Airport World, Issue 4, 2020

Theme: Planning & Design In the spotlight: Vienna Airport Special report: Berlin Brandenburg Plus: Cybersecurity, Cargo and Omnichannel communication

Planning & Design: Plotting the right course Volume 25 – Issue 4, 2020 www.aci.aero

OPINION ;OL THNHaPUL VM [OL (PYWVY[Z *V\UJPS 0U[LYUH[PVUHS

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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Airport World is published six times a year for the members of ACI. The opinions and views expressed in Airport World are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect an ACI policy or position.

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The next step Airport World editor, Joe Bates, reflects on the dawning of a new era for ACI World and some of the challenges and opportunities facing airports in this ‘planning and design’ themed issue.

A

CI World is under new management for the first time in 12 years, with Luis Felipe de Oliveira officially succeeding Angela Gittens as the new director general of the association in June.

As you will be a able to read in our exclusive ‘View from Top’ interview with him on pages 10-15 of this issue, he is a very personable, experienced and target driven leader who, I am sure, will do a fantastic job of spearheading ACI World as it begins the next step in its journey.

And ACI World and airports across the planet will certainly need him to be a strong and capable leader as aviation begins to start up again and operate in the new normal of our COVID-19 impacted world.

What does he think is the best strategy to adopt to try and safeguard airports and guide the industry through the pandemic? Is it inevitable that some airports will close? Will aviation ever be the same again after COVID-19?

Also, on a more personal level, what is his ‘leadership style’ and what about those more long-term ambitions for ACI World?

You will have to read the article to find out the answers to these questions and a whole lot more!

With ACI World believing that airports could lose around 40% of their passengers and 50% of their revenues in 2020, you might think that there wouldn’t be a lot of things to write about in this ‘planning & design’ themed issue of Airport World.

After all, who is going to spend time, effort and, of course, money on new facilities, IT systems and even new airports in a global slump? Thankfully, the answer is quite a few airports and airport operators, and for a whole host of reasons, the bottom line being that all are clear that passenger numbers will eventually return, and aviation will be on a growth trajectory again.

Indeed, anticipated demand is why LaGuardia Gateway Partners is close to finishing the new Terminal B at New York-LaGuardia and

the driving force behind a new resort gateway in Saudi Arabia and India’s decision to build a second airport for capital city, Delhi.

The revenue and job boosting potential of developing e-commerce, health and food logistics facilities on airport real estate; Amsterdam Schiphol’s interest in introducing a futuristic Hyperloop ground transportation link; and Germany’s new Berlin Brandenburg Airport also come under the microscope in the themed section.

We also take a look at what airports might need to plan for in terms of updating their security processes and procedures for screening passengers during COVID-19 and the post pandemic world.

The main airport feature is on Vienna Airport, where co-CEO, Julian Jäger, talks to us about everything from a record breaking 2019 for the Austrian gateway and the March 2021 opening of its new Terminal 2 to the challenges of operating in today’s tough operating environment.

Elsewhere in this issue we get a cybersecurity update from Dominic Nessi; discover more about the record cargo volumes being handled at Chicago Rockford Airport in the US; and consider that an omnichannel approach might be the way forward for retail and airport communications.

We, of course, also report on the latest news from ACI World; take a look at the psychology of the travelling public in our regular ‘People matters’ column; and learn about some of the most recent successes and pioneering initiatives by ACI’s World Business Partners.

I hope you agree that it’s another pretty meaty issue of your favourite magazine and that you’re already looking forward to the next, ‘sustainabilty’ themed issue, when topics such as airport profitability, terminal design post COVID-19 and travel bubbles will be in AW the spotlight.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 4, 2020

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 4 Volume 25

In this issue 3

Opinion Airport World editor, Joe Bates, reflects on the dawning of a new era for ACI World and some of the challenges and opportunities facing airports in this ‘planning and design’ themed issue.

8

World in motion Preparing for the new normal: ACI launches Airport Health Accreditation programme to assess airport health measures, writes external relations and special events manager, Bojana Jeremic.

10

View from the top In an exclusive first interview, new director general, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, talks to Joe Bates about today’s challenging operating environment and his goals and ambitions for ACI World.

16

Vienna calling Vienna Airport’s Julian Jäger talks to Joe Bates about the ongoing transformation of Terminal 2, surviving COVID-19 and what the future might hold for Austria’s gateway to the world.

20

On the horizon Airport World takes a closer look at two very different new airports that are expected to be built over the next five years – Delhi Noida in India and Mirage in Saudi Arabia.

22

Going underground Joe Bates finds out more about Amsterdam Schiphol’s plans for a Hyperloop link and a cargo version of the technology that its inventors believe can provide super-fast transport links to airports.

24

Growing the business MXD’s Chris LeTourneur explores growth opportunities for e-commerce, health and food logistics in the wake of COVID-19.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 4, 2020

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CONTENTS

Director General Luise Felipe de Oliveira (Montréal, 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 Africa (3) Emanuel Chavez (Maputo, Mozambique) Zouhair El Aoufir (Rabat, Morocco) 1 Vacancy

29

Screen test Technology will play a key role in ensuring that aviation security is equipped for a COVID-19 environment and beyond, writes Smiths Detection’s global aviation director, Richard Thompson.

34

The wait is nearly over!

What can we expect from Berlin Brandenburg Airport when the long awaited new gateway opens to traffic later this year? Joe Bates investigates.

37

Winning formula LaGuardia Terminal B gives the airport and New York a world class facility that it deserves, writes Vantage Airport Group’s chair and CEO, George Casey.

38

Always on guard Now is the time to step up the industry’s efforts against cyber-crime, writes Dominic Nessi, vice president of strategic engagement for the Aviation Information Sharing & Analysis Center (Aviation-ISAC).

41

Trust in travel Communicating confidence through digital platforms such as omnichannel retail can help drive aviation’s recovery from the COVID crisis, writes Kian Gould, CEO of AOE.

43

Loads better Chicago Rockford International Airport proves that secondary airports can be pandemic heroes and economic juggernauts, writes executive director, Mike Dunn.

44

WBP news The latest news from ACI’s World Business Partners.

46

People matters Terri Morrissey and Richard Plenty share their thoughts on the importance of restoring passengers’ confidence in the aviation industry.

Asia-Pacific (9) Aimen Al-Hosni (Muscat, Oman) Kjeld Binger (Amman, Jordan) Geoff Culbert (Sydney, Australia) SGK Kishore (Hyderabad, India) Fred Lam (Hong Kong) Seow Hiang Lee (Singapore) Xue Song Liu, (Beijing, China) 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 August 2020

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AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 4, 2020

ACI WORLDHEAD NEWS RUNNING

World in motion Preparing for the new normal: ACI launches Airport Health Accreditation programme to assess airport health measures, writes external relations and special events manager, Bojana Jeremic.

T

he COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a global crisis, bringing airports, airlines, and the entire aviation community around the world to a virtual standstill.

As the aviation industry begins to restart and plan for a safe and sustained long-term recovery, many new health measures are being introduced at airports to restore passenger confidence and help travellers feel comfortable again.

ACI World has launched the Airport Health Accreditation programme to assist airports by assessing new health measures and procedures introduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic against global standards.

For airports, the main priority and focus is the health and welfare of travellers, staff, and the public.

The accreditation is aligned with the ICAO Council Aviation Restart Task Force (CART) recommendations, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) COVID-19 Aviation Health Safety Protocol guidelines, and the ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines.

It enables airports to assess their health measures, as well as demonstrate to passengers, staff, regulators, and governments that they are prioritising health and safety in a measurable manner while also validating their own measures and processes.

Topics covered by the accreditation include cleaning and disinfection, physical distancing (where feasible and practical), staff protection, physical layout, passenger communications and passenger facilities. All passenger areas and processes are considered including: • terminal access and check-in area • security screening • boarding gates and lounges • retail, food, and beverage areas • gate equipment such as boarding bridges • escalators and elevator • border control areas and facilities (in collaboration with authorities), and • baggage claim area and arrivals exit.

The programme is voluntary and open to all ACI member airports of all sizes in all regions.

As airports prepare for the new normal amidst the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19, the new AHA programme will enable them to promote best health practices and help align efforts across the industry to harmonise measures, processes, and procedures.

Airports are vital cogs in the aviation ecosystem and aviation will continue to be an important engine of growth, wealth creation and employment, to drive the global sustainable economic recovery from COVID-19, supporting the communities we serve. However airports cannot do it alone – we are all in this together.

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Although the response to the COVID-19 crisis has differed across the world, the pandemic has served as a reminder that we are stronger together.

Collaboration, co-operation, and consistency will be key to a sustainable recovery and, at the global level. As we continue to navigate the global challenge of COVID-19, ACI World will continue to work together with industry partners to ensure further alignment on the common denominators – key principles, policies, and procedures – as we embark on the long road to recovery.

The great achievement of this collaboration among the stakeholders is the co-ordination with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the World Travel and Tourism Council, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, and other global organisations to align efforts to produce consistent guidance.

As we continue to navigate the global challenge of COVID-19, ACI World will continue to work together with industry partners to ensure further alignment on the common denominators – key principles, policies, and procedures – as we embark on the long road to recovery.

Airport Carbon Accreditation numbers continue to grow Despite today’s tough operating environment, the number of airports joining ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme continues to rise.

In fact, it was during the worst of the pandemic that the programme passed the milestone of 300 accredited airports worldwide. The global total now stands at 312 carbon accredited airports.

Niclas Svenningsen, manager for global climate action, UNFCCC, said: “Recovery from the pandemic is an opportunity to build back better. This is an industry with an unshakable determination not to just play its part but to make a true difference”.

ACI WORLD NEWS

ACI events

2021

2021

2020

November TBC

March 29-31

October 20-22

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

ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference & Exhibition Muscat, Oman

ACI Europe Annual Assembly & Congress Geneva, Switzerland

ACI offices ACI World Luis Felipe de Oliveira 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 4, 2020

AW

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ACI VIEWPOINT

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ACI VIEWPOINT

View from the top In an exclusive first interview, new director general, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, talks to Joe Bates about today’s challenging operating environment and his goals and ambitions for ACI World.

R

eplacing a popular predecessor is never easy in the best of times, throw in COVID-19 and its decimating global impact on aviation, and it quickly becomes clear that Luis Felipe de Oliveira has enjoyed somewhat of a baptism of fire as the new director general of ACI World.

The situation isn’t helped by the fact that there are more questions than answers at the moment when it comes to COVID-19, as unlike previous events such as SARS, 9/11 and the 2010 volcanic ash cloud in Europe, its impact is global and nobody knows how long today’s restrictions on our movements and new travel requirements will last.

Will aviation ever be the same again after COVID-19, for example, and is it inevitable that there will be some airport casualties along the way?

These are undeniably difficult days for the world’s airports but, as you would expect, de Oliveira is more than up for the challenge, and with his global experience of working on both sides of the fence in the aviation industry – he is the former head of the Latin America and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) and has also worked for IATA – it could be argued that he is the ideal choice to lead ACI World during the next chapter in its history.

He says: “We are all in this together. It is not a question of one side against another, and never really has been, as airports and airlines already successfully work together on a number of different initiatives, and this type of collaboration will prove vital to the recovery of the aviation industry.”

The appeal of ACI World But, first things first, what attracted him to the top job at ACI World? He reveals that he agreed to succeed Angela Gittens late in 2019, although the official announcement of his appointment was made by ACI on February 3 – just over a month before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

If he could turn the clock back, would he perhaps have chosen to stay with ALTA? The suggestion is greeted by a typical laugh and smile from de Oliveira, who starts his reply by reminding me that airports are certainly not alone in facing uncertain times as a result of COVID-19.

“It’s true that the world was a very different place back when I accepted the job than it is now, but I wanted a new challenge after three years with ALTA and the opportunity to become director general of ACI World is something you get once in a lifetime, so I simply couldn’t turn it down,” he enthuses.

“I like challenges, and even though COVID-19 has made it an even bigger challenge than I was expecting, I don’t regret it for one moment.

Sure, I will have to learn new things and approach things from a different perspective than I have before, but that is just part of the fun of the new job and I count myself lucky to have it.”

He believes that moving from the airline industry to airports was a logical next step to take, and definitely doesn’t consider himself to be an airline man or to have switched sides.

“I faced the same comment when I moved from an oil company to the airline business. People said that moving from Shell to IATA was going to the other side, but to me it is exactly the same situation now as back then, we are on the same side,” explains de Oliveira.

“We are in the same industry and we need to grow together.

That effectively means focusing on what we have in common and finding the synergies to work together to make things happen in the best way for all of us.

“In most cases, airlines and airports have the same objectives.

As I know a little bit about both, I know that there is more that unites us than divides us and we are most definitely on the same side.”

Leadership style Like his predecessor, de Oliveira says that he is very hands on, a good listener, is happy to delegate and believes in the strategy of getting people to buy into clear goals and targets.

“I am very hands on in term of my leadership style,” he tells Airport World. “I like to talk. I like to see people, and I like to be in the middle of things and not viewing from a distance.

“I also that believe that I am very open minded and accessible and enjoy discussing issues with my team and finding solutions together. Yes, at the end of the day I have to make the final decisions, but I want to listen to and understand different points of view before we go ahead.”

When asked which US President his leadership style is more in common with, Barack Obama or Donald Trump, he diplomatically replies that this is a question for his team in Montréal.

However, he is quick to note: “Despite being very social and open, I am results driven and this means that I am very tough and determined when it comes to accomplishing goals as, at the end of the day, achieving them is a sign of success.”

One final thought on his leadership role, de Oliveira hopes that his arrival might also help bring fresh impetus on certain issues, feeling that sometimes, fresh eyes on a particular topic can lead to change or things being done slightly differently.

He explains: “Think of the times when you ask a question of someone who is very familiar with a certain topic and they tell you that what you are suggesting has been tried before, is impossible to do or will never work. Maybe they are right, but maybe they’re not, so I’ll always lead by example and ask the question and possibly bring a new perspective to the table.”

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ACI VIEWPOINT

Industry collaboration The importance of industry collaboration and co-operation, particularly when it comes to aviation overcoming the coronavirus pandemic, is one of the main messages de Oliveira wants to get across in this article.

He notes that co-operation between different industry partners has been a goal of his since his IATA days and that the need for a more harmonised industry has arguably never been so important as now to ensure the survival of airports, airlines and the thousands of businesses that support air travel.

Talking specifically about the need to enhance ACI’s already close relationship with IATA and the world’s airlines, de Oliveira says: “In many ways COVID-19 has given us the opportunity to improve our relationship with the airlines as, to coin a phrase, we are both in the same boat or perhaps more accurately aeroplane.

“The bottom line is, if we don’t work together, we won’t get out of this crisis. Now is the time to really focus on what we have in common and the challenges we both face, rather than our differences, to ensure the aviation industry’s recovery. We are in this crisis together and need to exit it together.”

He adds: “I think a comment I picked up in my old job best puts this in perspective. I was told that the worst airport in the world is the one that does not exist. After all, if there is no airport, there are no flights and without flights there is obviously no aviation industry.”

ACI World’s new boss is quick to point out that he has spoken to his IATA counterpart, Alexandre de Juniac, four times in his first two weeks in the job and that his team in Montréal are currently talking to IATA on a daily basis.

Indeed, de Oliveira cites the recent ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) Report drafted in collaboration with IATA as an example of the good relationship the two associations currently enjoy.

“Aviation is an interconnected and interdependent global ecosystem and continued global collaboration, co-operation and

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consistency are key, first for the industry to successfully restart, and then for sustaining a balanced recovery,” he says.

Surviving COVID-19 Like most aviation veterans, de Oliveira has no doubt that the industry will recover and eventually come back stronger than before, but he doesn’t know when that will be or what shape the world’s airports will be in when the corner is eventually turned.

He does, however, fear that it could be the end of 2022/start of 2023 at the earliest before global traffic returns to 2019 levels and that there will inevitably be airport casualties on the way, as some already unprofitable airports close because they are unable to keep trading in today’s deflated market.

And he warns that the timing of the global recovery will very much depend on the world’s governments working together to ensure a globally adopted response to COVID-19 and not a series of measures taken independently by countries across the world.

“We have yet to see any light at the end of the tunnel because of the continued spread of the disease and the actions of governments,” says de Oliveira.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am very positive that we will get through this, but we will need a global effort, as unlike events such as SARS, 9/11 and the volcanic eruption in Iceland which were largely confined to one particular part of the world and viewed as temporary disruptions, this a global pandemic with no foreseeable end date.

“We have never been here before, and with no vaccine on the horizon, we need the world’s governments to work in a much more co-ordinated way so that the same COVID-19 rules, regulations and procedures are in place across the world.

“We’ve made a start as we have the guidelines to restart the aviation industry, part of which is in the recently released CART document. The problem is governments or national authorities want to do their own thing, and one rule for one country and another rule

ACI VIEWPOINT

for another doesn’t work in a global industry. The global recovery will be very difficult if we don’t talk the same language.”

Talking about the potential closure of some airports, de Oliveira bluntly admits: “We will have some fatalities in the same way as the airlines have lost some carriers as, quite simply, their losses will be too great as they haven’t received anywhere near the level of subsidies, loans and grants that the airlines have received.

“The cold, hard facts are that even before COVID-19, 67% of the world’s airports weren’t profitable and no airport in the world is making money today. If this scenario is to continue for much longer some airports will, unfortunately, have to close down.”

Every airport closure, he notes, will have an impact on the COVID-19 recovery process of the communities, regions and even countries they serve due the key role they play in their social and economic development.

Understandably, de Oliveira won’t be drawn on which gateways are most at risk, but it doesn’t take a genius to work out that they are most likely to come from the least profitable group of airports, the ones handling under one million passengers per annum.

Has COVID-19 changed aviation forever?

“I think it is inevitable,” says de Oliveira, noting how the events of 9/11 permanently changed the security process at airports and onboard aircraft, which are all now fitted with cockpit doors that can only be opened from the inside.

“We expect COVID-19 to have the same huge impact on the health side of things as 9/11 did on security, so most of the measures we see being introduced today are here to stay, even after there is a vaccine.

“This will, of course, mean that the travelling public will have to get used to new processes and procedures, like they did for security after 9/11, but people will adapt and these measures will soon be accepted as the new normal in the same way as today’s security processes are.

“We live in a different world now and there is no turning the clock back to how we did things in December 2019. We just hope that this time we will be able to convey the need for common sense and that the same global rules apply to all the countries and airports in the world.”

He believes that new technology will come even more to the fore in the future to enable airports to facilitate quicker, safer and more efficient passenger journeys through their facilities, with physical human interaction being kept to the minimum.

“The aviation industry is remarkably durable and will bounce back from COVID-19 because the demand to travel will never go away,” says de Oliveira.

As some parts of the world, and subsequently their airports begin to open up again to international travellers, he also believes that it is important that airport bosses and industry leaders set an example by travelling by air as soon as it is safe to do to send the message to people that the industry is up and running and back in business.

Long-term ambitions Longer-term, post COVID-19, de Oliveira says that his, and ACI World’s mission, is to continue to work to ensure the best conditions for the sustainable development of the world’s airports.

This, he says, will mean encouraging airports to further enhance their environmental credentials; embrace new technology to improve the operational efficiency of aviation; and taking the levels of co-operation with ICAO and other industry partners to even greater heights.

He is also aware of the need for ACI World to continue to enjoy and build on its good working relationship with regions (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean and North America) to ensure that it supports all of them to achieve their respective ambitions and goals.

Welcome aboard For someone as social as Luis Felipe de Oliveira you can tell that the current situation of video calls has been quite tough for him as he is a self-confessed “people person” who likes to meet and talk to people face-to-face, rather than via an internet app like Zoom or Google Meet.

His warm personality came across loud and clear during our video call, as indeed did his patience when my internet link failed, and we ended up finishing the interview by telephone via a speaker phone in the house of ACI World’s communications director, David Whitely.

During our chat he says that his wife often jokes with him that he wants to have a million friends, just like in the song by the famous Brazilian singer, songwriter, Roberto Carlos. I have no idea how many friends he has today, but based on our one and only chat to date, I am sure that the figure will soar when the world’s airports get to know him!

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 4, 2020

AW

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AIRPORT REPORT: VIENNA

Vienna calling

Vienna Airport’s Julian Jäger talks to Joe Bates about the ongoing transformation of Terminal 2, surviving COVID-19 and what the future might hold for Austria’s gateway to the world.

J

ulian Jäger is the type of boss that is always upbeat and positive, and despite today’s difficult operating conditions, he has plenty to be optimistic about as Vienna Airport, as outlined in its master plan, will open its new and improved Terminal 2 early next year.

It is a big thing for the airport, as its co-CEO has reminded us with a number of number of social media posts this summer showing the ongoing transformation of Terminal 2.

In May, for example, he posted on Linkedin: “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!”

The fully refurbished and transformed terminal is designed to make using Vienna Airport (VIE) even more passenger friendly and operationally efficient than it is now, which will be something, as the airport already boasts one of the fastest minimum connecting times in Europe (25 minutes for Austrian Airlines) and between 2017 and 2019 managed to accommodate an extra seven million passengers.

VIE’s very own airport city, AirportCity Vienna – essentially comprising offices, shops and aviation related facilities such cargo and logistics buildings – also continues to take shape on the airport site with Office Park No.4 opening this summer and plans being drawn up for the construction of a new hotel.

While traffic is also beginning to show the first signs of coming back, with the airport handling between 15,000 and 20,000 passengers in July compared to the all-time low of mid-March when just a couple of hundred passengers a day used VIE.

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Putting the upturn in perspective though, the airport handled a record 31.7 million passengers (+17%) in 2019 and would normally expect to welcome around 100,000 a day during the busy summer months of June, July and August.

“We still have a long way to go, but we are moving in the right direction now, and with people in the terminal and the shops open, the place is beginning to feel like an airport again,” says Jäger.

His positivity again shines through when he notes that VIE’s ability to bounce back from adversity is one of the key things he has discovered about it during his near 20 year-long association with the airport, the last nine of which have been as co-CEO with Dr Günther Ofner.

Indeed, the only thing to get anywhere near denting Jäger’s endearing enthusiasm is the fact that VIE has had to postpone the second phase of the airport’s €500 million expansion programme by at least one year to avoid any further capital expenditure while the world continues to come to terms with COVID-19.

Phase two was set to include a revamp of the airport’s non-Schengen East Pier and a 70,000sqm extension to Terminal 3, referred to locally as the T3 Southern Enlargement, by the end of 2023.

“For me, one of the biggest pleasures I get from my job is planning and developing new infrastructure that will improve the quality of the airport for our passengers and other guests, so I am really disappointed by the delay, but it is the right thing to do in the current circumstances as spending money is not really an option,” says Jäger.

He adds that the delay in doubly painful for him as VIE has been planning for the new additions for a number of years and he was personally looking forward to showcasing the transformed airport to the world in 2023.

However, ever pragmatic, he reminds us that the projects are only on hold and notes that VIE was lucky that it wasn’t in the middle of the costly

AIRPORT REPORT: VIENNA

development projects when COVID-19 struck. He is also quick to point out that an entirely separate infrastructure development project, the airport’s third runway, remains firmly in VIE’s plans, but with no definite dates set for its addition, the timetable for its construction is likely to be delayed until traffic levels dictate that it is necessary.

“It is very difficult to forecast what traffic we will handle in August, 2020, let alone next year, so it’s almost impossible to make any predictions now about when we will need the new facilities,” explains Jäger.

“What I do think is that it could be 2023, 2024 or even 2025 before aviation is back to 2019’s traffic levels, so we will have to be patient and ensure that our plans remain flexible and capable of being updated to any changing circumstances.”

Traffic and market appeal It may come as a surprise to some of you to learn that last year’s impressive passenger figures ensured that VIE ranked among Europe’s 20 busiest airports for the first time, and the gateway also improved its punctuality record, becoming the third most punctual airport in Europe for its size, and 15th in the world.

The airport has traditionally been a Central European hub for transfer traffic between eastern and western Europe, and Jäger is confident that this will continue to be the case when full services resume post pandemic.

In 2019, a total of 77 airlines served VIE, between them operating flights to 217 destinations in 68 countries. National flag carrier, Austrian Airlines, is the biggest operator at VIE accounting for around 43% of the market, followed by 100%-Ryanair owned subsidiary, Lauda (8%) and then fellow low-cost carriers Eurowings (7.2%), Wizz Air (6.6%) and easyJet (3.9%).

Austrian’s services to the US and the Far East, where it flies to Bangkok, Tokyo and a handful of cities in China, are the mainstays of its long-haul network, but it is arguably VIE’s high number of intra-European flights that give it its strength and make it standout as a connecting hub.

Indeed, intra-European services account for 85% of all the flights out of VIE, and with long-haul services expected to take longer to recover than the short-haul market, Jäger believes that VIE’s traffic mix could actually work in its favour and ensure that it recovers more quickly than Europe’s bigger hubs that are more dependent on flights to Asia-Pacific and North and South America.

The launch of four weekly non-stop B767 flights to Boston this summer by Austrian Airlines and a host of new short and mediumhaul connections by a combination of Belavia, Lauda, Wizz Air and others was expected to boost VIE’s passenger numbers by 3% or 4% in 2020, but COVID-19 has, unfortunately, put paid to that forecast and the new routes for now.

Health and wellbeing Vienna is a pilot airport for the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and therefore considers itself to be one of the most health conscious and safest airports to use in the world.

All passenger operations at VIE are currently concentrated in Terminal 3, where check-in, boarding and information desks are equipped with plexiglass social distancing shields.

Temperature checks are mandatory, distance markings are placed throughout the boarding areas and hand disinfection stands have been installed in the terminal.

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Like at other airports, all passengers and employees are required to wear protective face masks throughout the entire terminal area, and the number of passengers that use shuttle buses or can congregate in airport shops and bars is being limited.

“I really believe that all the anti-COVID measures in place at VIE and other airports across the world makes flying the safest form of transport available to us right now,” states Jäger.

He does, however, feel that Europe needs a co-ordinated, continent wide approach to COVID-19 so that the same measures, processes and procedures become standard practice at all airports.

And although he has no doubts about VIE and aviation’s eventual recovery from COVID-19, Jäger remains cautious about how long it will take, believing that people will need plenty of convincing that flying isn’t a health risk, particularly to long-haul destinations, where many airlines currently require passengers to wear face masks for the duration of flights.

“I don’t think COVID-19 is going away any time soon and even after there is a vaccine, many people might need to be convinced that it works and is safe to take, so realistically, aviation faces a long road back and I believe we are looking at anything from three to five years before we really start to see growth again,” he says.

SMART Airports Conference Jäger is eagerly looking forward to VIE and Vienna hosting September’s SMART Airports, Cities & Regions Conference and Exhibition (September 28-30) as it is set be the first aviation event held in Europe since COVID-19 and will, of course, give him the chance to showcase the airport’s development plans to the world.

“We want to put Vienna on the map for the things it might not be best known for – its successful airport, growing airport city and being a hub for innovation, particularly in terms of IT start-ups and new technology,” he enthuses.

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“We see ourselves as the centre of Central Eastern Europe that comprises not only Austria but the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. It is a growing economic region with vast untapped potential.”

Leading by example Jäger really is a big fan of VIE and arguably few people know it better than him as although he has been co-CEO since 2011, he has effectively worked for the airport since 2002 in various roles that have included four years as the CEO and executive director of Malta International Airport due to the Vienna Airport Group’s stake in the gateway.

He says that most of his time with Vienna Airport Group could be characterised by rising traffic demand and planning for new infrastructure, but events such as SARS, 9/11 and now COVID-19 means that it hasn’t all been plane sailing.

In reply to what has he learned most about this time in the industry, he smiles, and says: “That you should never take anything for granted as COVID-19 and other events have shown us over the years.

“We are going through a bit of a rollercoaster ride at the moment but we have a great airport and a good management team, and this makes me confident that we will come out the other side of this in a good place and, in time, be even better than before.”

One of the first things Jäger told me he was going to do after our conversation was go home and pack a suitcase as his family was going on holiday to Greece the next day. Flying, of course?

“Absolutely,” he retorts. “Now is the time to lead by example as we cannot encourage people to fly again and not do it ourselves.”

I hope the holiday was good, Julian, and that you came back rested and raring to go for what is left of this challenging and eventful year.

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SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

On the horizon

Airport World takes a closer look at two very different new airports that are expected to be built over the next five years – Delhi Noida in India and Mirage in Saudi Arabia.

Delhi Noida International Airport It may still be a few years away from becoming reality, but a second Delhi airport is now well and truly on the radar following Zurich Airport being named as the preferred bidder for the concession to design, build and operate India’s new Delhi Noida International Airport.

Subsidiary, Zurich Airport International Asia (ZAIA), submitted the highest bid for the 40-year concession to develop and manage Delhi Noida International Airport (DNIA), which will be located in Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, around 72 kilometres from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Expected to cost around €600 million, the greenfield airport is slated to open between 2023 and 2027 and will initially be equipped to handle 12 million passengers per annum.

However, an ambitious development plan includes proposals to raise its capacity to 30mppa by 2032 and 50mppa by 2037.

ZAIA CEO, Daniel Bircher, reveals that although Zurich Airport has received a letter announcing the award of the contract following the gaining of all the necessary security approvals, the actual concession agreement hasn’t yet been signed with Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) because of the fall out of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is something he expects to be put right shortly.

“It has been a difficult year, not helped by the COVID-related travel restrictions, but we are currently in discussion with the government about the date for signing the concession agreement,” says Bircher.

Indeed, ZAIA has been working on Delhi Noida International Airport’s master plan since January 2020 and is currently in the process of appointing architects and planners for the project.

He notes that ZAIA is also in advanced discussions with different financial institutions in a bid to secure all the funding for the project by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

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While the Indian government and state of Uttar Pradesh have agreed compensation packages with landowners whose property has been acquired for the new airport and are finalising relocation and resettlement deals for families living on what will be the site of DNIA. “We anticipate completing the pre-construction activities, including all the legal requirements required for the project to go-ahead, in the first half year of 2021 and expect construction to begin immediately afterwards,” enthuses ZAIA’s Bircher.

“We have noted the recent efforts of the Government of Uttar Pradesh to attract investors into the Greater Noida area. This is a very welcome move and will help to develop and grow the already emerging area known as the National Capital Region.

“The state of Uttar Pradesh is also planning to build a new elevated roadway between IGI Airport [Indira Gandhi International Airport] and DNIA, and the existing Delhi Metro system is to be extended to the new airport, so it will have fast and effective road connectivity and rail links.

“Despite the current challenges due to COVID-19, Zurich Airport is extremely motivated to develop this concession and invest in Uttar Pradesh and India.”

Bircher notes that Zurich Airport is no stranger to doing business in India having previously been part of the consortium that successfully built and operated Bengaluru’s own greenfield gateway, Kempegowda International Airport, before selling its stake in 2017.

“Our success in Bengaluru and elsewhere across the world, where we operate a total of nine airports, proves that we are more than qualified to take on the challenge of Delhi Noida International Airport,” states Bircher.

“Our aim is to develop and operate a portfolio of airports in Asia.

Delhi Noida is part of this strategy and other Indian airports could follow in the future, when the time is right.”

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

Talking about the appeal of DNIA to Zurich Airport, chief financial officer, Lukas Brosi, comments: “Noida International Airport will be strategically located between Delhi and Agra, close to the fastdeveloping Noida and greater Noida area. If we look at large metropolitan areas worldwide, we find that second airports become viable once the primary airport reaches a certain hurdle in terms of passengers.

“We believe that Noida International Airport will complement and work in harmony with Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, and look forward to close collaboration with it in the future.”

Bircher adds that the importance of Delhi Noida working in tandem with Indira Gandhi International Airport cannot be underestimated and is why he believes that both airports should be treated equally by India’s aviation authorities when DNIA opens for business.

“Our understanding is that DNIA will be treated fairly and in the same way as IGI Airport and not as a less important airport, particularly when it comes to traffic rights and airspace management, as this will allow both to flourish and is the best way forward for the whole National Capital Region,” says Bircher.

Mirage Airport Saudi Arabia has unveiled plans for a new airport to serve what has been described as a new “ultra-luxury destination” on its Red Sea coast.

The new destination is called AMAALA and the airport, which is slated for completion in 2023, will boast a design that that is said to have been inspired by a desert mirage.

The terminal and control tower design was conceptualised by UK-based architectural and design firm Foster + Partners, while the airport master plan was designed by Egis, an international consultancy and engineering group.

According to Egis, the new airport’s design is due for completion in 2023 and is being built to accommodate up to one million travellers per year.

AMAALA CEO, Nicholas Naples, says: “A gateway to AMAALA, visitors will be greeted by personalised experiences from the moment

they step off the plane. From design to personalisation, this will be no ordinary airport.

“The airport will create an environment that embodies the philosophy of the destination beyond. This will be a unique space that personifies luxury and marks the start of memorable experiences for the world’s most discerning guests. We are delighted to work with Foster + Partners and Egis on this project.”

On its website, Egis states: “On approaching the airport, travellers will see stunning land art from the air. Entering the terminal, visitors will be greeted with a sleek mirrored edifice rising from the desert.

“The structure takes its inspiration from the surrounding environment, resulting in a mesmerising mirage effect.

“A spacious courtyard will anchor the terminal and will be complemented by contemporary interiors complete with unique artwork and tailored experiences.”

Among the list of amenities provided by the airport are climatecontrolled hangars that will be available for private jets as well as a ground transfer service that is accessible from inside the arrival hangar.

Foster + Partners senior executive, Gerard Evenden, says: “Responding to the surrounding landscape, the terminal building will form an exclusive gateway to the AMAALA resort.

“The passenger experience through the entire building will be akin to a private members club – luxurious and relaxing. Focusing on the themes of art, wellbeing and sport, the design seeks to establish a new model for private terminals that provides a seamless experience from resort to aeroplane.”

While Egis’ aviation director for the Middle East and South Asia, Jacques Khoriaty, says: “Along with embodying the luxurious spirit of the resort, the AMAALA airport meets the highest environmental design and sustainability standards, is operationally versatile and incorporates the latest airport technology and best practice standards on offer.

“It has been a privilege to have worked closely with AMAALA to define the requirements of this unique project and we look forward continuing our support all the way through to the opening of the airport in 2023.”

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SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

Going underground Joe Bates finds out more about Amsterdam Schiphol’s plans for a Hyperloop link and a cargo version of the technology that its inventors believe can provide super-fast transport links to airports.

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msterdam Schiphol has confirmed that it is still looking at introducing a revolutionary ‘Hyperloop’ ground transport link in the future.

The new transport system essentially involves pods capable of holding people, freight and cars being transported at super high speeds inside sealed tubes that, theoretically, make it possible to travel hundreds of kilometre distances in minutes rather than hours.

First mooted by the airport in 2018, Schiphol has announced that it is to expand its involvement in hyperloop by continuing the partnership with Dutch company, Hardt Hyperloop.

Since the initial talks, the airport says that both parties have conducted a joint study which they believe shows that hyperloop can play a major role in helping Schiphol become one of the world’s most sustainable multi-modal hubs by effectively accounting for 12.5 million of its passengers per annum by 2050.

According to them, the study shows how hyperloop can emerge as a new sustainable mode of high-speed travel and replace a share of Schiphol’s short-haul flights in 2050.

The study proposes an initial network that connects Schiphol with the main neighbouring airports of Germany, Belgium, France and the UK that currently have direct flight connections.

Hardt projects that by 2050, up to 73 million people will be flying between the major cities in this network. According to the study, hyperloop would be able to substitute up to 12.5 million of the passengers that will travel through Schiphol by 2050.

“The aviation industry has found itself in an unprecedented situation. The recovery will take years but continuing to invest in

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innovation and sustainability has great significance,” says Hassan Charaf, head of innovation at the Royal Schiphol Group.

“In our long-term vision, we’ve set the bar high for ourselves. Our aim is to become the world’s most sustainable and high-quality airport.

A multi-modal hub. Therefore, innovation is key. We feel it’s important to participate in any promising mobility-related developments to meet the demand for sustainable transport in the future.

“The results of the first two years of partnership are promising. The study predicts that hyperloop can substitute up to 12.5 million of the passengers that will travel through Schiphol by 2050. An import reason to continue our partnership and expand our research. We are genuinely interested in where hyperloop could go.”

Next steps Schiphol and Hardt aim to realise the potential developments outlined in the study by extending their collaboration as they proceed with and expand their research.

In addition, Hardt is in talks with other parties and authorities to ensure hyperloop will play a central role in a sustainable high-speed transport network in Europe.

Stefan Marges, Hardt Hyperloop’s study lead, says: “In the transition to a carbon neutral society it is crucial to not only improve existing modalities, but also to explore alternative, innovative mobility solutions.

“This study shows that hyperloop is a valuable addition to the future transportation landscape. In particular it lays the foundation for hyperloop to become a successful mode of sustainable transport in the years ahead.

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

“Partnerships, co-development and public-private collaboration are essential elements to spark such a breakthrough technology.

“We highly appreciate Royal Schiphol Group’s progressiveness in exploring innovative solutions such as hyperloop in the pursuit of becoming the world’s most sustainable airport.”

In conducting this study, Hardt and Schiphol were supported by Royal BAM Group, UNStudio, CE Delft, Stibbe, AirportCreators & Dutch Boosting Group and SEO Amsterdam Economics (advisory role).

Cargo version of Hyperloop A somewhat scaled down version of Hyperloop, for cargo only, is being proposed by UK based Magway, which believes that in addition to providing an ultra-fast, and more environmentally friendly mode of transport for goods, will be simpler and easier to get up and running because passengers will not be involved.

Rather than operating in a vacuum like the Hyperloop system, Magway’s technology differs slightly by generating a magnetic wave of electrical current, using linear synchronous magnetic motors to propel multiple, standard-sized totes along a track.

The vehicles fit in small diameter pipes similar to those used by major utility companies. Travelling at an optimal speed of 31mph, and just milliseconds apart, the totes can be propelled through a network of new and existing underground, over ground and even suspended pipes.

They also believe that the technology might be best suited for the new realities of air transportation as the aviation industry re-evaluate procedures and re-design logistics operations to help minimise the amount of physical contact staff have with the movement of goods in, out and around airport facilities.

For example, building an underground network of pipes through which a track is laid to transport goods using synchronous magnetic motors, would provide short delivery routes to improve efficiency, safety, security and alleviate the stress on local freight traffic travelling throughout major airport hubs.

Magway suggests that its ground-breaking technology offers a far safer and more efficient way to re-supply duty-free shops and food and beverage outlets from existing or new consolidation centres, as well as feeding the same items from the main airport concourse to departure gates.

And Magway boldly claims that the concept could also be designed to use bigger pipes to accommodate larger freight and even hold baggage.

Magway co-founder, Phill Davies, says: “The aviation industry has always been innovative and will have to be even more so to adapt and thrive in a post-pandemic world.

“As airline operations resume, airport operators will need to think carefully about how returning passengers, crew, transport and retail workers can be kept safe and mitigate risk to their health.

“New technologies, such as Magway, offer an innovative way to improve future ground handling and terminal operations.”

Magway claims it is way ahead of any competition in terms of its ability to deliver an operational system.

If all goes to plan, reveals Davies, Magway will initially provide short delivery routes to alleviate the stress on local freight traffic travelling in and out of major airport hubs, such as London Heathrow.

“Magway’s initial commercial pilots will be short, dedicated routes where in some cases, these are located entirely on private land where limited or no external approvals are required,” notes Davies.

“Following this, construction work will commence around 2023 on the first of its longer routes of up to 100 kilometres that will ultimately form a network of delivery pipes connecting the UK. “When we look at the use of delivery vans for example, operating costs will be 50% to 70% lower because Magway removes the cost of the driver, and the engine from the vehicle and also removes the energy source. So, even with a fully articulated lorry for example, 50% of the weight of the total vehicle is the vehicle weight.

“Magway has reduced its weight down to 20% of the total vehicle weight, so the electrical energy it uses to put into the system is used very effectively. Also, our technology doesn’t have any moving parts within the vehicle, so maintenance costs are very low.”

Co-founder of Magway, Rupert Cruise, is one of the world’s pre-eminent experts in linear motors and has designed linear motor systems for deep level mining, US Navy aircraft carriers, and more recently for hyperloop.

In fact, the co-founders of Magway are huge fans of hyperloop which is why they started thinking about how they could take this technology and adapt it to make it easier to get off the ground – the key being to remove humans from the equation and to scale down the size of the system.

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Growing the business MXD’s Chris LeTourneur explores growth opportunities for e-commerce, health and food logistics in the wake of COVID-19.

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he COVID-19 pandemic has had devasting impacts on every aspect of how we live, work, play, socialise and move around, with aviation being one of the hardest hit sectors as passenger numbers have plummeted.

The decline has led to a steep downturn in commercial revenues, particularly with regards to terminal retail and F&B concessions, parking, rental cars, airport hotels and conference facilities.

However, it is not all negative as airports continue to come up with new ways of developing their property to diversify their revenue streams and decrease their dependency on traditional passenger related income. And increasingly they involve the development of facilities for e-commerce, health and food logistics.

But before we review what some airports are doing, let’s reflect on some of the impacts COVID-19 has had on off-airport real estate across the globe.

Changing nature of offices and workspace Where we work has dramatically changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas the past decade was about increasing office density with open collaborative space concepts in downtown areas, the ‘new normal’ involves a hybrid of working from home and desires for less dense office space, as found in suburban business parks.

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Business Insider reports that several tech companies, including Google and Facebook, have limited their office capacity to 30% and firms including Twitter, Shopify and Spotify are now allowing their employees to work from home permanently.

According to USA Today, office vacancy rates in the USA are forecast to rise to 20% by the end of 2020, and in dense cities such as New York office rents have fallen 20% in 2020. An ABC News survey suggests that seven out of 10 employees fear returning to their workplace until a COVID-19 vaccine has been established.

Decline of retail stores and e-commerce growth COVID-19 has had significant impacts for retail stores and restaurants.

According to the New York Times, analysts predict 25% of the USA’s traditional malls will close in the next five years, a trend that has been accelerated by COVID-19.

Overall total retail sales in the USA will drop by 10.5% in 2020 with retail store sales down 14%. In the wake of COVID-19, retailers have had to adapt to the new normal, which has meant growing their online sales platforms.

In the USA, Walmart has leveraged its online grocery sales to compete with Amazon. Walmart expects a 35% online sales jump in 2020. And according to Tech Crunch, e-commerce sales in the USA will increase by 18% in 2020, predominantly due to COVID-19.

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN In June 2020, airport cargo weight volume increased by 8% year-over-year at Memphis International Airport (MEM), due to increased e-commerce business through the FedEx hub.

Much of this increased volume was handled by FedEx Ground, with FedEx Express volume growth attributed to the movement of medical supplies and equipment by air.

When a COVID-19 vaccine is deployed, it will need to be maintained at 2oC to 8oC throughout the shipping process using temperature controlled secure logistics. Vaccines produced with newer technologies could require advanced freezers keeping temperatures below -80oC. The time sensitivity overnight delivery logistics and secured ecosystems of airports are reasons why airports are already weaving opportunities for vaccine distribution into their development strategies.

Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (YWG) in Manitoba, Canada, has already been a focal point for moving veterinary science and animal bio-materials, vaccines and medicines, taking advantage of its cold climate.

Food logistics

UPS has more than two million square feet of dedicated healthcare space in Louisville, Kentucky.

Growth of e-commerce, health and food logistics at airports The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the acceleration of logistics demands for e-commerce, health items, personal protective equipment (PPE) and perishable foods.

Demand for perishable foods has surged during COVID-19 due to lockdowns, meat plant infections, and logistics challenges. As well, demand patterns have shifted as restaurants have been closed.

DHL Australia reports its high-value perishable food shipments (including fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood and dairy products), 70% of which were destined for restaurants prior to COVID-19, have been re-allocated to meet rising grocery store demands.

At Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), during the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,200 United employee volunteers processed 2.2 million pounds of food for the Houston Food Bank through a pop-up distribution centre in one of United Airlines’ cargo facilities.

E-commerce As a result of COVID-19, DHL Express will add 400 new jobs in the USA to address the spike in online shopping and demand for urgent shipments of medical and PPE. DHL Express’ Americas Hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) has seen a 30% year-over-year increase in shipment volumes. Elsewhere, its gateway facilities at Chicago O’Hare and Miami International Airport have seen volumes increase 25% and 22% respectively.

The evolving Amazon Prime Air Hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport has been very timely with the growth in e-commerce resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This $1.5 billion project at CVG has the capacity to handle 100 aircraft and up to 200 flights per day, accelerating Amazon Prime’s service delivery time from two days to one.

Different strokes Below are a few examples of how airports are adapting to COVID-19 by temporarily changing the use of their real estate.

ă 5H SXUSRVLQJ SDUNLQJ DQG WHUPLQDO DUHDV In the USA, the Parking Spot, with 37 parking locations at 22 airports, has diversified their portfolio to include storage for non-airport passenger vehicles such as tractor trailers and commercial vehicles.

Forbes reports that this diversified activity has helped to reposition Parking Spot’s revenues, with over one-third of revenues being generated by non-airport-related sources.

Meanwhile, XpressSpa is re-purposing some of its 46 locations as COVID-19 testing locations. Their first location was launched at New York-JFK and is being used to test 500 workers a day.

Health logistics in April 2020, UPS Healthcare opened its new 450,000sqft Healthcare Distribution Center at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF), adjacent to the UPS Worldport.

This facility features dedicated space for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) ‘Project Airbridge’, a public-private partnership aiming to transport life-saving equipment including test kits, PPE, ventilators, ICU monitoring units and medical devices, as well as time and temperature sensitive pharmaceutical supplies to hospitals and markets around the globe, processing over 72 million units in response to the pandemic.

ă 3RS XS HQWHUWDLQPHQW XVHV Various airports are re-purposing airport assets to target the local population base with ‘safe and socially distant’ entertainment activities.

To generate short-term revenues, for example, Vilnius International Airport in Lithuania has converted a portion of the terminal airside apron into an outdoor drive-in movie theatre called ‘Aero Kinas’, as most of Lithuania’s theaters have been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany, an empty parking lot has been re-utilised to exhibit 300 works of Art during COVID-19.

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An Antonov-124 PPE delivery at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Picture courtesy of ATL’s Elliott Paige.

Logistics leading the way to recovery at ATL Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), the world’s busiest airport, was severely affected by global travel restrictions and lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the initial weeks of the pandemic in March and April 2020, ATL’s daily passenger flows reduced by 97%, however, after an initial decline in cargo due to the loss of belly-hold shipments on passenger flights, freight volumes are now soaring due to the increase in freighter operations. The airport’s cargo operations currently support over 30,000 jobs in the state of Georgia.

As part of its cargo and logistics growth strategy, ATL made timely investments over the past year, with the launch of its new Cargo Community Digitization and Information System in November 2019 and the construction of its new ATL Air Cargo Terminal Building C. As well, ATL is currently requesting bids to build an additional new ‘Modern Air Cargo Terminal Complex’ directly west of the existing Cargo Area. These investments will expedite the smooth transition of cargo, while diversifying ATL’s non-aeronautical revenues and growing the regional economy.

ATL’s ‘Digitization of Cargo’ technology has been a key element in ATL’s COVID-19 role of becoming a significant global, national and regional distribution point for PPE arriving by air. Freighter aircraft, including the giant Antonov-124 and re-purposed passenger aircraft have become regular flights passing through ATL. Elliott Paige, ATL’s director of air service development, says: “With the USA Centers for Disease Control headquartered in the Atlanta Metropolitan Region and ATL’s investments in modernised cargo operations, ATL’s cargo facilities are well-positioned to play a critical role in the time-sensitive and secure logistics for moving vaccines, pharmaceuticals and bio-health products”.

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Additionally, Amazon Prime Air now has four daily flights through ATL to handle the over 20% growth from March to May 2020 of e-commerce volume through ATL.

Outlook Airports that have diversified their real estate development and incorporated logistics components have been agile in responding to COVID-19 by adapting to replace revenues lost from reduced airport passenger operations.

Distinct recovery and growth opportunities for airport real estate development and revenue replacement in the ‘COVID-19 New Normal’ era include: • E-Commerce Logistics including ground-to-ground distribution • Health and PPE Logistics • On Airport COVID-19 Rapid Testing Stations and Laboratories • Temperature Controlled Vaccine Distribution Centres • Food and Perishables Distribution Centres.

• Pop-Up Entertainment and Cultural Exhibits.

• Re-Purposing of Parking Areas for Commercial Storage and Pop-Up Installations.

Airports are long-term investments. As demonstrated during past economic crises, airports will adapt and evolve to conquer the ‘COVID-19 New Normal’.

About the author Chris LeTourneur is the president and CEO of MXD Development Strategists, which helps airports leverage their connectivity and real estate, for facilitating innovation and economic development.

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SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

Screen test Technology will play a key role in ensuring that aviation security is equipped for a COVID-19 environment and beyond, writes Smiths Detection’s global aviation director, Richard Thompson.

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hough the COVID pandemic continues to unfold, airlines and airports around the globe are slowly restarting their operations as domestic and international travel begins to pick-up once again.

The introduction of a number of new health and social distancing measures at airports has helped make this possible and restore confidence in air travel, although airport security checkpoints continue to pose a unique challenge.

This is due to the high contact nature of the screening process that traditionally has required close interaction between operators and passengers and tends to create queues. Technology, however, can help to overcome these challenges while improving operational efficiency.

As stated by IATA, a “general move towards greater use of touchless technology and biometrics” will help to address the challenges brought to the fore by COVID-19. Automation technologies not only have the capability to future proof security checkpoints against biological threats because they reduce touchpoints, but also have huge potential to create efficiencies for airports at a time when operational expenditure and efficiency are imperative.

The concept of a more automated checkpoint is not new, of course, but now what has always been an ideal, has become more of a necessity as airports not only want to ensure operations get back up and running as quickly as possible in a COVID-19 environment, but are more effective, seamless and adaptable at the same time.

The building blocks of a low-contact checkpoint There is security equipment already in use that helps minimise contact during the screening process. For example, explosive trace detection (ETD) equipment, commonly used around the globe, is being recommended by Airports Council International (ACI) for alarm resolution instead of hand searches to reduce physical contact between security staff and passengers.

Millimetre wave portals can also reduce contact by removing the need for full pat-down inspections by identifying which specific areas of the body need to be investigated.

In the future, the operational procedure for millimetre wave portals could include self-clearance, with passengers who have set off the alarms removing any personal items, without the need for close interaction with a security operator. A remote screening capability for the operator is also available.

Although the usage of trays at the checkpoint creates a high-touch point and therefore increases the chances of virus transmission, short-wavelength ultra-violet (UV-C) light can be used to kill up to 99.9% of disease-causing micro-organisms found on trays as they are transported from the reclaim area back to the divest station ensuring every passenger is presented with a disinfected tray.

UV-C kits can easily be retrofitted into existing tray handling systems and will reduce the risk of contamination while providing longer-term protection against bacteria or viruses.

The effectiveness of UV-C mercury lamps for SARS-CoV-2 deactivation has been validated by the Boston University in a lab test. Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) is also recognised as a recommended method in a multiple-barrier approach to reducing the transmission of COVID-19 by ACI Europe in their recently launched Guidelines for a Healthy Passenger Experience at Airports and may help airports gain ACI Airport Health Accreditation (AHA).

To significantly reduce the number of trays handled by staff and passengers, EDS CB C3 approved computer tomography (CT) cabin baggage scanners can allow for liquids and laptops to be left inside passenger bags for screening.

CT systems reconstruct data from hundreds of different views into volumetric 3D images and create rich data to deliver a false alarm rate

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SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

(FAR) that can be as low as 5%. Some protocols require every bag generating an alarm to be opened and physically examined, creating close contact between security officers and the bag contents, as well as the passenger.

Reducing the FAR is critical to reducing contact, interaction and to freeing up operator resource to improve efficiency.

According to the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) report, “whenever screening checkpoints are processing a high number of passengers, staff and crew screening should be performed in dedicated checkpoints and separately from passengers (as an additional preventive health measure), where possible”.

One of the best ways to reduce unessential interaction at the checkpoint is to remove the need for operators to be physically present for screening. Remote screening, enabled by centralised image processing allows operators to work in separate rooms, creating more space at the checkpoint and reducing the number of people involved in the screening process. This would also significantly reduce queue times by boosting operator efficiency.

Even with screening operators removed from the checkpoint environment, queues at the checkpoint are still a concern in the COVID-19 era. At 50% capacity, social distancing measures in airports would create bottlenecks, which may ultimately prevent passengers from maintaining physical distance from each other should there be significant build up.

This is where queue management and people tracking technology can help, by providing real-time data on passenger flows so that resource and queue management strategies can be actioned to prevent possible build-ups. In the summer season, traditionally a time when passenger volumes increase, this technology can be enhanced or scaled up as required.

The future is automated The most effective long-term solution for contactless and seamless security processes is to create a fully automated self-service checkpoint.

Although not yet a reality, automated features can be enabled by the application of AI-powered software to enhance existing security systems.

Detection algorithms, enabled by machine learning, imitate the way the human brain processes data and identify patterns for use in decisionmaking. The vast amounts of data collected through checkpoint

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processes and access to prohibited items can be used to train and refine algorithms to achieve a highly reliable rate of automatic detection through object recognition.

Algorithms are readily available for use at the checkpoint to support security operators with their decision making and could also enable alarm-only viewing of X-ray images to significantly improve passenger flow, and reduce unnecessary interaction between operators and passengers, in addition to boosting security levels.

As an emerging area, the urgent need for this type of contactless and efficiency boosting technology could mean that we see the capabilities of AI powered algorithmic software expand at a fast pace, and gain the regulatory approval required to implement such software safely in airports.

An opportunity to rebuild right The full recovery of the aviation sector may still be a long way off in the wake of the pandemic, but significant steps have already been made to adapt operations to support the return of passenger volumes in a safe and responsible way.

Those initial steps have been essential, but more comprehensive and long-term measures are required to ensure the airport screening process is robust and flexible enough for pandemic environments and other potential threats, while also creating the best passenger experience possible.

In combination with alarm-only viewing protocols enabled by prohibited item detection algorithms, bringing false alarm rates down towards zero will be a major milestone for automated, efficient and secure checkpoint screening, and one of the ‘grand challenges’ for solution providers in the coming years.

The implementation of interoperable, data-driven and risk-based solutions coupled with the integration of security screening into the wider aviation ecosystem, such as passenger facilitation systems, through biometric identification will support contactless passenger journeys and increased operational efficiency.

Reducing contact, inefficiency and passenger anxiety will be key to airports’ full recovery and ultimately competitive advantage. Now airports, airlines and their technology partners have the mandate and opportunity to introduce significant enhancements to the checkpoint screening process.

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SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

The wait is nearly over!

What can we expect from Berlin Brandenburg Airport when the long awaited new gateway opens to traffic later this year? Joe Bates investigates.

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here will be a mix of emotions when the German capital’s new €6 billion gateway, Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), opens for business on October 31 this year.

Pride and relief will certainly be among them as the new state-of-the-art airport is expected to take travelling to Berlin to another level, albeit it nine-and-a-half years later than originally planned.

However, some tears are likely to be shed, too, as Berlin Brandenburg’s opening will mean the closure of the city’s popular Tegel Airport (TXL), which is scheduled to shut its doors for the last time on November 8, and effectively Schönefeld (SXF) from Day 1 as the new airport has been built on its site and its passenger facilities will become BER’s Terminal 5.

Without a doubt the new gateway will be a welcome addition to Germany’s airport network and finally provide Berlin with the single facility it needs to actively co-ordinate the development of its route network.

Talking about the potential impact the new airport will have on the city, BER CEO, Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, says: “Once Berlin Brandenburg is in operation, the economic development in the capital region will accelerate enormously.

“We expect the new airport and its surroundings to create around 20,000 new jobs in the coming years. Apartments, day-care centres and schools will be added, as well as catering and commercial businesses.”

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In terms of facilities, Berlin Brandenburg will initially boast parallel North and South runways and three terminals – the brand new midfield terminals (Terminal 1 and Terminal 2) with three piers (Main, North and South) and SXF’s old facilities (Terminal 5).

Operator, Flughafen Berlin Brandeburg (FBB), notes that the new main terminals – Terminal 1 is built and Terminal 2 is currently under construction – will have “structured façades and clear, geometric shapes that embrace architectural elements ranging from Schnikel to Bauhaus”.

BER’s design team, which includes GMP’s Meinhard von Gerkan and Hubert Nienhoff, says: “The new Berlin Brandenburg Airport comprises the passenger terminal and Airport City in the centre of the parallel take-off and landing runway system.

“It also includes waiting areas to the west and service and cargo areas to the east. All elements are arranged within the axial layout of the whole complex and form an architectural/functional unit.

“The roof of the passenger terminal spans the different functional areas in a sweeping gesture from the roadside concourse to the piers, linking the land side with the air side. The objective of the design is to maximise the convergence of structure, spatial relationships, function and architectural identity.

“The generosity and clarity of the terminal building is enhanced by the architectural motif of colonnades which form the transition between architecture and landscape, between buildings and

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

open space, giving the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport its characteristic style.”

BER’s North Runway will be the existing 3,600 metre runway currently in use at Schönefeld, while its new South Runway is 4,000m, the 1,900m distance between them ensuring that they can be operated independently from each other.

Upon opening, BER’s 360,000sqm Terminal 1 will have 16 passenger jetways in the Main pier, 12 walk-stand boarding bridges in the North pier, and nine airbridges in the South concourse.

The airport will also have 115 aircraft parking positions including the 30 presently in use at Schönefeld, which will become BER North.

A combination of road and rail links courtesy of the S-Bahn station below Terminal 1, transfer bus, taxi or private car will ensure that it is possible to travel between the airport’s central terminals and T5 in less than 10 minutes.

The new midfield terminals will have more than 120 retail and F&B outlets between them, the total including a 1,700sqm walk-through duty free store operated by Gebr Heinemann; a hairdressing salon and locally accessible bakery, supermarket, pharmacy and flower shop.

While a number of specially made works of art will help create a unique sense of place. They include Takehito Koganezawa’s ‘Open Sky Box’ immediately after security; ‘Gadget’ by Olaf Nicolai; ‘Starry Sky’

by STOEBO; and ‘The Magic Carpet’ by Pae White.

For the facts and figures buffs among you, overall BER will have 10 check-in areas equipped with a total of 118 desks; 41 security screening lanes including five for transfer passengers; and eight baggage reclaim carousels.

The world’s newest airport will initially be capable of handling 40 million passengers per annum, but with demand expected to reach around 55mppa by 2040, FBB already has plans on the drawing board to add more gates, piers, a satellite building and a new Terminal 3 when demand dictates.

Lütke Daldrup enthuses: “Despite the coronavris crisis, preparations for the opening of the BER are on schedule and the opening date of October 31, 2020, has been secured.

“After that date, we will decide how to further expand the new airport and shape its surroundings, depending on the development of passenger numbers.”

Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines, Swiss and Austrian Airlines are set to make the switch from Tegel to Berlin Brandenburg Airport’s Terminal 1 on November 8, while low-cost carrier Eurowings will move to Terminal 2 on November 4.

The low-cost carriers actually dominate the Berlin market which is a focus city for Eurowings, easyJet, Ryanair and Sundair, and all are expected to make the move to Berlin Brandenburg, joining the host of airlines already serving Schönefeld that will simply continue to use the airport site.

A record 35.6 million passengers (+2.6%) passed through Tegel and Schönefeld in 2019 but it has, of course, been a different picture for both this year with air traffic virtually brought to a halt by COVID-19.

Things are beginning to pick up though, with Lütke Daldrup recently revealing that Berlin’s airports handled around 100 flights and 20,000 passengers per day in July. The figure shows a healthy increase from April’s low of less than 3,000 daily passengers but are still way down on the pre-pandemic norm of 100,000 per day.

So, Berlin Brandenburg will almost certainly experience a low-key start to its life, but Lütke Daldrup has no doubts whatsoever that the airport will eventually grow to become a key asset for Berlin and Germany.

He says: “I am convinced that the BER will be a growth engine for the capital region, especially after the bitter economic cutbacks due to the coronavirus crisis.”

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Winning formula

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

LaGuardia Terminal B gives the airport and New York a world class facility that it deserves, writes Vantage Airport Group’s chair and CEO, George Casey.

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ne of the few industry highlights of 2020 has to be the completion of the spectacular new Arrivals & Departures Hall at LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B, a key moment in the $5.1 billion transformation of the terminal into a world class facility.

Representing the largest public-private partnership in US aviation history, this monumental project follows the vision outlined by New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in creating a unified, 21st century terminal system, and is now 80% complete.

As LaGuardia Gateway Partners’ (LGP) lead developer, equity investor and terminal manager with oversight of the construction programme, Vantage Airport Group has been proud to lead the project alongside the Port Authority since it first initiated its plans to redevelop Terminal B in 2011.

To meet and exceed the Port Authority’s objectives for a new Terminal B, Vantage assembled a winning team, which took a holistic approach to planning, design, management and operations, airline engagement and financing.

We proposed an alternative design concept that accelerated construction, lowered capital and operating costs and enhanced operational efficiency, led transparent negotiations with the airlines to get project buy-in, and created a strong financing solution that generated significant market interest.

We also leveraged our expertise to ensure an exceptional passenger experience, rooted in safety and security.

The opening of the Arrivals & Departures Hall is an important step forward in our collective efforts to revolutionise one of New York’s most important gateways and a critical piece of US aviation infrastructure.

Together with the Port Authority, airlines, the TSA, concessionaires and other key stakeholders, we have created a world-class terminal that entirely transforms the passenger experience and helps deliver on Governor Cuomo’s vision for a unified LaGuardia.

With the completion of the Arrivals & Departures Hall, I believe that we have set a world class airport experience standard not just at LaGuardia, but for the entire US airport system.

Delivered on time, within budget and without impacting airport operations, the 850,000 square foot, four-level Arrivals & Departures Hall now welcomes all Terminal B passengers to check-in, pass through centralised, state-of-the-art security screening, experience new shops, restaurants and amenities, and pick up their checked baggage.

The new facility brings the vibrant New York spirit to the overall airport experience through architectural and design finishes inspired by New York’s iconic neighbourhoods, and the incredible collection of public art installations commissioned for the terminal through a partnership with the Public Art Fund.

Following the August 5 opening of the first seven gates of the western concourse, the team will now focus its efforts on completing the final components of Terminal B, which includes demolition of the original terminal.

Once finished, the new Terminal B will include 1.3 million square feet of new space, as well as elevated dual pedestrian bridges spanning active taxi-lanes, a first-in-the-world concept envisioned by Vantage and brought to life by design and architecture partner HOK. With 25 years of experience managing and operating more than 30 airports around the world, Vantage is managing Terminal B through 2050.

We see the successful delivery of LaGuardia Terminal B as an example of how airports and private partners can work together to manage complexities, risks and opportunities for the benefit of key stakeholders.

Wholly-owned by a perpetual fund of Corsair Infrastructure Partners (CIP), Vantage is actively pursuing opportunities in the US airport sector that play to our strengths: partnering to invest in, plan, develop and manage complex airport management and infrastructure projects, like LaGuardia’s Terminal B. AW

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CYBERSECURITY

Always on guard Now is the time to step up the industry’s efforts against cyber-crime, writes Dominic Nessi, vice president of strategic engagement for the Aviation Information Sharing & Analysis Center (Aviation-ISAC).

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series of successful cyber-attacks on airports in late 2018 helped focus the industry’s attention on the need to up its game in the battle against cyber-crime.

Back then, in what seemed like a tsunami of attacks, the security breaches were many and varied and included the use of ransomware, which has grown increasingly sophisticated ever since and continues to pose a threat to airports today.

Airport databases were being encrypted and only through the payment of a ransom were the keys provided to decrypt the data. Sadly, we saw that many airports were not prepared to defend against the attack or to recover their data resources through their own backups without paying a ransom.

At the same time, BEC or business email compromise attacks were also becoming widespread. In this type of cyber-attack, businesses are targeted by attackers using compromised email accounts as the springboard for diverting company funds meant for legitimate vendors.

Email correspondence is second nature in today’s digital world because of all the inherent advantages it affords. Among those advantages, it provides a dated written record which can easily be located and reviewed at any time, it can be sent in the middle of the night and will be waiting for the recipient whenever they next check their mail.

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Airports, like all other businesses, employed email as an absolute necessity, yet it was often considered to be simply a routine administrative process and cybersecurity safeguards were not at the top of most IT department’s list.

As we look back on the past two years of almost constant attacks on airports compared with the decade before, it appears that airports, generally speaking, were lulled into a false sense of security.

For while data theft was plaguing other industries, airports seemed immune since there is relatively little sensitive data actually stored in most airports. Billing applications, credentialing, and human resource systems represented the primary data stores. Passenger data has always been the domain of airlines.

The network infrastructure itself received more attention as it was viewed as the most likely threat vector into an airport’s technology environment. Yet, even in network infrastructures, developing a strong cyber-defence was a low technology spending priority as compared to the acquisition of new passenger processing applications and tools.

Another factor which played into the airport world’s relatively weak common cyber-defence is the wide range of airport sizes and available resources. Small and medium sized airports utilise most of the same systems as the largest airports, though their systems are smaller in size and process last activity.

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Nevertheless, they require the same cyber-defences as a large airport would need. In many cases, small and medium sized airports had too many competing demands and not enough financial resources to adequately develop a strong cyber-defence.

Indeed, on far too many occasions, I heard a member of the airport’s management team saying something like, “Why would any attacker be interested in us? We’re too small.”

Unfortunately, as we now know, the bad guys don’t necessarily target a specific institution or even an industry. They attack large numbers of targets hoping to catch just one or two, and airports could be included in the same attack as other industries.

So, it is now 2020, and airports are battling two viruses. Computer viruses and COVID-19, both of which are sapping airport resources even more. Lest anyone think that the bad guys have slowed down because of the pandemic, as the reality is quite the opposite.

The attackers work from the relative security of their own isolated (disease-free) world, knowing that defences are down at airports due to significantly reduced air traffic, which, in turn, has caused lay-offs, furloughs, and reduced financial resources.

In fact, due to many airports having a large number of their personnel working from home, relying on email and other virtual forms of communication, our vulnerability has never been greater.

The Aviation-ISAC has seen a tremendous increase in ransomware attacks on airports and continue to find a growing inventory of airport credentials being sold on the dark web. So, what do we do now?

Here are some steps that every airport needs to consider immediately.

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Eliminate the thought that “it can’t happen to us”. It is happening everywhere, and if you haven’t been attacked, it is only by pure luck. Furthermore, because you don’t know you have been attacked, doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.

Cyber-attacks are stealthy by nature and it can take months before an organisation realises they have been compromised.

The management team itself must take stock of what has been done within its own organisation to protect itself. It can’t just assume the IT department has it ‘covered’. We have seen successful attacks at large international airports which indicate that many airports still lack basic cyber necessities.

You should do this through a formal risk assessment, but it takes time and money to bring in an independent resource to evaluate what you may already know or suspect. I am not suggesting that you don’t do a risk assessment, I am simply saying that time is not on your side and you need to move more quickly than the time it takes to do a formal risk assessment.

Airport management can start by having a frank, no-holds barred discussion with their IT and cybersecurity team. If you don’t have any of the latter, you know for certain you have problems.

Understand that you can’t do everything at once. You have to protect your most important assets against the most likely threats. And today, those threats are ransomware and BEC. The best defence against those two types of attacks starts with training of all staff on phishing, social engineering. Think of it as wearing a mask and social distancing in the age of the coronavirus.

There are hundreds of cybersecurity courses on-line you can acquire to ensure that all airport staff are fully aware of the threat, know how to spot it, and what to do if they suspect something is amiss. Just as importantly, airport management needs to show that they are serious about enforcing internal precautions.

Management needs to inquire on the status of proper back-up procedures for all systems and data. While they may not understand what the best model would be, most airport managers will get a sense of how well they are prepared by asking one simple question of its IT staff, “If we lost every system and database today, can we and how long would it take to bring up the exact same technology operating environment?”

If the answer is longer than 24 hours, you have a problem.

There are sources of cybersecurity intel available that every airport must utilise. You can’t properly defend yourself if you don’t know what threats are coming your way. Consider working with the Aviation-ISAC or other intelligence sharing to ensure that your staff and management team are aware of the latest attack vectors. By the way, this intel is not just for IT technicians.

It comes in in a format that airport managers can easily digest and act upon as necessary.

Finally, start to think about cyber-insurance. If you don’t already have insurance, your risk management team has likely already considered it. If you can’t immediately develop a sound cyber-defence, at least be prepared if you are successfully attacked.

These seven steps are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. A good cyber-defence entails far more planning and implementation, but every airport, irrespective of location or size, can start with these simple steps.

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MARKETING & COMMUNICATION

Trust in travel Communicating confidence through digital platforms such as omnichannel retail can help drive aviation’s recovery from the COVID crisis, writes Kian Gould, CEO of AOE.

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eveloping a clear picture of the post-lockdown passenger journey will be crucial in establishing passenger confidence as the launch pad for recovery.

The urgent sharing of information across so many locations, people and scenarios clearly must be powered by digital communication to provide instant access and end-to-end assurance to the customer.

For the few airports (and airlines) with sophisticated omnichannel platforms – such as Heathrow and Singapore Changi – the COVID crisis has further magnified the benefits of deeper customer relationships, but the key focus in the recovery launch phase is not on revenue driving but on building trust.

As such, every airport must utilise its existing web, app and social media platforms to provide information, reassurance and trust for the passenger.

This new, COVID-imposed mood also demands a more human and less commercial conversation. The sobering shift from emailing your customer with a car park offer or a summer sales promo to a health message that protects their lives is a crucial juncture on the path back to whatever ‘normal’ is achieved.

To share clear, consistent communication that maintains pace with the shifting scenario, airports needs to have direct and frequent communication with customers to establish a relationship that can be deepened and increasingly personalised over time.

This relationship forms the foundation on which the airport can build an in depth understanding of the customer and their needs, allowing it to provide a much stronger level of customer service and, in time, potentially opening up a much broader range of revenue opportunities that drive greater value for both the passenger and the airport.

Digital platforms enable smarter, more personalised communication across the whole passenger journey, from pre-travel to post-travel – and the former has never been so critical.

The flurry of (often mixed) messages from airports, airlines, governments, media and other organisations to the customer is a recipe for confusion.

The customer wants a single, clear, trusted source of information, and the airport is the natural focus point and the passenger’s mobile device is the obvious platform.

Lacking the depth of passenger data held by the airlines, most airports face a key challenge in that often their first opportunity to communicate with the traveller is when they actually step onto the airport estate, particularly in the retail areas.

This opportunity can and must be fully exploited by developing powerful communication lines through airport websites, apps and social media pages and, while the tone of voice is clearly prioritising safety issues, revenue opportunities cannot be ignored.

Retailers can adapt to create engagement with travellers in the stores, such as through brand activations, usually integrating digital elements.

These targeted retail campaigns are relatively easy to establish and are centred around ‘retailtainment’ in-store displays supported by social media campaigns, digital coupons etc, and are proven to drive footfall and conversion, including pre-travel ‘digital footfall’ and digitally driven sales.

Whatever shape the recovery takes, customer communication will be the pivotal factor, as highlighted by the recent research by Gensler suggesting that the US’s recovery could be accelerated by six to eight months if airports can instil passenger confidence.

A direct digital relationship with the passenger is the airport’s optimal pathway to achieving that, providing them with the personalised information, reassurance and confidence they need.

While the word ‘CAPEX’ is becoming an increasingly taboo word in today’s airport boardrooms, launching initiatives to improve direct customer relationship and communication channels cannot wait until the pandemic is over.

More innovative models, based on subscription rather than big CAPEX investments, are becoming more and more the norm, and starting the digital conversation has never been more important.

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CARGO

Loads better

Chicago Rockford International Airport proves secondary airports can be pandemic heroes and economic juggernauts, writes executive director, Mike Dunn.

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hile Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) may never be a hub, it is one of the top 20 cargo airports in the United States and cranks out cargo like one.

The seismic shift – almost overnight – to nearly exclusive online purchasing during the COVID-19 pandemic made airfreight one of the few industries to soar during the worst days of the crisis.

At the confluence of multiple interstate highways, RFD is perfectly positioned to rise to the occasion as a key link in the UPS and Amazon delivery networks as well as international freighter and cargo flights – right when it is needed most.

At the height of the virus, RFD was able to assist in moving health essentials like personal protection equipment and medicine, and hosted Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) planes.

Simultaneously, our partners handled the record-breaking consumer e-commerce boom, all the while serving as a regional economic engine.

The numbers speak volumes. RFD saw a 30% year-over-year increase in landed weight in the first quarter of 2020.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s recently released 2019 All-Cargo Data for US Airports report shows that RFD sustained its role as the 19th largest cargo airport in the United States.

Indeed, 2019, RFD marked a new record for freight at the facility.

Additionally, the airport and its partners created nearly 2,000 jobs in 2019. The airport has been fortunate to have had strong partners like ABX Air, ATI, Atlas Air, Emery Air, AAR Corp and even a regional school, Rock Valley College, as a basis for our ongoing success.

We’ve been fortunate to build robust relationships with great partners. It’s gone hand in hand with our growth strategies in achieving success.

Our guiding principles for our cargo operations are having an entrepreneurial approach to business, coupled with a high tolerance for risk.

Most government organisations get stuck on any one of the reasons why they can’t do something instead of looking for one reason they can or should. We believe in what we are doing and will take strategic, well thought-out risks to move the ball forward and grow.

When we look for organisations to partner with, we look for ones that have the same belief in our airport and the same willingness to take risks to help grow their business.

According to the 2019 All-Cargo Data for US Airports report, RFD is the only non-hub facility ranked in the top 20. This designation came well before the COVID-19 crisis. In 2018, Airports Council International named RFD the fastest-growing cargo airport in the world, among those handling at least 250 metric tons of freight annually.

Our airport has been preparing for several years to build a Midwest cargo dynamo. RFD has tripled its landed cargo weight over the last five years, reaching 851 million pounds in the first four months of the year.

To that end, in 2018, RFD expanded its cargo terminal by 64%, to 200,000 square feet.

RFD is home to the second-largest UPS hub in North America, handling up to 66 flights daily, and the third-busiest Amazon Air Hub. Our on-site aviation maintenance technology programme supplies top talent to the airport’s MRO, AAR Corp.

The sky appears to be the limit for growth in airfreight. Forbes reported that e-commerce spending increased by more than 75% year over year in May, to $82.5 billion. There are signs that this may become the new normal and RFD will be ready.

In 2020, RFD is slated with $30 million for phases of new facility improvements, including expanded aircraft ramp space, capacity for additional flights, and the ability to accommodate larger aircraft.

RFD will also continue to capitalse on its strengths: ideal location, with superior in and out efficiency, and a lack of red tape for customers to navigate. The non-hub that delivered for the pandemic, and its region, is definitely on the radar now.

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WBP NEWS

The latest news from ACI’s World Business Partners Zoeftig unveils new social distancing barrier UK-based Zoeftig has launched a new social distancing barrier, iZolate, in bid to help combat the spread of COVID-19.

The solution is an adaptable and flexible system that can be retrofitted onto a wide range of seating types in a breadth of configurations.

The patent applied system is constructed of 100% recyclable, lightweight corrugated card that is wipeable and can be installed in a range of orientations to suit the layout of each airport.

For example, the system can be installed on back-to-back units and single rows of seating for symmetry and increased protection, while staggered arrangements across gangways with opposite seating positions can also be adopted to maximise available seat capacity, whilst still maintaining appropriate social distancing.

The visual design of the card shields can also be customised with full colour bespoke prints, including airport logos, warning and advisory symbols, advertising opportunities and gate numbers.

Paul Williams, CEO and president of Zoeftig, said: “As one of the leading manufacturers of airport seating across the globe, we knew we had a responsibility to support our clients in maintaining the safety of their passengers, without impending on the overall design and feel of the airport terminal.

“That’s why our latest social distancing barrier, iZolate, has been specifically designed and manufactured to provide a flexible, cost-effective solution that can be tailored to meet each client’s specific needs.” iZolate is an extension of Zoeftig’s new range of Infection Control systems, including waste control and touchless hand sanitising stations, which have been designed to further support successful social distancing throughout busy airport terminals.

Bombardier’s design for its latest INNOVIA APM 300 technology.

On the move with Bombardier in Jeddah Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport has become the first airport in Saudi Arabia to introduce an automated people mover (APM) system.

Supplied by Bombardier Transportation, the dual-guideway, fully automated INNOVIA APM 300 transports passengers the 1.5-kilometre distance between check-in and the boarding area in Terminal 1.

The APM has a capacity of 4,000 passengers per hour and travels between the terminal’s two APM stations in 85 seconds.

“This type of automated train is only available in limited advanced international airports,” said KAIA’s general manager. Essam bin Fouad Nour.

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Multi-national construction company, Saudi Binladin Group, was the contractor responsible for the design and construction of the infrastructure.

Bombardier Transportation – awarded the contract by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) – designed and supplied all system-wide electrical and mechanical (E&M) elements for the new transit system, including ten INNOVIA APM 300 cars with CITYFLO 650 automatic train control technology for driverless operation. In addition it provided project management, systems engineering and integration, testing and commissioning.

RUNNING WBP NEWS HEAD Ethos Farm

Listening and learning

Ville Levaniemi, executive vice president and co-founder of experience management company, HappyOrNot, discusses the importance of airports listening to their customers.

The nature of travel is changing. Passengers are demanding more, not just from their destination, but from the journey itself. As we enter the 2020s, airport customers increasingly expect a fulfilling and seamless journey.

To meet this demand, airports are increasingly recognising the value in measuring and quantifying the traveller’s endto-end journey, and, from this, drawing conclusions about where and how their services can be improved.

By listening to passengers in the exact moment of their experience, the real-time data and insights that follow enable transport hubs to optimise operations across the entire travel experience, from the minute that traveller steps through the sliding door.

Giving the airport customer a voice through dedicated feedback tools is so much more than just a way to allow passengers a chance to vent, as it can (wrongly) be viewed; one angry tweet or online review will never present the full picture.

Listening to the tens of thousands of people who go through the airport experience first-hand, every day, has enormous potential to empower transport hubs. The insights enable airport operators to make informed choices and evaluations of very specific areas of their operations, even by time of day, and day of week.

Being able to gauge customer satisfaction levels on a grand scale provides invaluable insight into the airport experience as a whole: highlighting the areas, times, or processes that negatively or positively impact a journey.

Take queuing, for example. When people envisage an airport, queuing is an aspect that will likely immediately spring to mind. From check-in, to security, to baggage reclaim, many travellers will tell you that queueing is an unavoidable element of flying.

But queues, like so many other elements of the travel experience, can be managed by the airport itself. Listening to real-time feedback from customers can identify and correct bottlenecks and issues, and thereby foster efficiency.

To illustrate how granular and powerful listening to customer feedback can be, let’s take a simple example from the data analysed by my own company, HappyOrNot, an experience management solution that enables transport hubs to gather and act on big data.

The anonymised data from our thousands of terminals positioned at key points throughout airports around the world paints an interesting global picture of the airport customer experience.

Returning to the theme of queueing, our data shows that the airport check-in process worldwide has an average happiness score of 78% (positive customer feedback) midweek, but dips to 75% on weekends. Naturally, this mirrors the preference of holidaymakers to go abroad weekend-to-weekend, but it underlines the precision and power of employing tools to understand and quantify how passengers are genuinely feeling.

Our data also shows that customer satisfaction levels have improved year-on-year worldwide, with a distinct increase in overall customer happiness. So, clearly, airports are understanding the importance of improving each stage of the customer journey and giving passengers a voice.

Listening to customers is so much more than giving them a chance to vent, it’s a chance to empower all parties in the ecosystem to collaborate in improving the passenger experience, from take-off to landing, and back again.

Membership Region: Europe Contact: Sally Allington, founder and CEO E: sally@ethosfarm.com W: www.ethosfarm.com Ethos Farm is an award-winning customer experience consultancy with offices based in London, New York, and Singapore.

We offer expertise in aviation customer experience (CX) design, CX training and innovations. Ethos Farm has helped several airports worldwide to design elevated customer experience strategies, achieve ASQ success and become ACI CX Accredited.

Flyinstinct Membership Region: Europe Contact: Arthur Ni, CEO E: arthur.ni@flyinstinct.com W: www.flyinstinct.com Flyinstinct, an industrial AI company founded in June 2017, provides a digital platform for airport inspections developed with the most advanced technologies of computer vision and AI algorithm. Its first product is the Digital Inspection Platform™ for FOD Detection which enables airports to detect the FOD (foreign object debris) faster with higher accuracy and to benefit from inspection data for predictive maintenance.

Flyinstinct aims to build up an integrated platform for airside inspections and help the airport industry to accelerate the digital transformation.

CAGE Inc. Membership Region: North America Type of business: Consulting and Management W: www.cage-inc.com CAGE is a diversified consulting and management company that specialises in aviation support systems. Primary services focus on design, bid support and construction administration for: Baggage Systems, Aircraft Parking, Preconditioned Air, Potable Water, Passenger Loading Bridges, 400 Hz Power Systems. The scope of services that it provides include: analysis of existing conditions; feasibility studies and cost estimates; preliminary and final system design; preparation of bid tender packages and specifications; contract and project management; and technical services supporting construction, maintenance and warranty administration.

AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 4, 2020

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HUMAN RESOURCES

PEOPLE

matters Time to board?

Terri Morrissey and Richard Plenty share their thoughts on the importance of restoring passengers’ confidence in the aviation industry.

H

ow quickly times change! If you’d asked people what they thought about flying at the start of 2020, the vast majority of answers would probably have revolved around ticket prices and the enjoyment, and hassle factor, of the travel experience.

Ask them now and they are much more likely to talk about their health and whether it is really safe to fly again.

Travellers and potential travellers are now focusing strongly on whether a decision to fly could impact their wellbeing. An Accenture survey (April 2020) found that 64% of passengers were concerned about their own health while 82% were concerned about other people.

Air travellers want to be reassured that service deliverers, airports and airlines, will put their wellbeing first. They want to feel confident that this will be top of everyone’s agenda.

Indeed, so important is this trend that ACI Europe’s recently published document Guidelines for a Healthy Passenger Experience at Airports, identifies a new category of passenger: the ‘Health Concerned’.

Potential passengers need to feel safe from threats to their health, that there is little risk of catching COVID-19 through air travel, and to feel reassured that all measures are in place across multiple interfaces for passenger safety.

In general terms, it is clear what needs to be done. As far as airports are concerned, the focus has to be on ensuring a healthy and safe airport environment for passengers. And this is precisely what airports are doing in an effort to entice passengers back.

The ACI guidelines on the crisis recovery process set out how to go about this. The guidelines cover the whole passenger process from pre-departure, to arrival at the airport, to check-in, to moving around the airport, to security queuing, to boarding and to disembarking.

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AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 4, 2020

They describe in detail how airports can introduce and develop processes for ensuring the maximum sanitisation, safety, and risk mitigation at all of these touchpoints.

Up to date information is critical in building trust. Communicating with passengers at all of these points, both in advance and during the airport experience, is vital for continuing reassurance. Wayfinding that is clearly marked and guidance from airport personnel that is empathetic and aimed at reducing the anxiety and stress of passengers is also important.

For many passengers, though, the real fear is not the airport but the flight itself. Sitting for long periods of time in an enclosed space and not being physically distant from others poses a real challenge.

Understanding the risk is important. The three airline alliances have produced a short video ‘Fly with Confidence’, which emphasises the safety of air travel at this time, and which may go some way towards reassuring the risk averse traveller. And as more people begin to fly again, hearing positive experiences from others who have travelled is likely to help.

Still, the decision ‘to fly or not to fly’ is a complex one. Each person must weigh up the need for air travel against the perceived risk to themselves. In order to encourage passengers to travel, airports ideally need more detailed information on how different types of passengers are evaluating risk for themselves. This is not easy to come by. Potential passengers are not a homogenous group and their reasons for travel vary.

In the absence of this market intelligence, the most useful thing that airports can do is to work closely with airlines, with the aim of ensuring that people feel they can take a flight without compromising their health.

To fly or not to fly? That is clearly the question.

In our view, the answer is not so much ‘if’ but ‘when’. Providing clear communication on the measures being taken is important. Each of us can then make up our own mind.

Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority has unveiled Daren Griffin as its new president/CEO, replacing the retiring Marily Mora. Griffin joins from Portland International Airport where he served as PDX’s director of operations.

London Gatwick’s new chief commercial officer is Jonathan Pollard. He joins from London Luton Airport where he held the same position.

Tamara Vrooman is the new president and CEO of Vancouver Airport Authority. She joins from Vancity Credit Union where she was CEO for 13 years and succeeds the retiring Craig Richmond.

Manchester Airport has appointed Karen Smart as its managing director. She moves from East Midlands Airport where she has held the same role for the last two years. Her replacement at East Midlands Airport is Clare James.

Cardiff Airport has named Spencer Birns as its interim CEO following Deb Bowen Rees’ decision to step down from the role on August 1. Birns, who has been with Welsh airport since since 2006 and was only named chief commercial officer last year.

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) has appointed Julian Lee as its new executive director of finance, succeeding William Lo who stepped down in early April after a decade of service at Hong Kong International Airport. Lee will report directly to CEO, Fred Lam, and becomes a key member of the senior management team.

Dawn Hunter has been promoted to the position of director of aviation commercial management at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. She joined the airport in 2017 as its senior manager of airport dining and retail.

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

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