Asia-Pacific Airports - Issue 4, 2017

The official publication of ACI Asia-Pacific www.aci-asiapac.aero

Spotlight on security Focus on: Airport Security Airport report: Oman’s airport system

Issue 4, 2017 www.aci-apa.com

Special report: Asia-Pacific’s pilot shortage Plus: IT trends & Global Sustainable Aviation Summit

Published by

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

Asia-Pacific Airports Issue 4, 2017

6 View from the top

18 ACI news

Regional director, Patti Chau, reflects on the launch of ACI’s Airport Excellence (APEX) in Security programme and the need for airports to continually grow and adapt the way they do business to meet changing passenger demands.

Vivian Fung rounds up the latest news from across the region and highlights a few global initiatives.

22 Seeking security

A snapshot of some of the biggest stories from across the region.

10 Bigger and better

25 A combined effort

ACI World’s head of security, Nina Brooks, considers the importance of creating a strong security culture.

8 News

Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC) CEO, Sheikh Aimen Al Hosni, talks to Joe Bates about the growth and development of the country’s airport system.

3

As airports search for ways to make the travel experience safer and more convenient, biometrics may just be the answer, writes Tony Chapman.

www.aci-apa.com

4

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

CONTENTS 28 Combatting cyber crime

38 Investing in technology

Andy Wall, technical director of cyber security at Atkins, outlines five steps he believes airports can take to create safe and secure cyber environments.

Airports and airlines will spend nearly $33 billion on IT this year as they bid to enhance their operations and put passengers more in control of their journeys.

30 Cockpit challenge

40 Industry news

Asia-Pacific Airports reports on the latest World Business Partner news from across the region.

Alpha Aviation Group’s Bhanu Choudhrie explains why the industry must act now to prevent the future shortage of pilots across the Asia-Pacific region.

34 Ambitions, goals and challenges

Joe Bates reports on some of the highlights and lessons learned from October’s Global Sustainable Aviation Summit in Geneva.

Asia-Pacific Airports (APA) www.aci-apa.com Editor Joe Bates joe@aci-apa.com +44 (0)1276 476582 Design, Layout & Production Mark Draper mark@aci-apa.com +44 (0)208 707 2743

APA Issue 4, 2017

Published by Aviation Media Ltd PO BOX 448, Feltham, TW13 9EA, UK Managing Director Jonathan Lee jonathan@aci-apa.com +44 (0)208 707 2743 Advertising Manager Ellis Owen ellis@aci-apa.com +44 (0)208 274 1540

42 Bring me sunshine

Joe Bates finds out more about Brisbane Airport’s plans to build Australia’s largest rooftop solar power system.

Subscriptions subscriptions@ aviationmedia.aero +44 (0)208 707 2743

Printed in the UK by Magazine Printing Co

Asia-Pacific Airports (APA) is published four times a year for the members of ACI Asia-Pacific. The opinions and views expressed in APA are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect an ACI policy or position.

The content of this publication is copyright of Aviation Media Ltd and should not be copied or stored without the express permission of the publisher.

54 6

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

SECTION FINAL VIEWPOINT WORD TITLE

VIEW FROM THE TOP

Regional director, Patti Chau, reflects on the launch of ACI’s Airport Excellence (APEX) in Security programme and the need for airports to continually grow and adapt the way they do business to meet changing passenger demands.

W

ithout doubt, one of the highlights of this year’s ACI Africa/ACI World Annual Assembly, Conference & Exhibition in Mauritius was the official launch of the Airport Excellence in Security (APEX) programme.

It was particularly pertinent to launch the initiative in Mauritius as the first pilot review for the new programme was undertaken at the island nation’s Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in 2016.

With the continuous and evolving security threats challenging the aviation industry, and a strong demand for compliance with standards coming from ICAO and governments, it has become imperative that airports have the most effective, appropriate, and cost effective security measures in place.

APEX in Security plays a key role in helping airports understand where they can improve, in terms of security standards, best practice and operational efficiency.

Six further pilot reviews have been conducted at member airports in Africa and Asia-Pacific (Indonesia) since the initial one in Mauritius, APA Issue 4, 2017

meaning that APEX in Security is now ready for roll out across the globe.

We are pleased that the programme is now available for airport members and urge you all to consider taking advantage of the opportunity for a peer review of the security operation at your airports.

EMBRACING CHANGE

Aviation by its very nature is an ever-evolving business, so arguably the only constant we can expect in the years ahead is change.

It is therefore essential that all players in the airport community embrace change, and this is particularly important in terms of customer service, as passenger expectation levels have never been so high.

Over the years, airports have transformed themselves from facilities 100% focused on flying to big businesses offering a variety of services both in the terminal, on the airport site and beyond.

Indeed, they have become destinations in their own right and often provide visitors with their first and last impression of a city, region and country.

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

Airport retail offerings today are impressive, and they will almost certainly get bigger and better in the future to meet demand from passengers that now spend quite a lot of time at airports.

We read about top chefs opening restaurants at airports and we also see plans for casinos and other entertainment facilities. Airports around the world are working hard to go beyond what is traditionally expected of them.

One of the most significant changes is the evolution of passenger expectations. Today’s travellers are generally more knowledgeable and have higher expectations than in the past.

This means that they are more demanding than ever before. Passengers want airports to provide them with digital services and tailored experiences. And they want to be kept informed of developments throughout their journey.

This is a tough task and ensures that airports must continually improve their service levels in order to succeed.

NEW TECHNOLOGY

The introduction of new technology is one of the most commonly adopted approaches by airports in order to improve airport efficiency and passenger convenience.

ACI certainly recognises the importance of airport digital transformation and has established a Task Force to produce a White Paper on the topic.

Airport digital transformation entails the use of technology to create new businesses, radically improve performance, and expand the reach of enterprises.

Our focus isn’t, however, on implementing the new technologies but on transforming airports so that they can take advantage of them. In other words, we are focusing on the ‘how’ rather than the ‘what’.

At ACI, we also encourage the application of biometrics at airports and are enthused that airport operators are at the forefront of industry efforts to apply biometric technology to passenger facilitation.

To simplify passenger flows, we are in support of IATA’s ‘Single Token’ concept, where a passengers’ identity is verified and

authenticated by matching their passport and their biometrics only once during their journey through an airport.

ASIA-PACIFIC PIONEERS

Examples of pioneering leadership in innovative, facilitation-enhancing new technology in our region include Singapore Changi’s newly opened Terminal 4, which has introduced a facial recognition, self-service option for bag-drop, immigration and boarding.

Facial recognition technology is also available at Beijing Capital International Airport as it looks to streamline passenger flows and improve efficiency.

In terms of how technology could help improve the passenger experience, ACI also supports the use of beacon technology. An example of how this technology can be used to good effect can be found at Hong Kong International Airport, which uses it to send information that includes the latest retail and F&B offerings to passengers via the ‘HKG My Flight’ App.

REGIONAL ASSEMBLY

Technology and security will certainly be high on the agenda at our 2018 Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition, which will be held in Narita from April 23-25. Indeed, one of the sessions will be dedicated to Smart Security.

I can tell you that our team is working closely with our host, Narita Airport, on developing an exciting and dynamic programme for the event, which will be available very soon.

In Narita, you will also be presented with the opportunity to experience the latest airport products, services and technology from our exhibitors, so I very much look forward to seeing you there!

THREE YEAR PLAN

Looking ahead, we are excited about our three-year strategic plan, which has just been approved by the Regional Board.

The plan will guide us in strengthening our services to members and I look forward to your continued support in 2018 so that together, we can become stronger as the APA voice of Asia-Pacific’s airports. www.aci-apa.com

SECTION TITLE VIEWPOINT

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

7

8

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

NEWS

Headline Standfirst

CHRISTCHURCH UNVEILS ITS LONG-TERM VISION Expanding and “refreshing” the terminal building to focus the passenger experience and Body on copy creating greater operational flexibility are key goals of Christchurch Airport’s vision for 2040.

The gateway, which underpins NZ$2.1 billion in regional GDP and is responsible for 63,000 jobs, believes that its blueprint for the future champions the economic, social and sustainability outcomes for Christchurch and the South Island.

“The airport is the South Island’s gateway for visitors, airfreight and business and by 2040 is projected to have 20,000 people working here,” says airport chief executive, Malcolm Johns.

The blueprint to 2040 airport would also see Memorial Avenue extended to create a “grand avenue” to an expanded terminal to cater for forecast passenger growth.

While a series of minor runway extensions would cater for larger and more frequent aircraft, without a need for major changes to the airfield or noise impacts in residential areas.

Johns says the latest master plan gives the airport a framework to deliver future growth while making the most of exciting innovations in technology and sustainable management, which are likely to form an important part of society’s evolution over the next 20-30 years.

SUSTAINABILITY MASTER PLANS FOR INDIAN AIRPORTS Landrum and Brown (L&B) is to prepare the sustainability master plans for India’s Kolkata and Lucknow international airports.

The global aviation planning and design consultancy was awarded the contract by the Airports Authority of India as a result of AAI being issued with a grant by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).

The sustainability master plans will provide AAI with a roadmap for the development and expansion of its two fastest growing airports to accommodate the anticipated increase in demand, while incorporating sustainable and environmental best practices.

“We look forward to the opportunity to assist AAI in developing their long-term modernisation plans for Kolkata and Lucknow international airports, bringing the best in class ideas and technologies to solve complex issues at these vital transportation hubs,” says L&B’s CEO, Mark Perryman.

As the world’s ninth largest aviation market, India’s civil aviation sector is on a high growth trajectory, poised to be the world’s third largest national market by 2020 and, potentially, the largest by 2030.

APA Issue 4, 2017

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

9

SECTION NEWS TITLE

STAMP OF APPROVAL FOR MUMBAI GATEWAY India has issued two postage stamps to commemorate the 75th anniversary of aircraft operations on the site of Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport.

The stamps are the first ever issued to an airport by India’s Department of Posts and highlight the impressive design of the present day Terminal 2.

They were unveiled at a special event organised specifically to honour the memory of the Late JRD Tata, who on October 15, 1932, piloted the first flight of Tata Air Services from Karachi to Mumbai via Ahmedabad carrying airmail.

Commenting on the occasion, Dr GVK Reddy, executive chairman of operator, MIAL, said: “It is a matter of great pride and honour for us at GVK to have been involved in a part of Mumbai airport’s incredible journey of 75 years.”

SINGAPORE CHANGI’S NEW TERMINAL 4 OPENS FOR BUSINESS Singapore Changi Airport’s eagerly awaited new Terminal 4 opened for business on October 31, its first passengers arriving on an early morning Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong.

Everyone onboard was welcomed with orchids and goodie bags as they stepped into the terminal.

Passengers departing on the first outbound service, flight CX650 to Hong Kong, were also treated to some local delights, games and activities at the G19 boarding gate area.

More than 80% of them used at least one of the Fast and Seamless Travel self-service options for check-in, bag-drop, immigration and boarding.

Cathay Pacific and Korean Air are the first two of nine airlines that will operate out of Changi’s brand new terminal.

Tan Lye Teck, Changi Airport Group’s executive vice president for airport management, enthused: “After five years in the making, we are very happy to commence operations at T4.

“The new terminal will increase Changi Airport’s capacity by another 16 million passengers per annum, bringing the total to 82mppa.

“T4 is expected to handle about eight million passenger movements in its first year of operation. More importantly, we are now able to deliver an even better travel experience to Changi’s passengers.” www.aci-apa.com

10

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

OMAN’S AIRPORT SYSTEM

Bigger and better Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC) CEO, Sheikh Aimen Al Hosni, talks to Joe Bates about the growth and development of the country’s airport system.

T

he Gulf is one of the hottest places on earth for airport development and Oman is no exception to the rule, with the country set to follow the unveiling of a new terminal at Salalah Airport with the opening of effectively a new gateway in Muscat in 2018.

In the planning for over a decade, the new $1.8 billion terminal at Muscat International Airport will be akin to opening a new airport as the existing terminal will close overnight and operations will resume the next day in a new state-of-the art complex on the other side of the airfield.

Sheikh Aimen Al Hosni, CEO of Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC), has no doubt that the opening of the new 580,000sqm terminal will prove transformational for the airport in terms of its facilities and capabilities.

APA Issue 4, 2017

He reveals that the terminal will raise the current capacity of Muscat International Airport (MCT) to up to 20 million passengers per annum.

The terminal will initially be equipped with 29 boarding bridges, 96 check-in desks, more than 7,000sqm of retail and F&B facilities, its own 90-room airside hotel and some of the most advanced technology on the planet as OAMC wants the airport to be operational efficient and passenger friendly.

And, crucially, it gives OAMC a little more time to fine-tune its master plan and work out how and when to begin the next phase of MCT’s expansion programme.

“The new terminal will make a massive difference to everyone,” enthuses Al Hosni.

“Its size means that the footprint for each passenger will be huge. The facilities will be a

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

TRANSFORMING SALALAH AIRPORT

lot better. The IT systems will be top end and more productive. And as an airport we will have more of a grip over operations than we do today.

“To put that in perspective, today, we are using a terminal that is 44 years old. Rising passenger demand means that the forecourt to the terminal, check-in area and gates are congested. Although there have been some upgrades, which include the addition of a new pier, we just don’t have enough lounges to meet demand.

“Things needed to improve, and they will with the opening of the new terminal. People will love it, it will be unrecognisable from the existing terminal and take Muscat International Airport to another level in terms of capabilities and performance.”

A new 97-metre high ATC tower and more than 30,000sqm of ancillary buildings are

Opened two years ago, the new 65,638sqm terminal at Salalah has proved instrumental in boosting traffic at the airport, which has grown from 841,000 passengers in 2014 to 1.2 million in 2016.

Its facilities, which include eight boarding bridges and 24 check-in desks, are currently the most modern in Oman and have helped OAMC attract a number of new airlines to the airport and significantly improve its passenger satisfaction levels.

So much so that in Q3 2017, Salalah International Airport (SLL) was the highest ranked airport in the Middle East and eighth in the world in the under 2mppa size category in ACI’s ASQ survey.

And the gateway is believed to be close to receiving a prestigious 5-star rating from SKYTRAX, which is awarded to airports that achieve the “highest overall quality performance” and recognises the provision of “excellent facilities for customers”.

It is very much Oman’s second gateway and feeds traffic to Muscat, so it should come as no surprise to learn that domestic services currently account for 70% of the activity at the airport. www.aci-apa.com

OMAN’S AIRPORT SYSTEM

also being built for the phase one opening of the new terminal. They include an 8,000-vehicle capacity car park, aircraft hangars and new inflight catering kitchens.

MCT’s two runways have both been widened and extended to 4,000m x 60m to allow them to handle aircraft up to the size of the A380, which can be accommodated at two gates in the new terminal.

The new terminal will certainly help OAMC in its vision for Oman’s airports to be ranked among the top 20 in the world by 2020 by concentrating on service quality, customer experience, and operational excellence.

And MCT is not alone in being upgraded in the Sultanate, as Salalah International Airport in southern Oman’s Dhofar province recently opened its own new terminal and Duqm Airport will soon follow.

11

12

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

OMAN’S AIRPORT SYSTEM

The new terminal at Salalah Airport.

Salalah does, however, have a growing international network courtesy of airlines such as flydubai (Dubai), Qatar Airways (Doha), Air India Express (Trivandrum), Pakistan International Airlines (Karachi) and Air Arabia (Sharjah).

Like Muscat, Salalah Airport is a home base for Omani national flag carrier, Oman Air, and Omani low-cost carrier, SalamAir, which launched operations earlier this year.

TRAFFIC GROWTH

A record 12 million passengers (+16.6%) passed through Muscat International Airport in 2016, while an all time high of 1.2 million (+17%) used Salalah International Airport.

And things are set to get even better this year with Muscat and Salalah experiencing year-on-year passenger growth of 18% and 24% respectively, leading Al Hosni to predict that MCT will welcome 13.5 million passengers and SLL 1.5 million by year end.

“It has been our best ever year. In fact, the airports are among the fastest growing in the Middle East, according to ACI’s latest traffic figures,” says Al Hosni.

Oman’s other two airports, Duqm and Suhar are tiny even compared to Salalah, but they, too, are enjoying traffic growth.

A total of 25,000 passengers (+40%) passed through Duqm Airport in the first nine months of 2017, while Suhar, which is located in Oman’s north east Al Batinah region and only started to operate as an international airport in July, handled around APA Issue 4, 2017

30,000 passengers in its first three months of operations.

“Suhar is a very big and nice story,” notes Al Hosni. “It was handling zero passengers in June and is now handling around 10,000 passengers a month. New low-cost carrier, SalamAir, has really helped drive domestic traffic, as has Air Arabia, which operates flights to Sharjah, and Qatar Airways to Doha.

“Qatar introduced three weekly flights to Suhar a few months ago and now operates daily services to Doha. It has been a great success.”

He admits that the addition of Qatar Airways is due to circumstance – current sanctions against Qatar have forced the airline to ground aircraft – but is optimistic that the popularity of the new Suhar route will persuade the carrier to keep the service after the political crisis is over.

“They have committed to double daily services from next year, so Qatar Airways are there to stay,” enthuses Al Hosni, who notes that the airline is utilising A319 and A320 aircraft on the route.

Suhar is an industrial city, home to Oman’s biggest seaport and is located in the most populated region of the country, says Al Hosni, and the introduction of Qatar Airways services, in particular, mean that locals no longer have to drive two hours to Dubai or Muscat to catch international flights across the globe.

So has the Qatar service between Suhar and Doha had an impact on passenger

14

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

OMAN’S AIRPORT SYSTEM numbers at Muscat? “Not really, as 60% of passengers on the service are new travellers that we weren’t getting before as they drove to Dubai or Sharjah,” says Al Hosni. “In this respect, I think we have plugged the leak to neighbouring markets.”

ROUTE DEVELOPMENT

With hubs such as Abu Dhabi (Etihad), Doha (Qatar) and Dubai (Emirates) on its doorstep, it would be easy to believe that Muscat would struggle in comparison to attract airlines, but Al Hosni says that is not the case, as Oman’s capital city tends to be an end destination for travellers as opposed to a transfer point.

Al Hosni calls Oman the ‘Switzerland of the GCC’ because it is “quiet, safe and secure” and remains neutral in most political storms.

He adds that although unlike Switzerland his country doesn’t have snow, it does have mountains as well as desert, beaches, history and cultural attractions, which make it a little different to its neighbours and a tourist attraction in its own right.

Having said that, Oman Air’s decision to build up its hub and spoke network means that transfer traffic currently accounts for around 30% of the operations at Muscat International Airport.

New routes launched from MCT this year

by Oman Air and SalamAir alone include Dubai, Guangzhou, Jeddah, Karachi, Kuala APA Issue 4, 2017

Lumpur, Medinah and Nairobi, while frequencies have been increased on a number of routes that include Hyderabad, Jakarta and Mumbai.

The new additions take the number of non-stop destinations served from Muscat to 55 in 27 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Its 28 scheduled airlines and sizeable international route network means that international traffic accounts for 85% of the traffic at MCT and domestic operations for around 15%.

PEOPLE POWER

Al Hosni is a big fan of people, recognising the important, and often underestimated role airport staff play in ensuring that passengers enjoy a comfortable, smooth and pleasant experience at all of Oman’s gateways.

Indeed, he goes as far as to say that the outstanding efforts of airport staff is one of the reasons why MCT has been able to successfully operate beyond its design capacity for so long.

“There was only so much renovation work and patching up we could do to the existing terminal until the new terminal opened, so for the last three years in particular we really had to bet on our people coming through for us, and they did,” he says.

“People matter, and are always important, because you can build state-of-the-art

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

15

OMAN’S AIRPORT SYSTEM

facilities and huge infrastructure, but who manages it? It’s the people, so you really need to make sure that your people are ready and capable of managing these facilities.

“People talk a lot about making their customers happy, and rightly so, but I think we should be saying make your staff happy, because you will get better results if you do, as they will make your customers even happier.”

He reveals that the prize for OAMC’s ‘Employee of the Month’ isn’t cash or a gift, but the chance to spend a full-day with him and experience first hand what it is like to run the country’s biggest airport system.

“I would encourage all airport CEOs to do the same,” says Al Hosni, who used the example of one employee who sat with him from 7.30am until 5pm in the afternoon as an example of why the initiative works.

“He was with me throughout the day and never left my side. He was even with me when I called my wife,” he said. “He was exposed to everything, so when I asked him what he had learned at the end of the day, he said I had a hectic job, and he didn’t want it!

“He will now go back to the workplace and be an ambassador for the company by telling his colleagues about how things are working and that they could get there by being strong and working hard.”

Al Hosni’s commitment to creating a happy workforce and a customer service

focused culture at OAMC ensures that he meets his 50 most senior managers (the Falcon Team) every quarter and all staff at least once a year when he tells them more about how the company is faring and its plans for the future.

Al Hosni also uses an internal newsletter to communicate with all staff once a month and has set up an email address for employees to contact him directly with any queries or concerns.

Training is ongoing and, once a year, Al Hosni joins his senior managers for a ‘team building’ day where they leave the airport and take part in an activity that is designed to be fun and bring them closer together.

He shows me a video of the management team hiking in the mountains and judging by the smiles on everyone’s faces, the initiative works. I don’t see any women in the footage, though, and he quickly tells me that this is something that he is keen to rectify.

“Around 84% of our staff are under 40.

They are young, ambitious and are always challenging me and keeping me on my toes,” says Al Hosni. “Now I want to add more women to our management teams.”

He points out that today there are six women in OAMC’s Falcon Team as opposed to just one when he became CEO two-and-ahalf years ago.

“There will be more in the future, but there is no such thing as a free lunch. www.aci-apa.com

16

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

OMAN’S AIRPORT SYSTEM Candidates have to work hard and prove themselves first and a management role will follow,” he says. “Gender equality is one of my top priorities.”

WHAT NEXT FOR MUSCAT?

With passenger numbers in Oman expected to rise by 40% by 2019, OAMC is more than aware of the need to implement best practices and policies across its airport network to ensure that they are able to keep pace with demand.

And, for MCT, this will involve future expansion phases to the soon-to-open new terminal to raise its capacity to 24mppa and then 36mppa and finally 48mppa.

Indeed, based on average annual growth of 10% per annum, passenger numbers at MCT will exceed the new terminal’s 20mppa capacity by 2022, so the only question really is when the first planned expansion phase will begin.

Al Hosni, understandably, won’t be drawn on possible timings for the new terminal’s expansion, but interestingly reveals that OAMC has decided not to bulldoze the existing terminal building as soon as the new one opens as having a back up facility, should it ever be required, is better than not having one.

“We have no plans to use the existing terminal again after the new one opens, but keeping it for now makes good business sense because it builds some APA Issue 4, 2017

flexibility into our future development plans,” comments Al Hosni.

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

Al Hosni says that he is currently 100% focused on the successful opening of the new terminal at Muscat, but admits that business development is always on his mind, and that one possible option for the company in the future might be to look outside of Oman for new opportunities.

And at this stage he is ruling nothing in or out, so management contracts, consultancy work and investing in other airports, either through acquiring an equity stake or directly operating them through a concession, are all on the table.

He says: “Going beyond the borders of Oman is the next logical step for the company. This could mean investing in and/ or operating and maintaining airports outside of Oman.

“There are many airports around us with development projects that need funding and OAMC as a company has the finance, expertise and experience to help them.

“Similarly, there are a few airports out there that are not as well run as Oman’s and could benefit from our know-how in managing, operating and developing airports.”

With so such going on and even bigger ambitions for the future, these are exciting times for OAMC, Muscat International Airport APA and indeed all of Oman’s gateways.

18

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

ACI ASIA-PACIFIC NEWS

Regional update

Vivian Fung rounds up the latest news from across the region and highlights a few global initiatives.

Airports Council International (ACI) and HNA Airport Group Co Ltd signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the recent 27th ACI Africa/World Annual General Assembly, Conference & Exhibition in Mauritius that will see enhanced co-operation between both organisations on various programmes and initiatives.

These include airport safety reviews, customer experience solutions and training to promote and facilitate excellence in operations and management at HNA’s airports.

The HNA Airport Group, which currently operates 15 Chinese airports and has a controlling stake in Frankfurt-Hahn Airport in Germany, expects to gain value above and beyond their existing participation in ACI programmes including: the peer-review ACI Airport Excellence (APEX) programme, and the facilitation of the implementation of its recommendations; the ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programme, including the new ASQ Arrivals Survey and Employee Suevey; and, support and expertise from ACI Global Training on relevant training needs.

“ACI is delighted to confirm enhanced collaboration with the HNA Airport Group Co

Ltd to support APEX and ASQ programmes and training at their airports,” said ACI World director general, Angela Gittens.

“This MoU is in line with ACI’s mission to promote and facilitate excellence in airport operations and management.”

While Liao Hongyu, chairman of Hainan HNA Airport Management Co Ltd, said: “We are honoured to become the first Chinese airport operator to sign this important MoU, which will serve to enhance our operations, and access ongoing training and insights from the various programmes that ACI offers. We always seek to provide the best and most up-to-date insight to our airports and we believe that ACI’s programmes provide this.”

FIRST EVER IN-HOUSE TRAINING COURSE IN IRAN

Within the context of ACI’s objective of supporting member airports in developing nations, ACI Asia-Pacific successfully organised two in-house training courses in Iran in October, which focused on capacity building.

Directors and general managers from 50 airports of the Iran Airport Company (IAC) attended the two courses, held in the city of Mashhad, which were on the ‘Key principles of Air Service Development’ and ‘Airport business models’.

APA Issue 4, 2017

With IAC in the process of developing its airports, the company is keen to learn more about the key concepts of how modern airports operate as well as how to attract new business partners and airlines.

IAC board member and deputy CEO for airport operations, Hossein Bagherian, stated: “We would like to thank ACI for the excellent courses for which we received very positive feedback from our airport managers. We are looking forward to arranging more courses in Iran.”

April 9-11 Airport Economics & Finance Conference and Exhibition London, UK

June 18-20 ACI Europe/ACI World Annual General Assembly Brussels, Belgium

2018

April 23-25 ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference & Exhibition Narita, Japan

2018

October (TBC) ACI Asia-Pacific Small & Emerging Airports Seminar Malaysia

ACI ASIA-PACIFIC BOARD

PRESIDENT

Kerrie Mather* (Sydney Airport, Australia)

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

Seow Hiang Lee* (Changi Airport Group Pte Ltd, Singapore)

SECOND VICE PRESIDENTS

Fred Lam* (Airport Authority Hong Kong, Hong Kong) PS Nair* (Delhi International Airport Limited, India)

SECRETARY-TREASURER Emmanuel Menanteau* (Kansai Airports, Japan)

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid** (GMR Airports Limited, India)

REGIONAL BOARD DIRECTORS

Sulaiman Zainul Abidin (Yangon Aerodrome Company Limited, Myanmar)

Eric Delobel (Cambodia Airports, Cambodia)

Datuk Badlisham Bin Ghazali* (Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, Malaysia)

Sheikh Aimen bin Ahmed Al Hosni* (Oman Airports Management Company, Oman)

Xue Song Liu* (Beijing Capital International Airport Co Ltd, China)

Turki Abdullah Al Jawini (General Authority of Civil Aviation, Saudi Arabia)

Pedro Roy Martinez (AB Won Pat International Airport Authority, Guam)

HE Ali Salim Al Midfa (Sharjah Airport Authority, UAE)

ACK Nair (Cochin International Airport Limited, India)

Gholam Hossein Bagherian (Iran Airports & Air Navigation Company, Iran)

Futoshi Osada (Narita International Airport Corporation, Japan)

Kjeld Binger* (Airport International Group, Jordan)

Sasisubha Sukontasap (Airports of Thailand Public Co Ltd, Thailand)

Il-Young Chung (Incheon International Airport Corporation, Korea)

Il-Hwan Sung (Korea Airports Corporation, Korea) Dar-jen Tseng Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (Chinese Taipei) Jianrong Wu (Shanghai Airport Authority, China)

REGIONAL BOARD DIRECTOR (WBP)

Greg Fordham (Airbiz Aviation Strategies Pty Ltd, Australia)

SPECIAL ADVISORS

Badr Mohammed Al-Meer (Hamad International Airport, Qatar) Guruprasad Mohapatra (Airports Authority of India, India) Correct as of November 2017.

* WGB member **Regional Advisor on WGB

The ACI Asia-Pacific region represents 102 members operating 578 airports in 48 countries and territories. www.aci-apa.com

19

ACI ASIA-PACIFIC NEWS

EVENTS 2018 2018

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

20

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

ACI ASIA-PACIFIC NEWS INCHEON HOSTS REGIONAL HR COMMITTEE MEETING

The new, more ‘interactive’ format of ACI Asia-Pacific Regional HR Committee meetings proved a great success during their most recent gathering in Incheon, South Korea.

The meeting, kindly hosted by Incheon International Airport and Incheon Airport Aviation Academy, was well attended by 36 committee members and colleagues from across the region.

As a result of the decision to make things more interactive, the meeting in Incheon was composed of the committee meeting, discussion workshops led by a HR consultant and a tour of Incheon International Airport and the aviation training facilities in Seoul, run by Incheon International Airport Corporation and Korea Airports Corporation.

APEX IN SECURITY REVIEW

Juanda International Airport (SUB) in Surabaya, Indonesia, has become the latest gateway to undergo an APEX in Security Review.

Airport Excellence (APEX) in Security is a peer review programme aimed at helping airports enhance security.

Participation in the programme is entirely voluntary and the peer review is not a security audit.

The review was hosted by Angkasa Pura I (AP I) and was the fifth APEX in Security pilot review since the inaugural review in Mauritius in March 2016.

APA Issue 4, 2017

During the first two days, participants discussed a variety of topics that included ‘employee engagement’ and ‘talent management’.

Guest speakers included representatives from Munich Airport, Incheon Airport Aviation Academy, Singapore Aviation Academy and Hong Kong International Aviation Academy.

The next Regional HR Committee meeting will be held during the 13th ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference & Exhibition in Narita in April 2018.

For further information about the committee and its work, please contact Vivian Fung, committee secretary and acting senior manager of external affairs for ACI Asia-Pacific at vivian@ aci-asiapac.aero

OVER 200 AIRPORTS TAKING ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Townsville Airport in Queensland, Australia, recently became the 200th airport to be recognised for managing and addressing its carbon emissions in ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.

The gateway has been certified at Level 2 ‘Reduction’ and the total number of accredited airports worldwide has since risen to 201 with Carrasco International Airport (Montevideo) in Uruguay achieving Level 1 ‘Mapping’ in October.

Talking about the success of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme at the recent ACI Africa/World Annual General Assembly in Mauritius, ACI World’s director general, Angela Gittens, said: “This past year has seen continued engagement from airports, with 36 new applications to Airport Carbon Accreditation and more airports reaching a higher level of certification within the programme.

“As a result, we are able to announce that we now have 201 airports participating in Airport Carbon Accreditation. These airports welcome over 39.6% of global air passenger traffic.”

22

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

SECURITY

Seeking security As airports search for ways to make the travel experience safer and more convenient, biometrics may just be the answer, writes Tony Chapman.

Y

ou enter the airport and walk up to the self-service baggage kiosk where your passport is scanned.

Then, a facial recognition camera scans your face and compares it to the biometric data on your passport and your travel documents – your identity is confirmed and you deposit your bag.

You head to security where, once again, your face is used to confirm you are who you say you are, and you’re passed through.

At the gate and even at the destination airport, you move through the airport quickly and easily, while the airport maintains the utmost security.

On this imaginary journey, you’ve just used a biometric-based screening process. Your face (it could just as easily be your fingerprint, iris, earlobe, etc) has become your biometric token, eliminating the documents – think passport and driver’s license – traditionally used to verify your identity.

While the nirvana described is not here today, the use of biometrics to improve security, as well as the passenger experience, is gaining ground at airports around the world – and for good reason.

APA Issue 4, 2017

THE BENEFITS OF BIOMETRICS

Globally, there are a number of airports/airlines, including well-known trials at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways and more, that are conducting biometric trials, and security is one of the key reasons.

Thanks to our smartphones (which commonly use fingerprints – and now facial scans – to unlock our device) as well as other applications, biometrics have become commonplace.

With consumers now increasingly comfortable with the basic concept, biometric identification has rapidly expanded to other uses and areas.

Using biometrics today as part of the airport screening process provides the opportunity to, at the very least, be as good as (but more likely better than) current manual screening processes. Why? Biometrics provide more consistent results because after 8 or 80 hours the technology does not suffer from fatigue (the way a person might) and will screen exactly the same way.

Additionally, new technological innovations and standards are becoming more

23

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

SECURITY

commonplace at airports – and are providing increasingly accurate results.

The accuracy of the cameras used, the processing power of the equipment as well as the methodology and algorithms are all improving.

Technologies that measure the distances between facial features, for example, can capture data that is verified by cameras located at strategic points within the airport and linked to airport computer systems that hold travel documentation.

The use of infrared cameras, which are less prone to errors, is increasing. With these cameras, the images produced are consistent regardless of ambient lighting, which, with windows everywhere, is a common problem at airports.

And those infrared cameras now have a much higher flash rate so they can take many more frames per second – meaning they have the chance to get a much better quality image of the face.

And there’s more. Companies like Rockwell Collins are already working to incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to improve the process even further.

For example, rather than trying to map a face into a series of geometric points, it is using artificial intelligence to recognise a face and say it’s the same face based on a self-learning AI algorithm.

Regardless of the technology, the move towards biometrics can enhance security in other ways. Redeploying security personnel to deal with the ‘exception’ versus the ‘normal’ could make the entire process faster and more secure.

Security officers, for instance, could be focused on looking for cues that may indicate a concern (someone sweating profusely or acting anxious) that a person would notice, but that a computer taking an iris scan, wouldn’t. The result: additional screening measures could be applied when warranted.

Beyond security, biometrics has the opportunity to remake the passenger experience. As passengers embrace self-service technologies, biometrics enables a much faster and more pleasant trip through the airport.

Again, Rockwell Collins is creating selfservice solutions that integrate biometric authentication into each phase of passenger processing, so everything from check-in through boarding the airplane can be securely automated.

CHALLENGES EXIST

Implementing biometric programmes at the airports globally has its challenges. As you might imagine, identity documents around the world lack standardisation.

European passports, for example, contain a digital file for each person’s image, while US drivers licences do not.

Next, the actual biometric used can vary.

Facial recognition is quite common but cannot be used in some cultures. A woman wearing a burka is probably the most visible example of this today. It also requires passengers to look at the camera, which may not be feasible in some instances (a disabled person, a small child).

Other modalities, like fingerprints or iris scans, are being used, but also have limitations.

There are also concerns surrounding privacy laws regarding biometrics data sharing, which differ from country to country.

And while passengers currently have a choice and can opt out, in the future such programmes could become mandatory.

LIGHTS, CAMERA….

BIOMETRICS

Even with the existing challenges, using biometrics at airports looks promising. The benefits already being realised from current trials all but guarantee a continued expansion of the technology.

Ultimately, biometrics are giving airports a way to maintain rigorous security levels and improve the passenger flow/experience.

So, while the nirvana initially described is not here yet, it may be very soon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tony Chapman is a senior director of product management and strategic programmes for Rockwell Collins, a leading provider of airport solutions globally. www.aci-apa.com

APA

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

25

SECURITY

A combined effort ACI World’s head of security, Nina Brooks, considers the importance of creating a strong security culture.

D

eveloping a ‘security culture’ is about engaging all staff at all levels of an organisation to embrace common securitydriven values and consider security as a priority in all of their work.

The aviation community puts much emphasis on the importance of a layered approach when it comes to security.

Various measures are put in place, from screening and information sharing, through to staff background checks and perimeter fences.

But are we under-utilising one of the most valuable assets that an airport can have in terms of its security, namely its tight-knit community? Engendering a security culture within this community can effectively deliver hundreds of additional security resources, each of whom have a unique perspective on the operation.

This is not something theoretical or complex. There are straightforward steps that any airport, airline or organisation in the aviation supply chain can undertake that can deliver a new approach and a powerful security asset.

A NEW APPROACH

Perhaps the most emblematic layer of security is the checkpoint; much emphasis is placed on screening of passengers and baggage, staff and crew. However, with a new breed of threat from terrorists looking to attack softer targets, and the spread of radicalised individuals throughout society, perhaps a new approach to security is needed.

In the public areas of airports, where we have little insight into who is in the terminal building, screening is impractical and we rely heavily on surveillance and patrols. In the secure area of airports, there is greater control, since we know that people are either passengers or are authorised to be present.

However, many different people and organisations have access to the airside, including maintenance organisations, ground handlers, retail staff, airport and airline staff, caterers, cleaners, building maintenance and baggage handlers.

Many of these people need to carry tools of the trade or goods for the airport or aircraft as they pass through www.aci-apa.com

26

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

SECURITY

checkpoints. Do we really know who every single one of these people is, and their intent?

Screening is, of course, very effective as a method of detection and deterrence for both people and vehicles, but it cannot address all possible scenarios and threats. An additional challenge is constantly keeping background checks up to date, and having a reliable source of information. Even then, there is little to say that a person has not become radicalised or is being influenced by an outside factor.

A comprehensive approach to security, therefore, relies heavily on people.

FUNDAMENTALS

Fundamental to the successful implementation of such a culture is a genuine concern for security, and a desire to improve.

This has to come from the top-level management and permeate the entire organisation. A one-day security awareness training course will have no effect if staff see it simply as an additional task, or something that makes their job more difficult. Security, like safety, has to be at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

CLARITY ON ROLES

Secondly, there has to be a clear definition of everyone’s role in security, from the security manager, through screeners, to airport operational staff, retail staff and cleaners.

Security roles should be included in every job description, targets included in every set of annual objectives and part of every contract with external suppliers.

EMPOWERING STAFF TO ACT

Thirdly, staff must be empowered to act.

One of the key barriers to implementing a security culture is either an attitude of “not my job” or “nothing I can do about it.”

APA Issue 4, 2017

Staff must believe that they can make a difference, and that management will listen to them if they have something of concern to report or a suggestion for improvement.

MAKING IT INTERESTING, REWARDING AND FUN

To raise the profile of security and ensure that all staff understand that it is of top priority to an organisation, internal ‘marketing’ or information campaigns can be run to keep security uppermost in people’s minds.

Training plays a key role. Employees need to be able to recognise suspicious behaviour by either passengers or other members of staff immediately, identify a suspicious object, and pick up on a security task or procedure that is not being completed correctly.

This may be basic training for all staff on suspicious behaviours and possible threats, but might also include more specialised behaviour analysis training for security personnel.

The ability to report a suspicious incident without fear of reprisal is also a critical element. Recognition on consistent performance should also be encouraged.

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

First and foremost, security needs to be recognised as important and rewarding. Time and effort need to be invested in staff, recognising the role that every person in the airport environment can play in security and capitalising on the incredible opportunity that such a diverse workforce can bring.

The reach of security culture can even stretch to the travelling public – vigilance and willingness to report suspicious behaviour, potentially adds billions of people a year to the security workforce. It is a layer of security that could be used so much more.

APA

28

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

SECURITY

Combatting cyber crime Andy Wall, technical director of cyber security at Atkins, outlines five steps he believes airports can take to create safe and secure cyber environments.

A

irports have a long history of dealing with ‘traditional’ threats – terrorism, physical attacks and security scares. But as the physical and digital worlds continue to converge, how do they manage the risk of a potential hack on the air-ground lighting or a terminal’s power facilities compared to a bomb threat or protesters?

The difficulties aviation organisations have is knowing where to start, what material is useful, how can it be applied, what do they need to do and what outcomes they should expect.

Having worked with a range of aviation and critical national infrastructure organisations, we have identified five key steps that will ensure any airport can become truly cyber resilient.

1. MEASURE YOURSELF

Start with measuring the maturity of cyber security across your organisation, and treat everything agnostically.

There are several different models that can be used, including the Information Security Forum (ISF) Maturity Model and the US Department of Energy Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (C2M2).

What is great about these models is that they allow you to measure strengths as well as weaknesses. This is a much better APA Issue 4, 2017

approach than a traditional risk assessment as it allows a broader picture of security risk to emerge that can be aligned to the wider business.

2. DECIDE WHAT IS IMPORTANT

As airports are complex businesses, and budgets are finite, it is critical to get senior stakeholders to prioritise assets and invest in protecting them. A comparison of different business needs and technologies can then be used to drill down to the specific digital services that represent the airport’s ‘crown jewels’.

3. IDENTIFY THE THREAT

The most common motivations for cyberattacks include the theft of intellectual property, operational information or commercial data, or disruption, whether deliberate or unintentional.

These days, the attackers can include organised crime syndicates, bored teenagers and even airport noise protesters. However, as airports are also part of a nation’s critical national infrastructure, they are increasingly being targeted by sophisticated nation state attackers who are determined to disrupt a region or a country.

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

29

SECURITY

Measure yourself

Decide what is important: assets, criticality, appetite

Identify the threat, what are you defending against

The UK Government has acknowledged that there are hostile ‘foreign actors’ developing techniques that threaten the country’s electrical grid and airports. The threat is therefore very real.

4. CREATE YOUR DEFENSIVE APPROACH

Knowing more about the threat, understanding what you really want to protect, and measuring your cyber security strengths and weaknesses, means that you can focus security investment in the right place.

Do you need to invest more in protecting baggage systems or terminal power systems from attack? Do communication services to the control tower need better protection than the departures and arrivals information boards? These are the everyday choices that you need to make.

Once the appropriate security control sets are identified, they need to be pulled together into a Board-level approved strategic approach.

5. IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAMME

Flowing out of a strategic approach will be a huge range of projects to address the business security needs. Our experience shows that these projects are best run as a

Create strategy and defensive approaches

Do the work and monitor outcomes

single, integrated programme to drive through the changes across an airport, bringing together the whole supplier base and directing their activities to deliver the required outcomes.

EVOLVING YOUR STRATEGY

But you can’t just stop there. Regular reassessment of the airport’s cyber security maturity enables measurement of the implemented security improvements and their contribution to your overall cyber security.

Reporting these measured improvements to the Board demonstrates that progress is being made and that value is being obtained from their investment.

By following these five steps and continuing to evolve your cyber strategy, your organisation can become truly resilient.

And while you will still be subject to cyber-attacks, you will have confidence that your defences are responsive and elastic, stretching to contain any attack and dealing with it effectively.

APA

Free copies of Atkins’ Cyber Resilient Infrastructure Report can be downloaded at www.explore.atkinsglobal.com/cyber www.aci-apa.com

30

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

HUMAN RESOURCES

Cockpit challenge Alpha Aviation Group’s Bhanu Choudhrie explains why the industry must act now to prevent the future shortage of pilots across the Asia-Pacific region.

I

t might sound dramatic, but the aviation industry is fast approaching a juncture that will come to define its future, the chronic shortage of pilots.

Simply put, it has become a victim of its own success as the rapid growth of the sector has led to a significant shortage in the number of trained commercial pilots needed to service growing fleets.

This impending crisis is particularly pertinent in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Boeing has forecast that by 2036 over 40% of the entire predicted global demand for commercial airline pilots will be concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region.

This amounts to over a quarter of a million commercial pilots.

APA Issue 4, 2017

The potential threat that this statistic poses to the region transcends the aviation industry, and a failure to tackle this crisis head on will have wider economic implications.

Demand for air travel is flourishing across APAC, a trend encapsulated by Vietnam’s aviation sector achieving 30% growth in 2016, and AirAsia’s order book of 393 Airbus narrow body aircraft to meet ever-expanding demand.

This growth has been catalysed by the economic dynamism across the region.

South East Asian economies are evolving quickly, fostering a growing South East Asian middle class with more expendable income and an appetite for international travel.

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

there are a number of flying schools operating across APAC, more modern and high tech facilities are required and the creation of more high quality facilities would be a starting point to combatting the extortionate hiring of pilots from other continents.

We are seeing the beginnings of a response from the industry, as last year, Airbus and Singapore Airlines launched a training centre with the capability to teach more than 10,000 trainees annually.

This is a starting point, but there is plenty more to do.

A rethink of traditional training methods has now become a necessity.

Technology has altered the world around us and has the capability to drastically optimise training solutions. The traditional ATPL graduates complete in excess of 200 hours of flight time, but with new state-of-the-art simulators this time can be significantly reduced to make the process more efficient.

At Alpha Aviation Group, we strongly advocate the Multi-Crew Pilot License, a programme placing an increased emphasis on the use of simulators. A broader commitment to innovative methods such as the multi-pilot licence (MPL) will help to streamline the training process.

We are now seeing more airlines turn to the MPL as it enables pilot training to be aligned with the training to the airlines SOPs (standards of procedures) making the pilots airline ready from Day 1.

Some timidity towards the license exists across the industry, but as more airlines make a success of it, this will dissipate.

Airlines, regulators and pilot training schools must all be encouraged to adapt their methods to move with the necessity of the times.

But optimising training solutions will only be suitably impactful if the aviation world can get cadets signing up. In this sense the challenges that the aviation industry face are not just economical and technical, but social. www.aci-apa.com

HUMAN RESOURCES

Improved demand has in turn facilitated the rise of the low-cost carrier as the likes of Cebu Pacific and AirAsia have made flying more affordable and more available than ever before. Fleets are expanding to reflect this – over 15,000 new commercial aircraft will be delivered to Asia over the next twenty years.

But as demand for commercial flight soars, efforts to train enough pilots to match this demand are still struggling to get off the ground. The effects of the pilot shortage are being felt already, and are only set to worsen.

Up until recently, the APAC region was only able to train around 5,000 pilots per year, a chasm away from the numbers needed to service Asia-Pacific’s fast growing fleets.

And the consequences of this shortage are being felt already, with steep increases in pilot compensation packages to attract foreign pilots.

The financial implications of South East Asian countries failing to train sufficient pilots are twofold. Firstly, cancelling flights costs airlines customers, and income. And secondly, the lack of viable domestic options is forcing Asian carriers to pay a premium to hire expat pilots from Europe and South America as a short-term fix. This model is expensive and unsustainable in the long-term.

If airlines continue to expensively outsource piloting to Europe and South America, rising costs will eventually be passed onto the consumer, and herein lies the broader danger.

Commercial aviation is a driver of tourism, globalisation, trade and economic growth. The sector is responsible for 3.5% of global GDP and the implications of a pilot shortage will have a knock on impact on regional investment and broader economic development far beyond the aviation world.

The first step the industry must take to rectify this problem is to invest in greater regional pilot training infrastructure to nurture more domestic talent. Though

31

32

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

HUMAN RESOURCES A plethora of stereotypes still surround the sector, acting as an invisible barrier to more young people becoming cadets.

Young people can be put off by the idea of being away from home for an extended period of time, the notion of working excessive hours, and by the prospect of simply being unable to afford the expensive training courses.

The picture that is painted of a career in the cockpit, as so often is the case, does not match up to the reality. Financial barriers can be overcome, with many flying schools offering financial support in the form of study now pay later programmes.

These messages need to be conveyed to young people by airlines, training schools and governments. The next generation have an opportunity to pursue a career as a pilot and see the world in the process, now more than ever we need to show them what a special prospect this is.

Bridging the generational divide does represent a challenge, but it is one that pales in comparison to bridging the gender divide in commercial airline piloting. There has been a push in recent years to encourage more women to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects and move into STEM careers. In spite of this, a mere 3% of the world’s commercial airline pilots are women.

This can be explained in part by many airline pilots having made the commercial move having first flown in the military – a role that tends to favour men. But beyond this practicality, a cultural stigma remains attached to piloting, and it is still viewed as a ‘male’ job in some quarters.

APA Issue 4, 2017

Some airlines and training providers are working to combat this, EasyJet being one such example. They are looking to recruit significantly more female pilots, and have set themselves the ambitious target of 20% of their recruits being female by 2020. Whether this is feasible or not remains to be seen, but it is an admirable level of aspiration that others would do well to emulate.

An overhaul in societal attitudes can pave the way for more women to have a profound impact on the world of aviation.

Piloting is about hard work and ability rather than gender, and that is a message that cannot be reinforced enough.

Glimmers of change are starting to shine through: Kate McWilliams has become the world’s youngest commercial airline captain at the age of 26, a very exciting development, whilst Air India earlier this year flew around the world with an all-female crew.

These stories demonstrate the fact that the talent is there, but until such examples become the norm rather than the exception, there is still more work to do.

This is a very exciting time for aviation in the Asia-Pacific region, but one fraught with risk. With foresight and application, it will be possible to overcome the pilot crisis, and to APA keep South East Asia booming.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bhanu Choudhrie is the founder of Alpha Aviation Group (www.aag.aero), which provides aviation training solutions across the globe, specialising in cadet assessment and selection.

34

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

EVENTS: ATAG SUMMIT

Ambitions, goals and challenges Joe Bates reports on some of the highlights and lessons learned from October’s Global Sustainable Aviation Summit in Geneva.

A

viation’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and biofuels, which are expected to account for 25% of all jet fuel by 2050, were just a few of the topics discussed during the recent Global Sustainable Aviation Summit in Geneva.

However, arguably the overriding message to emerge from the annual Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) organised event was for the need for even greater collaboration between industry stakeholders, airport communities and governments across the world going forward to ensure the long-term future of aviation.

And, as ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, pointed out in the APA Issue 4, 2017

‘Reflections’ session at the end of the summit, ‘sustainability’ is all encompassing and not just about CO2 emissions.

Gittens said: “From an airport point of view we are really dealing with a whole range of sustainability issues and I’m glad to see that some of them, such as land use planning, has been covered here and is now getting global attention.

“Airports are in the strange position of being global entities, but they are really local entities and can be brought to their knees by local issues.

“We are neighbours to surrounding communities and have to engage with them and the market where we exist as we cannot leave the market and find a better one. So, we have to solve problems and not be the problem in our local areas.”

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

35

EVENTS: ATAG SUMMIT

Having said that, she noted that she was particularly proud of airports’ efforts to reduce their CO2 emissions through ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, particularly as it was “happening in places that it wasn’t required”, and this ensured that many airports were ahead of their governments in showing environmental leadership.

During his opening address, president of the Council of ICAO, Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, praised aviation’s commitment to the environment and the success the industry has achieved in persuading the world’s government to join the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for international aviation (CORSIA) from its outset in 2021.

To date 72 countries, representing almost 90% of international flight operations, have agreed to join the initiative, which he admitted had “exceeded our expectations”.

“CORSIA isn’t just important for the aviation industry, it is important for the planet. It represents a very important milestone for air transport, and indeed for the entire world given that it is the very first commitment of its kind for any global industrial sector,” he said.

In his keynote address, Ovais Sarmad, deputy director executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), spoke about the economic and social importance of aviation, praised the industry’s ability to adapt, innovate and change, and warned that it will face many challenges ahead, possibility the biggest of which is climate change.

“Our goals are to achieve carbon neutrality in the middle of this century, to reduce our carbon footprint. In effect, to do nothing less than reverse the impact of 100 years of emissions in less than half that time,” stated Sarmad.

“Our opposition is time. To put it simply, we no longer have the luxury of it. Gone are the days when we’d speak of climate change in terms of some day this could happen or maybe we should do something tomorrow.

“Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow is today and climate change is happening before our eyes, and the action we take within the next five years will determine whether we are successful or not.”

Talking about the growing impact of climate change on the planet, he said: “From every continent in every corner of the world we read and hear devastating stories about those who have suffered from extreme climate events. There has been a huge cost to these events, and they cannot be measured in any numbers.

“NASA recently reported that the first half of 2017 was the hottest year on record. The previous hottest year was 2016. This is unacceptable and we must do something about it.”

Biofuels came under the microscope in a session called ‘Taking alternative energy to new heights’, in which IAG’s group head of sustainability, Jonathan Counsell, stated that biofuels could account for 25% of jet fuel by 2050.

There have now been well over 40,000 commercial flights operated on sustainable www.aci-apa.com

36

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

EVENTS: ATAG SUMMIT fuel, and Counsell noted that although IAG’s customers are increasingly calling for the introduction of biofuels, he felt that they might not be so keen if it led to an increase in the price of a ticket.

He revealed that IAG has been looking at biofuels for the last eight years and its commitment to the cause recently led to it unveiling plans to open a waste jet fuel plant in the UK a partnership with Velocys.

However, he insisted that the airline group was very clear that it would not and could not pay a premium for alternative fuels as fuel today typically accounted for between 30% and 40% of an airline’s costs.

The panel also included San Francisco International Airport’s chief administration and policy officer, Julian Potter, and Geneva Airport CEO, André Schneider, who outlined their biofuel plans and ambitions for their respective gateways.

Geneva’s Schneider told the summit that although his airport had no direct control over how jet fuel is sold to the airlines, he hoped that biofuel would account for at least 1% of the annual jet fuel consumption at his gateway from late 2018.

“We don’t really want to leave it to whether airlines choose to take renewable fuel or not as we know the higher price of biofuel will mean that it will be used on some flights, but not all,” said Schneider.

“We have, therefore, decided to add a fixed percentage of biofuel to all the fuel supplied at Geneva Airport. The figure will start at 1% and the airport, supported by the government, will pick up the difference in costs.

APA Issue 4, 2017

“This means that the whole process will be totally transparent. The airlines will get their fuel from the same companies that supply them now and they will not pay a cent more for it.”

Also on the panel were James Andersen, business director for green fuels and chemicals at Honeywell UOP; and Dr Bruno Muller, managing director for fuels at Fulcrum Bioenergy.

Both agreed that the lack of funding was proving a huge challenge to the development and commercialisation of biofuels.

“Financing is the hardest part, technology is available, feedstock is too, but it’s putting everything together,” said Miller.

“So, eventually you need a business case for investment and for that you need private institutions to invest. But for that you need a stable policy environment – It’s important that policies for 10-15 years stay the same.”

All the panellists agreed that the industry needs to work in partnership in order to break aviation’s reliance on fossil fuels and cut CO2 emissions in the air transport sector.

In a brief presentation, Olivier Jankovec, ACI Europe’s director general, revealed that 199 airports, which account for around 40% of the world’s traffic, are now accredited under ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme.

The total includes 35 airports that are carbon neutral, and such has been the success of the programme that ACI Europe has now doubled its carbon neutrality

37

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

EVENTS: ATAG SUMMIT

target and is committed to achieving 100 carbon neutral airports by 2030.

Day 2 of the summit started with a presentation about a potential game changing form of transport called the Hyperloop, which could make all other modes of travel redundant in the future by making it possible to cover hundreds of kilometre distances in minutes rather than hours.

The technology, which is being developed today, involves passengers travelling at high speeds in pods inside a sealed tube or system of sealed tubes, revealed Hyperloop One’s senior vice president of global field operations, Nick Earle.

He suggested that there is even talk of opening one between Amsterdam Schiphol and Lelystad airports in the Netherlands and believes that the new technology could become operational by as early as 2023.

Earle was followed by a quick fire panel principally made up of aircraft manufacturers and engine suppliers who took on the topic of how technology is going to allow the aviation industry to achieve its goal of halving CO2 emissions by 2050.

Next up was a panel discussion called ‘The big picture and future challenges’, during which London City Airport’s CEO and ACI World chairman, Declan Collier, stated that he thought that the rise in protectionism and protectionist government policies across the globe posed a very real danger to the future success of aviation.

He also cited “remaining relevant to the communities that we operate within” and “continuing to attract the right type of resources and talent, in a world which has lots of different opportunities for people to build careers” as other major challenges facing the industry.

The conference ended on a high note with the ‘Reflections’ panel where ACI World’s Gittens and other leaders of key aviation industry associations gave their thoughts on the lessons learned during the summit.

Giving his thoughts during the session, IATA director general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac noted: “The sustainability development goals have shown us that aviation must have a broader vision than simply carbon emissions and noise mitigation.

“CORSIA is a major achievement but we, the airlines, must now focus and be ready and prepared for its 2020 implementation. The development of sustainable aviation fuels is also a critical issue and it is important that we meet our goals and reduce our carbon emissions by 50% by 2050.

“In this regards we say that the development of aviation fuels must be given the same incentives as alternative fuels in other sectors and we urge government to do that. We will also focus on using alterative fuels that will not disturb the ecological patterns, and what is encouraging is that we see that this is possible.” www.aci-apa.com

APA

38

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

AVIATION IT TRENDS

Investing in technology Airports and airlines will spend nearly $33 billion on IT this year as they bid to enhance their operations and put passengers more in control of their journeys.

A

irports will invest more money on IT than ever before this year and their commitment to spending big on technology is being matched by the airlines, with both focusing their efforts on similar priorities.

Indeed, according to SITA’s latest report, Air Transport IT Trends Insights, top of the agenda for CIOs at both airlines and airports are investment in cyber security and cloud services. In addition, they are prioritising investments in passenger self-service.

SITA’s research shows that their IT spend remains strong, with a colossal $33 billion expected to be invested by the world’s airports and airlines on new technology in 2017.

It says that spend as a percentage of their overall revenues will rise by an estimated 5% for airports and 3.3% for the airlines as they invest $8.43 billion and $24.3 billion respectively on IT in 2017.

Looking to 2018, over 70% of airlines and 88% of airports are expecting their IT spend to increase or remain at the same levels as today.

CYBER SECURITY

And as IT spend rises, says SITA, both airports and airlines agree that the number one priority for their investments is cyber security.

Nearly all of them – 96% of airports and 95% of airlines – plan to invest in major programmes or R&D on cyber security initiatives over the next three years.

APA Issue 4, 2017

According to SITA, this shows alignment across the industry on the importance of investing in this area.

SITA has conducted in depth research into the level of cyber security maturity at airlines and airports in the fight against this global threat and, according to its findings, there are very high levels of security awareness among staff at airlines (82%) and airports (85%).

This year, beyond cyber security protection, SITA reveals that the industry is focusing on threat detection and response management.

Indeed, it claims that 47% of CIOs at airports are implementing security events and correlation monitoring, while security incident response management is being put in place at 60% of the world’s gateways.

“Airlines and airports are building their critical defenses and preparing to deal with common threats, but we must all bring it to the highest level and integrate cyber security at executive and board level,” says SITA CEO, Barbara Dalibard.

“Together we must identify, detect and react to cyber threats and protect the industry’s assets from attack.”

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Cloud services are another top investment priority with 95% of airlines and 85% of airports planning to invest over the next three years, continuing an upward trend that SITA has recorded since 2015.

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

39

AVIATION IT TRENDS

The third key area of investment that was highlighted by both airports and airlines is the desire to provide extra self-service options to passengers.

At airports, self-service processes at check-in, bag drop and boarding are increasingly popular with passengers and 89% of airports are investing in these processes.

Airports operators have a keen focus on improving the journey through the terminal and are looking to new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), beacons and sensors, to support their goals.

SITA’s insights show that 80% of airports are investing, or planning to invest, in these technologies over the next three years.

Nearly three quarters, 74%, are investing in wayfinding solutions and 68% in solutions to improve personalisation for the passenger.

AI, CHATBOT AND BEACONS

Another revelation of the new report is that airports and airlines are increasingly embracing new technologies and turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to support their customer service efforts.

In fact according to SITA, over the next three years, 52% of airlines plan major AI programmes or R&D and 45% of airports will invest in R&D in the next five years.

Airlines are looking at how technology can help minimise the impact of disruption on the passenger experience and their business and, over the next three years, 80% of them plan to invest in major programmes or R&D into prediction and warning systems, which rely heavily on AI. Another technology that is catching the attention of the industry, says the report, is chatbots. Today, 9% of airports and 14% of airlines use chatbots, however, there is said to be a “significant appetite” among air transport CIOs to embrace this technology over the next three years.

So much so, in fact, that Air Transport IT Trends Insights predicts that 42% of airports and 68% of airlines plan to adopt AI-driven chatbot services by 2020.

Jim Peters, SITA’s chief technology officer, says: “We know that passengers prefer to use technology and when it is well designed it can really improve the passenger experience.

“Airlines and airports are investing in AI and mobile programmes to make services even better for the passenger, supporting sales and providing customer support, particularly during times of disruption.

“The industry is using a healthy mix of in-house and outsourced development which will combine expert and industry-specific knowledge with emerging approaches to APA tech offerings.” www.aci-apa.com

40

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

SECTION TITLE INDUSTRY NEWS

Growth and innovation

Asia-Pacific Airports reports on the latest World Business Partner news from across the region.

LOOKING GOOD! Bahrain International Airport has a new advertising partner – French-based JCDecaux.

Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) says it awarded the contract to the company following a fiercely competitive bidding process in which several of the world’s largest firms participated.

The concession agreement, which marks the advertising giant’s first entry into the Kingdom, will be for a period of 10 years, and covers the exclusive use of advertising space within BIA’s premises, in line with the vision of the Airport Modernisation Programme (AMP).

This includes the airport campus, forecourt and all approach roads. JCDecaux has promised to use more than 230 formats for the duration of the contract, introducing the modern advertising methods it has been utilising in over 75 countries.

His Excellency, the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, said: “This agreement represents a milestone in our journey to put the Kingdom’s aviation and travel experience on the map as one of the most advanced in the world.

“It will also provide additional sources of income that will help finance and sustain the AMP, an initiative that will elevate the Kingdom’s economic status substantially.”

BAC CEO, Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah said: “The AMP is more than just an expansion of the airport. It is meant to modernise the entire passenger travelling experience and appeal to the tastes and needs of today’s sophisticated and demanding travellers.”

APA Issue 4, 2017

AUTO BAG DROP UNITS GO LIVE AT SINGAPORE CHANGI Fifty of ICM Airport Technics’ market-leading Auto Bag Drop (ABD) units went live at the highlyanticipated opening of Singapore Changi Airport’s new Terminal 4 on October 31.

The first flight out of T4 was Cathay Pacific’s CX650 to Hong Kong, where Richard Dinkelmann, CEO of ICM Group, was among the first passengers to check-in, using an ABD unit to drop his baggage.

The ABD units are a crucial element of several Fast and Seamless Travel initiatives at T4 that cover check-in, baggage drop, immigration clearance and boarding.

The ABD units were developed, manufactured and installed by ICM, and were specifically designed to meet the exact needs of Terminal 4. ICM worked closely with Changi Airport Group to tailor the ABD units to not only make them easy for passengers to use in self-service mode, but also capable of being switched to a conventional, agent-manned check-in desk in a matter of seconds.

Dinkelmann said: “We are incredibly proud to see our advanced biometrically enabled selfservice Auto Bag Drop units go live at Changi T4.

“The units will not only deliver notable security and efficiency benefits to the airport and airlines, but they present passengers with a simpler and faster process for checking-in their bags.”

ICM’s ABD units can be found in major airports across the globe including Auckland, London Heathrow, Minneapolis, Munich, Paris CDG, Singapore Changi and Sydney.

41

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

SECTION TITLE INDUSTRY NEWS

WBP PROFILES

NEXT GEN SECURITY TECHNOLOGY FOR TOKYO NARITA Smiths Detection has been selected to supply innovative solutions for passenger screening and search functions at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport.

Narita has chosen to install 13 of Smiths Detection’s eqo portals following a national directive from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) to upgrade checkpoint security to comply with the latest international standards.

According to Smiths Detection, the new technology utilises flat-panel millimetre-wave technology that offers state-of-the-art detection capabilities with a minimal footprint.

It says that they will help enhance security, productivity, and passenger experience and believes that they will allow checkpoints to evolve from mechanical screening to electronically steered technology, offering better image quality and system reliability.

As a result, it says this reliable and easily serviceable system helps to reduce the burden of security screening on airports.

“More than 20 million visitors entered Japan last year and this number is expected to increase due to the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games in 2020,” commented Nathan Manzi, vice president of Asia Pacific at Smiths Detection.

“For this reason, Japan’s international airports are seeking to increase and strengthen the effectiveness of the security process while ensuring that passengers move quickly and seamlessly through them.

“Narita selected our eqo solution as it offers a small footprint and the highest passenger throughput comparable to alternative products in the market.”

ISS FACILITY SERVICES Location: Murarrie, QLD, Australia Contacts: Sarah Renner, executive general manager for aviation and transport; Gray Manson, business risk & innovations manager E: sarah.renner@au.issworld.com W: www.au.issworld.com As a worldwide provider of support services to aviation customers, including security, screening and cleaning, at ISS we recognise the importance of creating the best passenger experience. With a team of almost 15,000 people operating throughout Australia, ISS is one of the country’s largest facility service providers with annual revenue approaching A$1 billion.

JURUTERA MINSAR CONSULT SDN BHD Location: Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia Contacts: Yuh Tung Hii, managing director; Roland Kong Beng Ong, senior associate – airports division E: minsar@minsar.com.my W: www.minsar.com.my Minsar has a remarkable record of delivering multi-disciplinary and specialist consultancy services across a wide range of projects and industries including the unique and evolving aviation industry. Our experience and deep understanding of airport operations encompasses both domestic and international airports throughout Malaysia and Brunei and military airfields in Malaysia. We provide complete end-to-end solutions ranging from feasibility studies and master planning to detailed investigations and design. In addition we provide cost estimations, tender and contract documentation and evaluation, construction supervision and project management. www.aci-apa.com

APA

42

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

SECTION TITLE REPORT ENVIRONMENTAL

Bring me sunshine Joe Bates finds out more about Brisbane Airport’s plans to build Australia’s largest rooftop solar power system.

B

risbane Airport Corporation (BAC) is investing in a major renewable energy Solar PV project capable of generating more than 9,315,000-kilowatt hours a year.

The 6MW system, consisting of 22,000 panels spanning an area of 36,000sqm or more than twice the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), will be installed across six sites at Brisbane Airport (BNE).

Brisbane Airport’s International Terminal alone will support 1.98MW with 7,133 panels covering more than 11,675 square metres, making it the largest single rooftop solar panel installation at an Australian airport and the largest commercial roof top solar system in the Southern Hemisphere.

More than 200kms of cabling will be used for the install, equivalent to driving from Brisbane to the Gold Coast and back.

Krishan Tangri, BAC’s general manager for assets, says that electricity is one of the biggest expenses for Brisbane Airport with dozens of large buildings requiring cooling, lighting and heating 24 hours a days, 365 days a year.

“We are acutely aware of the increasing energy needs of running a major airport and, since 2012, we’ve had an extensive energy reduction programme in place resulting in the completion of 40 projects APA Issue 4, 2017

which collectively save more than 8GWh per year,” notes Tangri.

“We are in the enviable position of having thousands of square metres of un-impeded roof space ideal for solar harvesting and, with systems becoming more efficient and more affordable to install, it makes financial sense to invest in this readily available supply of renewable energy to save costs and decrease our carbon footprint.

“Once fully operational, the new system will account for 18% of BAC’s direct electricity consumption, or 6% of our total consumption, further complementing the savings we’re making through air conditioning control optimisation, lighting control upgrades and LED technology within BAC buildings, car parks and street lighting.”

The solar energy generated per year is equivalent to powering over 1,700 Australian homes for a year, with carbon offset equal to planting over 50,000 trees or taking 1,500 cars off the road each year.

Epho, an Australian commercial solar company specialising in serving Australian businesses with solar energy solutions, collaborated with Shakra Energy on the project.

Design of the system is currently underway with installation commencing from December 2017 and completion APA expected in August 2018.