers suspected of being ill should be screened and checked, all passengers have rights and expectations of data privacy.

Though, perhaps, not as inarguably as before COVID-19.

How will governments regulate this technology? It’s safe to assume that what is allowed will vary country by country for the foreseeable future.

Still, we note the recent announcement by Dubai-based Emirates that it has begun COVID-19 blood tests on passengers at the airport before their flights. Emirates says the results of the blood test are available in 10 minutes.

Self-service is a growing passenger expectation The global airport industry has done a great job delivering self-service technology. Today, with the latest mobile phone technology integrating with high-tech airports, passengers have a taste of what it’s like to proceed through each of the touchpoints in the IATA illustration with only minimal human interaction until they board their aircraft.

Self-service is a growing passenger expectation. Especially now. At London, Las Vegas, Houston, San Francisco, and other global airports, passengers can automatically check in at remote kiosks, process their own baggage, and pass through self-boarding gates. Lines, and close contact, is a fraction of what it used to be.

Collins is developing self-service technology as a mobile device app.

Once passengers are on board an aircraft, they will have significantly less need to interact with flight attendants. They’ll be able to order food and drinks, control Inflight Entertainment systems and download movies from their own mobile devices.

And there are applications for this technology to be leveraged in airports for wayfinding. Passengers will be warned of airport congestion points as the congestion is building and with enough advanced notice to adjust their schedules. Self-service indeed.

Yes, there was a time not long ago when commercial airline passengers arrived early at airports to shop, eat and be merry before catching their flights. And they will again. Indeed, once travellers feel safe and confident, airports will be busy again. It’s an if-then relationship that leading-edge airport technology and a touchless travel experience AW can help deliver, today!

About the author Tony Chapman is Collins Aerospace’s senior director for global product management and strategy.

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COVID-19 CRISIS

Global effort Collaboration and co-operation will prove key to overcoming COVID-19 although aviation potentially faces a long road to recovery, writes Inderjit Singh.

A

viation is one of the most important pillars of the global economy as the sector provides millions of jobs across the world and contributes heavily to its GDP. It is also a survivor, as the industry’s previous recovery from events such as 9/11, the global financial crisis and SARS have proven over the last 20 years.

However, the world and aviation has seen nothing like COVID-19 before, and surviving it will require new levels of industry and global co-operation.

Global COVID-19 update In just months, COVID-19 has already ‘infected’ every sector of the global economy. At the time of writing on June 9 there had been 7.2 million confirmed cases in 213 countries, with over 409,000 of them succumbing to the illness.

It is difficult to talk of commercial impacts amidst such human tragedy but, obviously, airports and airlines have been among the biggest corporate casualties of this outbreak. As the coronavirus and resulting government restrictions quickly brought air passenger traffic to a halt; the knock-on effect has hit everyone working in the transport, tourism and commerce chains.

How long will it take aviation to return to its pre-coronavirus levels?

Unfortunately, the short answer, is not for a very long time. The recovery will be long and slow, but it will happen.

Working together is the name of the game In essence, we must step-up the current level of industry and global co-operation several gears to ensure that we’re all working together to create an ecosystem and an environment of confidence where passengers feel safe to take to the skies again.

ICAO has been working with governments and industry partners ACI and IATA to ensure that harmonised and updated procedures are made available in order to keep passengers safe, the world connected, and the virus contained.

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Indeed, ICAO secretary general, Dr Fang Liu, and World Health Organization director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, recently reaffirmed their commitment to foster greater international co-operation to contain the virus and to protect the health of travellers.

ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, has gone on record as welcoming the multi-sector and multi-agency communication, noting that the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on aviation has “highlighted the need for effective co-ordination and a proportionate response from States”.

IATA director general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, has stated: “Safety is always our top priority and that includes public health. Our layered approach of measures recommended by airports and airlines safeguard public health while offering a practical approach for a gradual restart of operations.

“That is key to restoring public confidence so the benefits of safely re-starting aviation can be realised.”

Today’s COVID-19 impacted world means that the aviation industry is now charged with embracing a new responsibility for managing public health risks in close co-ordination with the WHO, and other health related research agencies, effectively developing a ‘new normal’ for the industry.

Solutions can’t come quickly enough as ACI World analysis indicates that airports are set to lose around 40% of their traffic and 50% of their revenues in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

The latest data suggests that worldwide domestic markets are down by 70% in 2020, and worryingly, an IATA consumer confidence survey revealed that only 14% of passengers said they would fly right away, while 60% said they would fly again within one to two months of containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 40% said that they could wait six months or more before they take to the skies again.

These findings will reshape and reimagine the passenger journey, and the goal should be about building passenger trust and confidence by making travel safe, easy and contactless. This strategic technological transformation is critical for the future of the air transport industry.

COVID-19 CRISIS

Reactivating aviation The path to restarting the industry is certainly not going to be an easy one, which is why I am pleased to report that across the globe, governments are beginning to co-ordinate their efforts and industry co-operation is growing, with the health and wellbeing of passengers and staff as the priority.

And this kind of working together will be needed as demand for air travel isn’t expected to really pick up again until there’s a breakthrough vaccine or other lasting solutions for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only through demonstrative visible and effective measures can we regain the confidence of the stakeholders in the industry, as was done post 9/11, with the new invasive security measures.

The new measures weren’t popular with passengers, and without doubt added to the hassle of flying, but they soon became accepted as a necessary requirement, more so when they became standardised across the globe.

In the coming weeks and months, airlines will look to return to the skies with some reflection on the shrinking of fleets. In the short-term, one of the primary focuses will be on how to drive new operational cost efficiencies with smarter and more efficient aircraft and turnaround operations.

Airport operations will need to become more flexible and adaptive to rapidly changing passenger volumes and requirements. It is expected that domestic travel will bounce back more quickly than international, although some countries have already opened up their borders again to a limited number of overseas destinations.

The modalities related to kick-start air travel post COVID-19 are still evolving. It is too early to predict when airports worldwide would be able to return to handle their full capacity. A lot of it will depend on how aviation’s regulatory authorities assess and react to the extraordinary ‘new normal’, and what governments across the globe do to cope with the evolving scenario. Until then it is a ‘work in progress’ situation.

Primarily based on advice from the WHO, the world’s airports and airlines are in the process of integrating and enforcing the primary norms of social distancing, sanitisation, and increased frequency of air-changes to control the spread of the pandemic in airport terminals and onboard aircraft.

These may at best remain short-term measures and won’t be economically, socially and logistically sustainable in the long run.

I expect that airports will initially be able to cope quite well in terms of maintaining the new social distancing requirements because of the lower passenger numbers – airlines are likely to operate reduced frequencies and smaller aircraft on routes – meaning that the capacity of airport terminals is unlikely to be stretched.

However, sustaining physical distancing norms over a longer period of time with increased traffic will lead to congestion and delays in processing times.

In the new paradigm that the aviation is facing, technology will play an increasingly important role in supporting the recovery of airports following COVID-19 pandemic. Technology could be leveraged and positioned to minimise personal contact through a layered approach of biosecurity measures proposed by covering the passenger journey, from pre-flight to end of the air journey.

This is especially so in the area of ‘touchless’ and ‘contactless’ solutions such as mobile and self-service biometrics, temperature scans, e-gates, and RFID readers for the verification of e-chip data embedded in passports.

The key elements of the Public Health Corridor (PHC) concept are the use of ‘clean’ crew, aircraft and airport facilities transporting ‘clean’ passengers with minimal restrictions on aircraft operations, whilst preventing the spread of COVID-19 through air travel and protecting the health and safety of crew and passengers.

Given the lack of a vaccine and definitive treatment for COVID-19, and persisting limitations on testing and resources, ICAO notes that while the risk of contracting COVID-19 during air travel cannot yet be completely eliminated, the risk to crew and passengers can be significantly mitigated by PHC measures.

My take on things COVID-19 is still an evolving phenomenon. Much has been done and much more action is in the pipeline to allow aviation – and the world in general – to combat and eventually overcome the pandemic.

The most important thing to remember going forward is to treat and respond to the situation with care rather than scare. Cynics have often mentioned that aviation will never be the same. This may well be true, but it will eventually emerge from COVID-19 as a safer and healthier industry.

At the end of this write-up we are perhaps left with as many questions as there are answers or more questions still to be answered.

It is my conviction that it is better to debate a question without instantly settling it than to settle a question without debating it.

AW

About the author Inderjit Singh is an airport consultant for ICAO and former CEO of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport in India.

He can be contacted via inderjit.singh@aviationanalyst.net

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2020

31

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Road to recovery Airport World provides a global snapshot of how airports have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and are planning for a brighter future.

W

hile passenger traffic has almost ground to a halt across the world, air cargo volumes have soared at many airports in the first four months of 2020 as they handled vital goods and medical supplies needed by nations to help them combat COVID-19.

These have included Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Qatar; Ontario International Airport (ONT) and Chicago Rockford (RDF) in the US; and Moscow-Sheremetyevo (SVO) in Europe.

DOH reported a 4.7% upturn in cargo volumes during the first quarter of 2020 as countries turned to air cargo to ensure the rapid and safe delivery of medical equipment and supplies needed in the battle against COVID-19.

In early May it issued a statement saying: “During the past month the cargo operator [Qatar Airways] has worked closely with governments and NGOs to transport over 100,000 tonnes of medical and aid supplies to impacted regions around the world on both scheduled and charter services, the equivalent of roughly 1,000 fully loaded Boeing 777 freighters.

“Freight charters are being operated to multiple countries including China, India, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.”

Indeed, in the last week of April, Qatar Airways Cargo set a new record operating 78 freighter flights and 69 freight-only passenger flights, a total of 147 dedicated cargo flights in a day to support countries with relief aid amidst the COVID-19 crisis.

In the US, ONT stated that successive double digit rises in cargo volumes – its tonnage soared by 22% and 26% in March and April – underscored “the critical role ONT and Southern California’s Inland Empire plays in managing and safeguarding the nation’s supply chain”.

“Our airport is the heart of one of the most vital supply chain networks in the country, and during this time of crisis, it has become an even more

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vital trans-shipment hub for many household supplies ordered online,” said Ontario International Airport Authority’s CEO, Mark Thorpe.

Infrastructure enhancement The downturn in traffic has allowed some airports to more easily carry out routine maintenance, bring forward construction programmes or add the finishing touches to major projects.

Amsterdam Schiphol, for example, says that although COVID-19 is affecting the timing of some construction projects and maintenance work, the present reduction in aircraft movements and passengers has freed up time and space for it to carry out other projects to improve efficiency in the terminal and on the apron and taxiways.

These include scheduled maintenance to the drop-off road, completed in May 2020; increasing the number of security lanes in Departure Hall 4 and adding a new CT scanner now instead of September 2020; Bringing forward the maintenance work to the drinking water supply in Departure Hall 3 and Departure Lounge 3; and upgrading three aircraft stands.

In Austria, the €500 million expansion of Vienna Airport continues, with the gateway’s joint CEO, Julian Jäger, recently sharing a post on social media showing the ongoing transformation of Terminal 2.

The facelift is part of the Austrian airport’s ambitious development programme which will see also see it add a 70,000sqm extension to Terminal 3 by the end of 2023.

Posting on Linkedin, Jäger notes: “We build for the future! There will be life after hashtag#corona and we are preparing vigorously on all levels.

“The restructuring of our Terminal 2 is in full swing and will bring new, centralised security checks, new lounges and more convenience for our passengers. I look forward to the opening, which we will celebrate in less than a year from now!”

CRISIS MANAGEMENT As well as revamping Terminal 2 and the airport’s Pier East, a new 70,000sqm building known simply as ‘T3 Southern Enlargement’ is also part of the airport’s expansion and renovation programme which is expected to last until 2023.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Brisbane Airport (BNE) recently celebrated the ‘practical completion’ of its new parallel runway.

Airport CEO, Gert-Jan de Graaff, recognised that while completion of runway was a milestone event for the Queensland gateway, it was just the beginning of the next phase of the airport’s development for operator, Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC).

“Now more than ever, it is crucial that we have the infrastructure and mechanisms in place to allow our great city and state to recover from the COVID-19 global pandemic, and Brisbane Airport, and this new runway will play a strong part in that,” said de Graaff.

Trialling new technologies Others are using the time to look at new technologies, processes and procedures the industry might have to adopt to allow aviation to bounce back when government’s finally lift travel restrictions and commercial passenger flights can effectively begin again.

Canberra Airport in Australia, for example, has announced that it has become the first Australian gateway to install new temperature scanning equipment in readiness for when passenger numbers return.

The initiative, according to head of aviation, Michael Thomson, shows that Canberra Airport is open for business and a safe and secure place for passengers to use.

“Passengers departing Canberra arrive at airport security as usual and as they pass through security a camera takes their image and records their temperature in real-time,” explains Thomson.

“If a passenger has a body temperature over 37.8oC they will be attended by a registered nurse immediately. The nurse will provide a face mask, offer to take their temperature again, and ask the passenger to participate in a questionnaire.

“If a passenger continues to display signs of high temperature or fever, then the airline they intend to travel with will be informed. This way both the individual passenger and the airlines will be best informed to make sensible decisions about whether the passenger should be travelling at this time.

“This is one measure in a suite of measures we are employing through and beyond COVID-19 – including extra cleaning, handsanitiser being available for all, social distancing measures within the terminal and more.”

Elsewhere, in Asia-Pacific, Hong Kong International Airport was one of the first major gateways in the world to apply the latest disinfection technologies, including disinfection channels, antimicrobial coating and autonomous cleaning robots to protect passengers and staff from COVID-19 infection.

The airport has effectively become the test bed for CLeanTech, a full-body disinfection channel facility, which is being trialled during live operations at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

According to Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), passengers using the facility “will have a temperature check before entering an enclosed channel for the 40-second disinfection and sanitising procedures”.

It notes that the interior surface of the channel is equipped with antimicrobial coating which can remotely kill virus and bacteria on human bodies and clothing by using the technologies of photocatalyst and ‘nano needles’.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2020

33

CRISIS MANAGEMENT The Postdemic Airport

The Arriving Passenger Experience

🕓🕓

These pictograms illustrate the possible changes that arriving and departing airline passengers may encounter on each step of their journey as airports adapt post-pandemic.

Some of these changes are already in the process of being implemented in various airports, some are hypothetical and will depend on the requirements of authorities-having-jurisdiction and the judgment of the airport authority. Some are technology-focused (eg. touchless processes), some are behaviour-focused (eg. roving “Ambassadors” whose role will be to reinforce appropriate passenger behaviour), and some are physical space-focused (eg. separations of agents from passengers and social distancing).

The primary sources for these pictograms have been conversations with airport authorities around the world, as well as “Safely Restarting Aviation”, a joint paper

by ACI and IATA.

IMMUNITY PASSPORT

Arriving flight

Entry to terminal

Passport Check

Bag Claim

• Face masks • Other requirements

• Thermal screening • Social distancing • Face masks • “Ambassadors” to

• Timed entry into

• Social distancing in • Restrictions on

mandated by airlines

© Stanis Smith - 18 May 2020

The Departing Passenger Experience

🕓🕓

Passport check

• Touchless passport

readers reinforce appropriate • “Immunity passport” or self-declaration of behaviour health • Screens between agents & passengers

line-ups and waiting areas

Meet & Greet meeters & greeters entering terminal or mixing with passengers

🕓🕓

🕓🕓

IMMUNITY PASSPORT

Entry to terminal

Check-In

Bag-Drop

• Restrictions on well- • Touchless check-in • Self-service bagwishers and non• “Immunity passport” drops passengers entering or self-declaration of • Social distancing in terminal • Thermal screening on entry • Face masks • Timed entry into terminal

health • “Ambassadors” to reinforce appropriate behaviour • Screens between agents & passengers

line-ups

Security

• Thermal screening • Timed entry into

security checkpoint

Retail/Food

Bathrooms

Holdroom

• Touchless payment • Social distancing

• Touchless fixtures • Line-up

• Social distancing

within stores and in line-ups physical inspections • Pre-ordered prewith touchless packaged food & processes wherever beverage options possible • Delivery to gate • Frequent sterilization of bins and surfaces

• Replacement of

‘Sanitising spray’ is also applied for instant disinfection, says AAHK, adding that the channel is kept under negative pressure to prevent cross-contamination between the outside and inside environment.

Currently, the facility is designated for use by staff who take part in public health and quarantine duties at the airport in relation to arriving passengers.

Meanwhile, AAHK is conducting a pilot test of applying antimicrobial coating on all passenger facilities. An invisible coating to destroy germs, bacteria and viruses is applied to high-touch surfaces in the terminal, including handles and seats of Automated People Movers and passenger buses, smart check-in kiosks and check-in counters, toilets, seating area in the terminal, baggage trolleys, elevator buttons, and more.

After completion of the trial in May, the airport will consider implementing it as a long term disinfection measure.

And that’s not all, as AAHK reveals that autonomous cleaning robots are also deployed to ensure the thorough disinfection of public areas and passenger facilities.

Called Intelligent Sterilization Robots, each one is equipped with ultra violet light steriliser and air steriliser, and deployed round-the-clock in public toilets and key operating areas in the terminal building.

According to AAHK, the robot can move around autonomously and sterilise up to 99.99% of bacteria in its vicinity, including both the air and object surfaces, in just 10 minutes.

AAHK’s deputy director for service delivery, Steven Yiu, said: “The safety and wellbeing of airport staff and passengers are always our first priority.

“Although air traffic has been impacted by the pandemic, we spare no effort in ensuring that the airport is a safe environment for all users.

We will continue to look into new measures to enhance our cleaning and disinfection work.”

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management

• Frequent

sterilization using UV and other methods

seating arrangements

Boarding

Departing flight

• Separations between • Face masks line-ups • Other requirements mandated by • Social distancing within line-ups

• Touchless automated

airlines

gate counters • Timed boarding stages • Screens between agents & passengers

On the other side of the world in Europe, London’s Heathrow Airport began thermal detection trials in Terminal 2’s Immigration Hall in May as beleaguered Britain stepped up its battle against the coronavirus.

It says that the tests are part of a wider programme looking at technology that could reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting COVID-19 in the future.

The UK hub cites another key motivation as being the desire to drive forward the development of a Common International Standard by trialling technologies and processes that reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission globally.

The technologies under review include UV sanitation, facial recognition thermal screening equipment and contactless security procedures.

Airport CEO, John Holland-Kaye says: “Aviation is the cornerstone of the UK economy, and to restart the economy, the government needs to help restart aviation.”

Another airport to begin testing passengers for COVID-19 is Quito International Airport, which has installed 10 temporary testing stations to assess all passengers entering the country on international repatriation flights in an initiative organised by Ecuador’s National Emergency Operations Committee (COE in Spanish).

Passengers on an Aeromexico charter flight from Mexico City were the first to be use the new testing process, which Quiport reports proved to be a smooth process for all 123 onboard the flight.

Andrew O’Brian, president and CEO of airport operator, Corporación Quiport, says: “We fully understand that our role is to implement the sanitary measures and controls ordered by the COE and provide the facilities within our reach so that they can be carried out in an orderly and safe manner.

“Once the COE ordered the application of COVID-19 rapid tests for repatriated citizens to Ecuador, we adapted and equipped an area for health personnel to take samples and in a safe, efficient and AW comfortable manner for the passenger.”

INVESTING IN AIRPORTS

All change?

Lufthansa Consulting’s Catrin Drawer and Andreas Jahnke consider what the impact of COVID-19 is likely to be on the investment appeal of airports across the globe.

D

oes COVID-19 mean that airports have finally lost their mantra of being a safe, long-term investment opportunity for investors?

The short answer is ‘no’, because airport investments have never been a “sure thing” with a guarantee of return. In fact, most of the world’s airports aren’t profitable and never have been.

Indeed, the latest economic data by ACI World shows that around a quarter of all airports worldwide fail to generate enough money to cover their operating and capital costs. Admittedly, usually the smaller and secondary airports, but even some hubs do not always manage to generate profits.

And analyses by air transport specialist, Andy Ricover, presented at GAD 2019 shows that there is no correlation between profitability and an airport’s ownership structure.

The fairy tale of the fabulous wealth of private airport investors is simply not true. It has been nourished by spectacular deals, billions of dollars in profits after a few years of holding, and exaggerated valuations based on market-driven (but not always economically justified) EBITDA multiples.

It is also true that too much inexperienced money – trusting in the supposedly crisis-proof and constantly growing airport investment – has driven prices up, and that trend is now almost certainly over.

The COVID-19 crisis has suddenly shown that an entire industry can be economically destroyed in days. Such a crisis was foreseeable, but hardly any airport has mitigated the risks in terms of processes or, more importantly, with its cost and capital structure – neither private airports, nor those in government ownership.

It is simply not enough to replace public money with private capital from pension funds to generate better returns. Passengers and airlines have the choice of which airport they want to depart from and where they want to fly to. Only a few airports are lucky enough to be located in very attractive destinations with large catchment areas. And even then, they are subject to competition from other airports (for example, London, New York or Moscow).

Even if an airport has developed well over the past few decades, at some point it will reach its limits of growth and then be exposed to governmental decision-making processes, environmental influences and the possible escape of passengers from the crowds.

So, what does it take to manage an airport profitably? Some airports are managed as if it were enough to build a runway and a terminal. The airlines would bring the passengers and with them come the revenues from handling.

Admittedly, these aeronautical revenues still account for 55% of the revenues globally, according to ACI. However, our analysis based on the ACI figures, also show that the costs of airports on average exceed aeronautical revenues – aeronautical revenues per aircraft movement

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AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2020

Key take aways: • Airports have never been a risk-free investment class • The COVID-19 crisis will accelerate airport sales and lower market prices • Not all airports will recover from the crisis; it is important for new investors to choose the right airports and manage them actively (ATM), for example, only cover about 75% of the operating costs. The possibilities to increase the fees for aircraft and passenger handling are limited due to government regulation and cost reduction pressure from airlines.

Without additional income from shops, restaurants, parking etc, an airport cannot survive. These non-aeronautical revenues, however, demand prerequisites: attractive shopping offers, a pleasant atmosphere, short waiting times and good processes, a large number of flight connections and attractive transfer options.

Such an airport ecosystem of airlines, shops, restaurants, hotels, suppliers, service companies does not develop on its own; it has usually grown over decades. It requires active promotion, partnership contracts, joint decisions, involvement of politicians and tourism promoters, marketing at home and abroad.

The system partnership between the airport and its suppliers and service providers also ensures distribution of sales, costs and thus risks, and is therefore a key element in cushioning risks and ensuring cost efficiency.

Finally, planning and foresight are the ingredients that ensure that an airport is never too large or too small to serve the number of passengers comfortably and efficiently.

The coronavirus crisis has destroyed the sensitive airport ecosystems, like a fire destroys the rainforest ecosystem. Ground handlers are insolvent and consequently thousands of jobs have been

INVESTING IN AIRPORTS

lost. Cleaning companies, caterers, restaurateurs and shop owners, security companies, ticket agencies and check-in companies are bankrupt or threatened by bankruptcy.

And even the airlines are threatened by their collapse and have reacted with flight schedule reductions. Hardly anyone expects air travel demand to even come close to pre-crisis levels before 2023.

And just as 9/11 changed the processes at airports with regard to security checks forever, the COVID-19 crisis will also leave its mark on airports in the long-term. More protection measures, social distancing and health checks will require investments in new technologies, massively reducing passenger throughput and overall efficiency.

But how do you actually rebuild an ecosystem, especially in a short time? How do you balance the need to provide services for airlines and passengers on the one hand, and the losses to be expected during the transition phase (maybe until 2023) on the other?

And how do you manage to convince airlines to fly to your own airport? Why should anyone fly to a city’s secondary airport now if the hub has the route network and the capacity? How can a regional airport prevail against a neighbouring airport?

What role will politicians play, and how many airports are they planning to subsidise over the next few years? Why not open one regional airport and mothball three or close them permanently?

It has never been more important for potential airport investors to choose the right airport. The one with the best ‘recovery’ chances and the strongest growth opportunities. There will be a choice in the coming years.

Airports that have already been privatised belong de facto to the debtors. Usually, airport takeovers are financed by a small amount of equity and a larger amount of debt. Without income, as is currently the case, these debts can no longer be serviced.

The equity investors therefore have to forget dividends and eventually even have to inject additional capital – a nightmare for

pension or sovereign funds. That is why they are now calling for the state to help.

But why should a government use taxpayers’ money to take on the financial risk that the private investor deliberately took? Therefore, some investors will inevitably be looking for the exit.

Airports owned by governments are still (partially) public property, on the other hand, and currently accumulating massive debts that will have to be paid back at some point. This narrows the financial scope for other, far more urgent investments, such digital infrastructure, schools, business stimulation.

People want to travel. However, their own job, their children’s education, etc are much more important. So why should a state or a municipality own shares in an airport that might be loss-making?

It is therefore to be expected that the number of airport sales offers will increase. The money to buy is still there, as is the need for ‘safe’ investments. We expect that the sometimes completely exaggerated valuations for airports or their concessions will fall to a crisis-adjusted, adequate level.

Investors have learned what has actually always been clear: airport investments are not a risk-free asset class. The risk must be priced in and actively managed. Passive investors, who relied on existing airport management for lack of their own expertise, have learned their lesson.

And those investors who listen to good advice, select the right airports AW and actively manage them throughout the lifecycle, will be successful.

About the authors Catrin Drawer is an associate partner at Lufthansa Consulting, where Dr Andreas Jahnke is managing director.

Visit lhconsulting.com for more information about the company.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2020

37

SUSTAINABILITY

Green energy Anaerobic digestion can help airports become more environmentally friendly and reduce their carbon footprint, writes the World Biogas Association’s Jocelyne Bia.

A

s countries prepare for a post COVID-19 recovery, aviation will resume, and the industry will once again be questioned about its impact on the environment and called upon to reduce its carbon footprint.

Many feel that now is the time to seize the opportunity to ‘build back better’, creating a greener global economy. Indeed, the UN, EU, International Energy Agency and some leading economists and businesses have been calling for world governments to embed decarbonisation and renewables into plans to kick-start the economy.

For the aviation sector, and particularly airports, getting back to business while delivering sustainability is not incompatible. There are pre-pandemic examples of airports successfully adapting their operations to implement good sustainability practice.

One technology that helps them achieve their greening ambition is anaerobic digestion (AD). By treating food and other organic waste and transforming it into biogas, AD can help establish a low carbon circular economy within the airport, saving both money and greenhouse gases emissions.

How AD works Anaerobic digestion is the natural breakdown of organic matter, in the absence of oxygen, which takes place in a plant called a digester. This process generates biogas and a bio-fertiliser called digestate.

The ‘green gas’ generated by the AD process can be used for electricity and power or upgraded into biomethane, sometimes called renewable natural gas. Biomethane is a direct replacement for fossil natural gas, so it is already injected into the gas grid for heat or used as a transport fuel for heavy duty vehicles such as lorries, buses and, in the near future, tractors.

For every 1,000 tonnes of food waste treated through AD, over 1,100MWh of renewable energy can be generated – the equivalent energy of over 107,000 litres of diesel – and 475 tonnes CO2e emissions are prevented.

A key benefit of AD treatment is that organic waste that would otherwise emit harmful gases in landfill or through incineration are instead recycled into green resources for hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as heat, transport, waste management and agriculture.

AD is a mature, readily available technology that stands first in the waste management hierarchy to treat waste that cannot be reduced or reused – ahead of composting and energy recovery.

Sustainable airports ACI defines airport sustainability as: “A holistic approach to managing an airport so as to ensure the integrity of the economic viability, operational efficiency, natural resource conservation, and social responsibility of the airport”.

This definition has been evolving as focus moves from reducing noise, air and light pollution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Even before COVID-19, many airports had made sustainability pledges and understood the benefits of integrating AD and biogas into their processes. As both generators of significant volumes of food waste and heavy users of energy, airports are ideally placed to reap the benefits of the circularity of the AD process and its ability to cut their carbon footprint.

Heathrow, for example, which had already set itself a net zero waste policy, is sending some of its food waste to AD, and has just entered a partnership with Engie to use biomethane across all its terminals until 2022.

Meanwhile, Airport Authority Hong Kong has been collecting food waste for recycling since 2003 – most of it being sent for conversion into biogas. Its collection network now covers 17 airport business partners including restaurants and lounges operating in terminal buildings, as well as airline catering companies, hotels and cargo terminals.

And in North America and Europe airports affected by wintery conditions, biogas-powered snow equipment is used to clear the runways.

These are still small steps towards integrating AD and biogas into an airport’s operations, but they demonstrate the potential of the technology to contribute to the industry’s sustainability agenda.

AW

About the author Jocelyne Bia is a senior marketing manager for the World Biogas Association and the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association. Visit https://www.worldbiogasassociation.org/ for more information.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2020

39

CARGO

Speaks volumes

Amsterdam Schiphol is a vital cargo gateway for the Netherlands and has helped keep essential cargo moving across Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic, writes Justin Burns.

C

argo is a vitally important part of the business for Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), which is the main hub for freight into the Netherlands and a key gateway for Europe.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak in mid-March, the fourth highest volume cargo hub on the continent has been heavily impacted operationally in terms of air traffic movements (ATMs), cargo and passenger traffic.

As passenger traffic has fallen, bellyhold capacity on scheduled passenger flights has fallen sharply and, despite more freighters operating since the pandemic started, this hasn’t made up for the capacity shortfall.

Traffic changes Daily ATMs into Schiphol have declined 89% since the middle of March and the daily total number of passengers have fallen steeply compared to last year.

In April, the latest figures available, the number of cargo-only movements at AMS rose by 63% to 1,837 flights. These included an additional 275 freighter movements to North America and an extra 250 flights to Asia. In contrast, passenger numbers fell by 91% as the airport handled just 2,405 passenger flights.

Overall, freighter aircraft and combinations of passenger aircraft with freight in the hold have increased and there has been an increase in the number of freight charters, while passenger planes loaded with cargo are also being operated.

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It is also worth noting that the number of weekly freighter flights being operated into AMS has increased from 260 before COVID-19 to 360 a week in May. “On the cargo side it is busier than ever and we have seen an increase in freighters because there is no belly capacity,” said Maarten van As, managing director of Air Cargo Netherlands (ACN).

Volumes decline COVID-19 has changed the landscape for airports like AMS, as it is operating fewer passenger flights and more freighter aircraft.

Traditionally, bellyhold cargo usually accounts for half of Amsterdam Schiphol’s cargo volumes and there has been a need for more cargo-only flights to fill the capacity shortage.

Volumes reached 93,254 tonnes in April, which was a 26% decline on the 126,743 tonnes that was processed in the same month last year, as the huge decline in bellyhold flights pulled volumes down.

In the first four months of 2020, Schiphol recorded lower cargo compared to the same period in 2019, as between January and April, volumes totalled 443,109 tonnes, a decline of 13.1% on the same period in 2019 (509,955 tonnes).

The rest of the year is set to be challenging in terms of volumes, but this will largely depend on how much passenger routes increase, as it will drive belly volumes.

CARGO

Changing cargo flows The pandemic has led to a shift in cargo flows at Schiphol and some usually high-volume verticals have decreased such as the import and export of flowers.

“Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been an increase in the movement of medical goods and aircraft have been arriving loaded with bandages, face masks, glasses and gloves to help with the Netherlands and Europe’s fight against the virus,” said the airport’s head of cargo, Bart Pouwels.

“Normally these are not time-critical goods and are transported by sea freight, but shipments are being diverted to air freight as faster delivery is needed to meet strong and quick demand.”

The general trend at Schiphol during the coronavirus crisis is that there has been a lot of imports, but exports have been lagging behind.

Schiphol is seeing different cargo trends during the COVID-19 outbreak and is processing large amounts of imports from China and the US. “The amount of PPE being moved will soon go down and as economies and factories in the EU start up, then cargo flows will change back to like how they were pre-COVID, but whether it will be at the exact time we don’t know,” notes van As. “We are looking at exports and imports each week so we can see the flows from China and the USA and other regions and to see how it is changing.”

Air cargo community Amsterdam Schiphol’s air cargo operations are built around its strong cargo community, and during COVID-19 this has been vital to keep cargo shipments moving efficiently.

The airport works very closely together with ground handlers, Dutch Customs and the rest of its cargo community and there has been constant dialogue between all stakeholders about new flight schedules and changes.

“In these difficult times, it is important that we work together to ensure that the supply chain keeps moving,” says Pouwels.

“We are in contact with our partners on a daily basis. We are constantly transmitting new information about schedules from airlines and from handlers on our website.

“Supply chain co-operation is – especially now - very important as flight schedules can change on a daily basis. It is very important that goods keep moving, especially now a lot of medical shipments are transported by air. Dutch Customs is clearing these goods even more quickly.”

Dutch Customs set up an extensive back office to handle all COVID-19 related questions and its process teams are working around the clock to accommodate all shipments.

ACN’s members from across the air cargo community usually meet four or five times a year, but van As said since the COVID-19 outbreak, they have been talking once a week about each sector and any changing demands and needs.

New measures For airports like AMS, operations are now very different due to COVID-19 and new measures have been introduced for the air cargo community in the light of the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Schiphol is currently working on a centralised protocol for the whole airport which will include air cargo operations.

One measure that has been introduced is social distancing in the cargo handlers’ warehouses, as staff have to keep a 1.5 metre distance from each other.

“The social distancing measure is going well, but it is sometimes difficult to manage everything as it is very busy and it is a learning process,” admits van As. “There have also been other challenges like availability of toilets for truckers as so many companies have buildings closed and the airport has helped us get more toilets opened.”

Van As also notes that Schiphol’s Smart Cargo Mainport Program (SCMP) remains an important initiative in order to ensure smooth handling of import and export trucks at the ground handlers.

“Especially in this COVID-19 crisis and the upcoming economy starting up phase, it is important that there are no queues waiting at ground handler facilities,” he says.

The idea is to skip the counter at ground handlers and thus avoiding queuing at the counter/office and traffic jams, and ‘post-Corona’ the airport expects more peaks and throughs until the belly capacity is on a normal level, which might take some time.

To make this possible, van As says they are exploring easy ways of pre-notification of freight and ‘automating’ the counter at the Cargo Office, optimising the process. The first concrete steps will be in the next two to three months.

Schiphol’s operations will take some time to return to normal post COVID-19, but each week more passenger flights are being flown, so there is light at the end of tunnel.

One thing for certain is that cargo will remain vital to the airport to help drive the economies of the Netherlands and European Union.

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DESIGN & BUILD

Cutting edge Aviad Amalgor reports on the use of one of Boston Dynamics’ autonomous robot dogs during the ongoing revamp of Denver International Airport’s Great Hall.

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erforming construction work in an operating airport is a complex and challenging project. Doing so in one of the busiest airports in the world is even more demanding and requires an experienced team and innovative approach.

The massive renovation project of Denver International Airport’s (DEN) Great Hall falls under this category. The multiple phase project focuses on increasing open space within the airport, improving customer experience, and enabling safer and intuitive passenger flows.

The current phase of the project focuses on the centre of the terminal with new ticketing pods and checked baggage systems. To handle the complex logistics and the challenges in this demanding project, DEN selected Hensel Phelps as the general contractor and construction management partner.

The pre-planning process A key aspect for success in such projects is a thorough pre-planning process. This process helps reveal undocumented assets, resolve potential safety issues, identify deviations from existing documentation of the as-built situation, and solve discrepancies between the site conditions and the design.

Hensel Phelps uses laser scanners throughout the construction project for quality and production control. During pre-planning, the scanners are used to capture the details of the existing structure, a method that provides rich and highly accurate output and eliminates the labour-intensive manual measurement process.

A robot dog by Boston Dynamics, equipped with an integrated Trimble X7 scanner, was deployed on the project, performing scans, and capturing 360-degree images of the site Spot is a quadruped robot with spatial perception. It can carry up to 30lbs of payload and manoeuvre in unstructured and dynamic environments such as construction sites.

Trimble X7 is a compact, high-speed 3D laser scanner. The X7 produces point clouds with up to 2mm scanning accuracy and high-res panoramic images. Its unique auto-calibration, self-levelling, and automatic in-field registration capabilities are a requirement for an autonomous scanning workflow.

The workflow The combination of Spot with the Trimble X7 gets information from the Spot mission system and initiates a scan at pre-defined waypoints autonomously. Alternatively, Spot can also work in an ad-hoc mode in which the user remotely controls it, navigates the robot to the required location and triggers a scan.

The Hensel Phelps team utilised both modes at the DEN terminal.

The output point cloud files were automatically transmitted to a tablet and auto-registered, thus verifying that the entire space has been captured, reducing the risk of return visits.

This is an especially important capability on projects such as this where access permits and logistics can cause delays. The captured as-built information was compared to a model of the design to eliminate surprises and delays during construction.

Robot On a project such as the DEN terminal area, multiple scans are needed to capture the as-built conditions. The scanner operator is traditionally required to carry the optical equipment and a tripod from one point to the other and wait at each point for the scan to be completed, exposed to the complex workspace environment.

A full set of scans can take several hours, or even days, to complete.

To help overcome the current workflow limitations, further improve data collection efficiency and the safety of the on-site team, Hensel Phelps decided to explore the use of robots in the scanning process.

Into the future The Hensel Phelps team believes that robots will be part of the future workforce, working side by side with humans and performing dull, repetitive, and dangerous tasks.

Jeremy Sibert, the firm’s director of technology, says: “Robots can help improve productivity, quality, and most importantly the safety of our on-site teams. It is an exciting journey and we are looking forward to further integration of autonomous robots in construction workflows.”

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SAFETY & SECURITY

The next step Professor Zhiqiang Chen, chairman, president and CEO of NUCTECH, gives his thoughts on aviation’s battle against COVID-19 and the new technologies and solutions that will ensure that airports are safe environments for passengers and staff.

How do you think passenger journeys and the airport security process will be impacted/changed by COVID-19?

I believe COVID-19 will leave an indelible mark on our way of life, human interaction and the way we travel, both now and in the future, changing airport journeys and security checkpoints.

We are already seeing a call for more contactless technology at airports, and I expect security checkpoints will have to be redesigned to avoid crowding and limit or reduce the need for pat-down searches.

As a result, advanced screening technologies which ensure a minimum need for a secondary search, like stand-off Terahertz screening systems, automated tray return systems and remote screening could be on the rise.

The industry’s quest for contactless airport journeys started quite a while ago, but the coronavirus crisis is likely to prove the catalyst for the transition to the adoption of contactless technologies across airport terminals. Innovative technologies such as biometrics, advanced screening systems and networking facilities will make it possible.

Tell us more about testing passengers’ temperatures at airports?

As a reassuring measure for passengers, I think temperature testing could be a viable solution for the aviation community to help stop the spread of the disease. Thanks to the highly efficient R&D efforts by the

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industry, the temperature checks could be implemented via a touchless, standalone thermometer or by an add-on module integrated into existing scanners, like metal detector portals, full body scanners, or even access control gates. With the adaptability of the technology, fever screening is now capable of safeguarding the airport almost anytime anywhere, whether it be at the entrance of terminals, security checkpoints, or boarding gates to your flights, providing multi-layered protection for passengers and staff alike.

How do you avoid crowding at testing sites?

Crowding can be avoided, and social distancing maintained, by combining fever screening technologies with cameras Artificial Intelligence algorithms that automatically monitor passenger flows with high throughput and precision. This means that there is no need for manual processes conducted by staff with handheld equipment, which is time-consuming, labour-intensive and likely to lead to crowding and congestion at terminal entrances, which is the last thing that we want.

Is temperature testing here to stay?

I think we might accept it as part of the new normal beyond the pandemic, because COVID-19 has raised people’s awareness and concerns over the dangers of cross-infection. With no quick end in sight yet, it would be here for a while.

SAFETY & SECURITY As a cost-effective and high throughput module, it has great potential to be widely employed at various sites around the airport to restore passengers’ confidence to continue their journey.

Take our newly upgraded Terahertz body scanner, for example, we have integrated a proprietary thermal imaging camera into the body screening system to launch a fast, efficient, one-stop solution for real-time people screening.

Our temperature checking module is more than just a simple add-on to the existing Terahertz scanner. Equipped with deep learning algorithms, the integrated solution can adapt quickly to different settings, minimise background distractions and detect people’s body temperatures. Indeed, comprehensive data integration enables our equipment to obtain a unique temperature assessment on the whole body rather than just the face/ forehead. This makes it more accurate and harder to trick, as during the pandemic we have seen cases when passengers have used cold objects to cool themselves down in a bid to pass temperature tests. These are the sort of tricks that could make traditional thermometers useless.

As a stand-off solution, it allows for real time people screening with a throughput of more than 2,000 passengers per hour, which can eliminate the bottlenecks associated with handheld thermometer temperature checking.

With no line-up or checkpoint needed, the health check will not give rise to further congregation or unnecessary human interaction.

Passengers with suspicious body temperatures would be alerted to the field officer for further intervention.

As an industry, we need to restore people’s confidence in aviation and boost their desire to fly again, and one of the ways of doing this is knowing that you won’t be boarding a flight with someone whose health status is totally unknown.

The onus is on airports and airlines to allay people’s concerns, if not to fully eradicate them, and in this regard, health checks offer a highly visible solution that can change people’s sentiments and restore their confidence to travel.

The momentum for temperature checks at airports is growing.

US airlines, for instance, are in discussion with the TSA about the adoption of such measures and we are expecting new protocols to be introduced in the near future. Elsewhere, airports in Australia, the UK and India are also trialling ‘fever screening systems’ to promote their safety posture. NUCTECH fully supports these efforts and looks forward to helping airports, airlines and the relevant authorities introduce them into the field.

Will quarantine rooms also become a familiar sight at airports?

We envisage that some kind of quarantine arrangement will become more commonplace at airports as they will need a place to physically separate those in need of further help and care from the crowded public sites. However, it is for individual airports to decide which kind of solution would better suit their specific requirements.

We offer a cost-effective, relocatable and highly compact quarantine room solution, which we believe can minimise the risk of cross-infection in a viable way. It is a practical solution derived from our close collaboration with frontline customers and something our technical staff transformed from an idea to reality within weeks.

It can be folded and set-up within minutes and has been deployed in some of the Chinese airports to help frontline staff protect the public whilst better guarding their own safety.

Can you tell us more about NUCTECH’s solutions?

How important is it for governments and all industry partners to work together to find global solutions to COVID-19?

NUCTECH is committed to helping global airports to combat the pandemic with our innovations.

Disinfection measures, like automatic sanitisation of baggage or UV light disinfection are incorporated with our next generation security solution.

Temperature testing by thermometer has been introduced into our security screening portfolio. Incorporating with existing scanners, the combo solution provides a one-stop comprehensive checking to detect, not only the illicit items, but also the health risks.

I believe it is crucial as co-ordination could facilitate the adoption of the processes, procedures and technologies needed for airports to confront and overcome COVID-19. Against the shadow of the virus, passenger expectations for airport security checks will no longer be the same as it was months ago. Everybody is talking about going back to normal, however, we have to admit the coming new normal might be totally different. In this transition, we need to go hand in hand, share the frontline concerns, explore new enabling technologies, and collaborate with all parties to deliver the changes that are needed for the new post COVID-19 era.

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WBP NEWS

Back to business We shine the spotlight on a handful of initiatives designed to help airports safely resume operations after the global COVID-19 lockdown ends and air travel is back on the agenda.

Boosting airport operations

Amorph Systems and VANTIQ have announced a strategic partnership to create a new application that will help airports worldwide address real-time operational requirements during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The new application combines thermal cameras, flight information, passenger flows and real-time communication to instantly detect passengers with high temperatures and alert airport operations control to identify potential contaminated areas.

The system also allows airport managers to quickly re-direct passenger flows, re-position flights and re-allocate staff due to closed areas.

The application is based on the existing AMORPH.aero system, which is used by dozens of airports globally to plan, forecast and manage passenger flows and airport resources.

The application was built in just two weeks using VANTIQ’s agile development platform, which combines real-world data and real-time events to power the next generation of applications using a broad array of sensors, edge devices and artificial intelligence.

“Airports are under incredible pressure right now, as they address exceptional operational issues caused by COVID-19,” said Dr Frank Frauenhoffer, managing director of Amorph Systems.

“Our new application will be highly valuable not only to manage the current situation, but to prepare for future waves of COVID-19 or other potential outbreaks of other viruses. In order to keep passengers safe, airports need to apply new real-time health measures.”

Marty Sprinzen, co-founder and CEO of VANTIQ, said: “We’re proud to work with Amorph on this important new application for airports around the world. It’s amazing to see how people are stepping up to innovate in this pandemic, and we look forward to helping Amorph with other industrial applications. There will undoubtedly be many changes in how the world operates in both the short and long-term.”

Pioneering new touchless technology

Avalon Airport is set to become the first gateway in Australia to introduce touchless, self-service technology for passengers.

The airport – located between the cities of Melbourne and Geelong – states that the pioneering initiative, courtesy of its partnership with Elenium Automation, will ensure both world-class safety and a top passenger experience when the airport recommences flights.

Avalon’s CEO, Justin Giddings, notes: “The partnership between Elenium and Avalon demonstrates how quickly a response to the COVID-19 virus can be implemented.

“This solution will allow passengers to go through the self-service experience without touching a device, thereby providing a seamless, intuitive and safe method of moving quickly through the airport.”

Instead of touching screens, passengers at Avalon Airport will control their interaction with the kiosks and bag drops via head movement. Cameras in kiosks and bag drops will link the movement of the passenger’s head with the movement of a cursor on the screen.

In addition, passports can be read by holding them open in front of a camera, rather than by inserting them into a passport slot.

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Elenium Automation CEO and co-founder, Aaron Hornlimann, says: “While this is very difficult time for the aviation industry, we have an opportunity to make the changes for passenger safety and wellbeing that will increase their confidence.

“We are very excited that Avalon is working with us to ensure the airport is in a great position to rebound from this crisis by giving their passengers and team a streamlined, safe airport experience.

“We believe the introduction of touchless self-service will encourage people to return to travel.”

RUNNING WBP NEWS HEAD

Tackling the challenges of physical distancing at airports Tracking crowd movements through a passenger contagion map and identifying contagious groups at an early stage could prove key to helping airports overcome some of the physical distancing challenges they will face when traffic numbers begin to pick up, according to Xovis.

Indeed, the people flow solutions expert believes that “the powerful tools” could be used by airports to ensure that they are compliant with post COVID-19 travel regulations and give returning travellers some peace of mind.

Its opinion is based on its own scientific research, published in a white paper in April and available to download as a PDF at https://bit.ly/30nde0K Xovis reveals that the new data builds on its history of analysing algorithms of crowd movements and measuring queues and groups in a dynamic environment.

The white paper highlights how crowd density needs to be understood in context of a contagion map whereby both

absolute contagion risk (where person-to-person infection is most likely to happen) and relative contagion risk (where the contagion risk is highest for an individual) need to be analysed.

It states: “In airports, places of particular attention will, of course, be security lines, but also areas that are frequently used and touched by passengers such as self-service facilities or bathrooms.

“In addition, the detection of groups that violate physical distancing rules are another important factor for airports to consider.”

Xovis co-founder and chief product officer, Christian Studer, adds: “Using a high-precision people flow monitoring system is the most effective way for airports to ensure physical distancing regulations are met.

“The white paper builds the foundation for implementing exactly this, while protecting airport workers from unnecessary risks and maintaining passenger experience levels.”

New ultraviolet (UVC) light kits unveiled by Smiths Detection Smiths Detection has announced the launch of its new ultraviolet (UVC) light kits, which it states are capable of destroying up to 99.9% of microorganisms present on baggage trays at the security checkpoint.

It notes that demonstrating heightened hygiene standards will be important as airports seek to restore the confidence of travellers and staff during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“UVC is one way that airports can do this, while providing longerterm protection against bacteria or viruses,” says Smiths Detection.

“Helping to protect passengers and staff from tactile transmission of contagious disease as they pass through security checkpoints at airports, Smiths Detection UVC kits automatically disinfect trays as they are being transported from the reclaim area back to the divest station.

“Thanks to its specially designed casing and other safety measures, the UVC lights pose no exposure risk to staff or passengers and can be installed quickly and easily into existing tray handling systems.”

The company adds that this proven technology has been successfully used for the disinfection of surfaces in industries with high hygiene requirements, such as the food and health sectors, for many years.

Its application at checkpoint security, it claims, will reduce the risk of contamination and therefore reassure passengers and staff about the safety of the security process.

“A trusted advisor within the industry, Smiths Detection have been working with airports globally to deliver necessary enhancements to their infrastructure that can be made in response to the pandemic,” said the company’s global director for aviation, Richard Thompson.

“UVC lights are a practical, straightforward way that airports can help reduce the transmission of any bacteria or virus that might be on the surface of its trays now and in the long-term.”

Trials of the solution are underway on site at airports, and it is available immediately for installation with very short lead times.

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WBP NEWS ZenDev Consulting Group

Arconas focused on passenger comfort and safety

One inevitability of today’s uncertain world is that airport touchpoints, fixtures and fittings will change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, on a temporary basis at least, until a vaccine is found.

Furniture is an integral part of the aircraft boarding journey, but is an item that is frequently touched, so certain precautions will be necessary. In the short-term, a rethinking of materials selection and layout configuration options are ways to create strategies for increased safety and separation.

Arconas has spent time thinking about this issue, engaged stakeholders, and recommends the following short-term strategies: Choose materials that are easy to clean and disinfect; Configure furniture to encourage physical distancing; Add cough shields to counters; Incorporate seating options with privacy panels; and Add dedicated PPE waste bins to encourage proper disposal of items such as gloves and masks.

For upholstered seating, choose fabrics such as vinyl or leather that can be easily wiped clean, don’t collect dirt, and are able to be disinfected in situ. Solid material seating such as polyurethane seats are a good option because of their cleanability and anti-microbial properties.

Polyurethane is often used in hospitals and medical offices because of these features, but also are widely used by transportation facilities. Treated wood and metal seating are also good alternatives as they can easily be wiped clean and disinfected.

Regulations around physical distancing will likely remain in place in the short-term and the foreseeable transition/recovery period. To support physical distancing in hold room areas, movable physical barriers such as dividers can be added between seats or groups of seats.

These additional barriers should consider people travelling alone as well as in small groups and allow for variable sizes. Eliminating some armrests on sculptural or longer lounge pieces will allow for passengers to ‘self-distance’ according to recommended guidelines. Additionally, adding tables between seats will encourage people to leave space and self-distance from others.

As we are already seeing in many public places, information desks, kiosks, and check-in desks may have plastic or glass cough shields added to them to create a safe barrier between passengers and facility staff. The counters themselves should also be made of highly cleanable materials such as metal, laminate or solid surface that can be wiped and disinfected frequently.

For individuals, choose seating with high-backs and privacy panels with a cleanable surface. There will be a time after the peak of the pandemic where public life will slowly open back up, but it will be done with an abundance of caution.

“We will continue to work closely with clients and stakeholders to make the necessary adjustments and provide parts and services that will evolve out of this crisis,” says Lynn Gordon, the company’s vice president of business development.

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Type of business: Planning & Construction W: www.zendevgroup.com ZenDev Group specialises in interim technology leadership. With decades of experience as CTOs, CIOs, development and infrastructure leaders we can advance and stabilise your environments quickly and efficiently. We provide leadership continuity while solving your most pressing challenges: Refreshing your technical architecture; optimising software team productivity; securing network and product; and providing a strategic roadmap aligned with business goals.

Jacobs Engineering Group Type of business: Planning & Construction W: www.jacobs.com Jacobs Engineering Group is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of professional A/E, programme management and construction management services.

We are consistently ranked among the top three firms overall and the top five in airports by Engineering News Record (ENR) Magazine. With more than 60 years of experience providing aviation program and construction management, Jacobs has become one of the world’s leading providers of comprehensive aviation services.

TravelSky Technology Limited Type of business: IT & Communications W: www.travelsky.net As a leading provider of information technology and commercial service in China’s air travel and tourism industry, TravelSky’s core business is oriented toward airlines, airports, ticket sales agents, travel enterprises and relevant civil aviation institutions and international organisations, providing comprehensive service including air passenger service as well as final settlement and liquidation services.

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HUMAN RESOURCES

PEOPLE

matters Time to reflect Terri Morrissey and Richard Plenty share their thoughts on some of the early lessons learned from COVID-19.

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n our last ‘People Matters’ column, we focused on how to build and sustain resilience in a crisis situation. Crises occur suddenly, require immediate responses, and are generally of short duration.

Not so this one. This crisis has been prolonged, with devastating effects globally on our health, employment, social lives and psychological and emotional wellbeing.

We have lived in a world where the ‘pause’ button has been pushed. We have had to change the habits of a lifetime. Many of us have had ‘taken for granted’ freedoms removed; no social face-to-face interactions and have not been able to travel for work or leisure.

We have had the time to reflect, think and examine more closely what we really value. What does this all mean?

Many of us have become armchair philosophers. There are quite a number of predictions about how we will “come out of lockdown”. Some, hankering for the past and conscious of the economic and social damage that has been caused, are focused on getting back to normal as quickly as possible.

Others advocate a more gradual return to what they call a “new normal”, seizing the opportunities this crisis gives us to address global issues such as climate change, the environment and public health.

Whichever scenario you favour, the reality is that we are in period of great uncertainty. There are more questions than answers. Will business people be reluctant to fly when they can Zoom into meetings instead? Will people be fearful of travelling for leisure?

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In a recent webinar, hosted by the London School of Economics (Assessing the Impact of COVID-19: From Mortality to Misery, May 21, 2020), a number of behavioural scientists discussed the impact of the pandemic. They suggested the creation of a wellbeing index to put alongside the mortality statistics so as to be able to gauge better the true impact of policy decisions.

They also suggested that as we move out of lockdown, we should be reassessing our capital investment programmes. Should we, for example, be spending more on promoting energy efficiency and less on building transport infrastructure?

Any changes may have unintended consequences. James Fellows, travel writer, speaking on Fareed Zakaria (CNN, May 24, 2020), said that we have taken for granted our ease of travel up until now. Without that, we will narrow our horizons, cultural, moral and social. There will be less person to person contact.

Our view is that we need to ensure that the lessons we learn from this crisis should be used to help create a better, sustainable future. A co-ordinated, collaborative international response is urgently required across the aviation sector as a whole.

It will be important to reach out to persuade and influence others outside the industry, whose support will be necessary but who may have mixed views.

For those in leadership positions this will be a testing period. Quite a challenge, but one which could ultimately result in a transformed, more resilient sector.

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Karin Öhrström is the new airport director of Malmö Airport, although she won’t take up her position until September 1, 2020. She currently works as head of customer and sales at energy company E.ON Energilösningar. “Our ambition is to continue developing Malmö Airport as an important regional airport that contributes to access in southern Sweden and to continue driving our climate change work,” notes Swedavia’s director of regional airports, Susanne Norman.

Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority CEO, Marily Mora, originally expected to step down in June has agreed to stay on until July as the hunt continues for her successor. The current shortlist for her position contains a handful of well-known industry figures in the US. Fraport AG’s Supervisory Board has elected Hessian finance minister, Michael Boddenberg, as its new chairman.

Boddenberg succeeds Karlheinz Weimar, who stepped down at the close of May’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) after leading the Supervisory Board for more than 16 years.

Boddenberg said: “By responding quickly and decisively to the current global aviation crisis, we will be able to ensure the company’s future competitiveness.”

AGS Airports Ltd, which owns Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports in the UK, has confirmed the appointment of Roger Hunt as interim managing director of Aberdeen International Airport. Hunt, who will continue in his current role as AGS’ chief of human resources and development director, succeeds Steve Szalay, who has become the new operations director at Southampton Airport, spearheading a newly restructured management team following the departure of managing director, Neil Garwood.

Cardiff Airport has confirmed its next chair will be Wayne Harvey, former senior managing partner for Deloitte in Wales.

He takes over from the outgoing chair, Roger Lewis, who was at the helm during achievements over the past five years which included passenger growth and the arrival of Qatar Airways flights.

About the authors Terri Morrissey and Dr Richard Plenty are directors of This Is… and deliver ACI World’s Airport Human Resources training. Their new book, Uncertainty Rules? Making Uncertainty Work for You, published by Cork University Press/Atrium, is available now.

You can contact them at info@thisis.eu