Asia-Pacific Airports - Issue 1, 2018

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

In the spotlight: Connectivity In focus: Connectivity Airport profile: Tokyo Narita

Issue 1, 2018 www.aci-apa.com

Special report: ASQ winners Plus: Security, Industry news and Bahrain’s new T2

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ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

www.aci-asiapac.aero

Asia-Pacific Airports Issue 1, 2018

In the spotlight: Connectivity In focus: Connectivity Airport profile: Tokyo Narita

Plus: Security, Industry news and Bahrain’s new T2

6 View from the top

28 Leading the way

Regional director, Patti Chau, reflects on 2017 and looks forward to another busy and successful year for ACI Asia-Pacific and the region’s airports.

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

14 ACI news

Vivian Fung rounds up the latest news from across Asia-Pacific in what has been a busy start to 2018 for the region.

20 Tokyo rising

NAA’s president and CEO, Makoto Natsume, talks to Joe Bates about Narita International Airport’s growth, development and expansion plans ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Issue 1, 2018 www.aci-apa.com

Special report: ASQ winners Published by

Indian airports shine as Asia-Pacific airports hold on to the top spots in all the global best airport by size categories in ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) customer satisfaction awards, writes Joe Bates.

32 Making the right connections

ASM’s Nigel Mayes and York Aviation’s James Brass tell us more about the economic and social benefits of route development.

36 On the surface

Improving surface access is a commercial and environmental challenge facing airports across the globe, write ICF’s Angus Reid-Kay and Rob Rushmer.

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CONTENTS

The official publication of ACI Asia-Pacific

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CONTENTS 40 Time for change?

48 Smart security

ACI World, director general, Angela Gittens, provides her thoughts on the allocation of slots at airports and considers how the system could be improved to ensure the most efficient use of a scarce resource.

44 Towards Tokyo 2020

Amadeus IT Group’s Sarah Samuel considers how technology will help Tokyo’s airports cope with demand during the 2020 Olympic Games.

50 Design & Build: Bahrain International Airport Gulf gateway’s eagerly awaited new terminal to open in 2019.

53 Industry news

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 1, 2018

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 Jonathan Lee jonathan@aci-apa.com +44 (0)208 707 2743

Jerome de Chassey, Smith Detection’s vice president for Asia-Pacific considers how smarter checkpoints can improve security efficiency and the passenger experience.

Asia-Pacific Airports reports on the latest industry and World Business Partner news from across the region’s airports.

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

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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.

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VIEW FROM THE TOP Regional director, Patti Chau, reflects on 2017 and looks forward to another busy and successful year for ACI Asia-Pacific and the region’s airports.

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t gives me great pleasure to report that 2017 was another successful and fruitful year for ACI Asia-Pacific and the region’s airports, and I have no doubt that we can expect more of the same this year.

Traffic soared across the region last year while our airports continued to build on their steadily growing reputations for maintaining safe, secure and sustainable gateways at the same time as providing some of the highest standards of service and operational efficiency in the business.

In terms of statistics, passenger numbers grew by 7.8% in Asia-Pacific and 4.7% in the Middle East in 2017 and cargo volumes increased by 8.5% and 6% respectively.

Looking ahead, considering the aggressive expansion of low-cost carriers in the region, and a number of festive holiday periods in the first quarter of 2018, passenger traffic is expected to remain solid.

While positive factors such as increasing cross-border e-commerce activities and the growing pharmaceuticals sector

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should provide optimism for air freight as 2018 progresses.

In 2017, our office played a key role at numerous industry events. We also held, and took part in, many committee meetings, organised training workshops, and seized every networking opportunity that we could to ensure that we met the diverse needs of our members.

You can read about all of this in the ACI Asia-Pacific Year in Review 2017, which we published at the beginning of the year. The report highlights our work throughout the year, which is the result of the close collaboration with our members, industry partners and stakeholders.

CHANGE AT THE TOP

I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank to outgoing ACI Asia-Pacific president, Kerrie Mather, and officially welcome her successor, Changi Airport CEO, Lee Seow Hiang.

In particular, wish to thank Kerrie – who retired earlier this year and stepped down as president of ACI Asia-Pacific – for her

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members which are small in size and with limited budgets to attend ACI training courses and participate in initiatives that encourage knowledge exchange amongst airports in the region.

And on top of the regular offerings, we have introduced a new initiative: the Airport Mentorship programme, where the mentor airport will provide professional advice and knowledge sharing onsite.

ICAO CONFERENCE IN BEIJING

REGIONAL ASSEMBLY & CONFERENCE

Earlier this year our office joined representatives from 35 States and four industry partners in attending the first ICAO Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation in Beijing.

The conference was hosted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and featured the theme ‘Sharing, Inclusion, Collaboration and Jointly Shaping the Future Aviation of Asia Pacific’.

During the event we made a statement pledging support to ICAO for the implementation of the ‘Beijing Declaration’ and shared ACI’s contribution on human resources development.

NO COUNTRY LEFT BEHIND

ACI strongly backs ICAO’s ‘No country left behind’ campaign, which we support by providing assistance to member airports in the region’s least developed and developing countries.

This year, five Developing Nations Airport Assistance Programme seminars are planned in the region, the first of which took place in Nadi, Fiji, in January.

The workshop was a joint ACI/ICAO Aerodrome Certification course, targeted at airports from the Pacific island states.

It proved a huge success and I’d like to use this opportunity to thank the host, and indeed all future hosts, for supporting the DNA seminars.

Our region, through the Small Airports Assistance programme, assists airport

Our team, has been working in close collaboration with Narita Airport on the programme for the Regional Assembly that will provide delegates with a truly memorable event in Narita this year.

The two-day conference will give you the chance to meet, learn from and share views and opinions with a strong panel of speakers made up of airport leaders and industry experts.

Our new Young Executive of the Year (Please see page 18) will also be joining us to share his findings on the topic of how airport commercial offerings maintain can remain competitive in the era of e-commerce.

Another cause for celebration will be a ceremony to honour the airports with outstanding achievements in waste management under the ACI Green Airports Recognition scheme. All have been recognised for outstanding achievements in minimising their waste.

We look forward to welcoming airport colleagues and key industry players to this annual meeting, which has been recognised as one of the most influential events for the aviation community in the Asia-Pacific region.

Finally, I wish everyone a very prosperous year ahead 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

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guidance, wisdom and strategic vision in leading ACI Asia-Pacific. We wish her the very best in her future endeavours.

Together with the Regional Board, we look forward to working closely with our incoming president, Mr Lee, in developing ACI Asia-Pacific to advance the collective interests of our members.

Election of the Officers of the Regional Board will be held at the upcoming Regional Assembly in Narita, Japan.

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NEWS

DEAL DONE FOR NAVI MUMBAI

INCHEON’S NEW TERMINAL 2 OPENS FOR BUSINESS Incheon International Airport’s new, high-tech Terminal 2 opened for business on January 18, just in time to handle athletes and visitors headed to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

The 72-gate terminal is the airport’s first major expansion project in 17 years and boasts a number of ‘smart technology’ features such as 62 self-check-in desks, self-bag drop and facial recognition systems that allow automated immigration processing.

Initially equipped to handle 18 million passengers per annum, the 7.3 million square foot complex has its own airside hotel, sense-ofplace art work and other features showcasing South Korean culture.

It currently serves four airlines – SkyTeam Alliance members Korean Air, Delta, Air France and KLM.

SUNSHINE COAST AIRPORT DEMONSTRATES ‘GREEN’ CREDENTIALS Sunshine Coast Airport has renewed its Level 3+ Neutrality status in ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme to ensure it remains one of Australia’s ‘greenest’ gateways.

“Recognising the importance of sustainable practices, Sunshine Coast Airport was one of the very first Australian airports to join the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme in 2012, and we are delighted by the number of Australian airports now participating in the programme,” notes airport CEO, Peter Pallot.

“By adopting an innovative and holistic approach to reducing our carbon footprint we were able to achieve carbon neutrality status in March 2017.

“It is a credit to the entire airport team that we not only reached the highest level of the programme, but one year on we remain the only airport in Australia at this level.

“We have worked hard to make Sunshine Coast Airport the most sustainable airport in the country and we are incredibly proud of our achievements under the programme.”

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GVK Power & Infrastructure has signed a concession agreement to operate India’s new international airport in Mumbai.

GVK, which spearheads the consortium that runs Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, has agreed a 30-year deal to operate Navi Mumbai International Airport.

The gateway, currently under construction on a 1,060 hectare site around 35km from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, is expected to open by 2020.

The concession agreement has been signed between Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL) – a special purpose vehicle set up for the project by GVK – and the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO).

GVK, through subsidiary, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), holds a controlling 74% stake in NMIAL while CIDCO has a 26% shareholding.

The initial concession period is 30 years, with the option for a 10-year extension.

MIAL’s executive chairman, Dr GVK Reddy, says: “We are delighted that GVK has the opportunity to yet again display its technical and managerial prowess in the airports sector after having created the award winning Mumbai airport.

“With the continued support of the Central government, the Maharashtra government, CIDCO and all our stakeholders, we are confident of creating and delivering the much needed second airport for the twin cities of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.”

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ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS CONTINUE TO SET NEW RECORDS Beijing Capital International Airport retained its status as the second busiest airport on the planet in 2017, handling 95.8 million passengers – just 8.1 million less than world No.1, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta.

The total, which ensured that it remained the biggest airport in the Asia-Pacific region, represented a 1.5% upturn on the previous year.

The region’s second busiest gateway, Dubai International Airport (DXB), accommodated 88.2 million passengers (+5.5%) to hold on to its title of being the world’s top airport for international passengers.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said: “It was a very successful year for DXB as we not only achieved robust growth in traffic to solidify our position as the world’s number one international airport, but also delighted

our customers with a range of new and exciting services and innovative products.

“We made passenger journeys through the facility smoother by reducing waiting times – by deploying cutting edge technology to track and manage queues in real time, as well as by enabling the use of Emirates ID at smart gates for UAE residents. With passenger traffic expected to reach 90.3 million in 2018, our focus in the new year will be on the DXB Plus programme, which aims to expand the airport’s annual capacity to 118 million passengers through process improvements and use of new technology.”

Elsewhere, Tokyo Haneda welcomed 85 million passengers (+7.4%); Hong Kong International Airport 72.9 million (3.3%), while Singapore Changi handled an all-time high of 62.2 million (6%). www.aci-apa.com

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BIG AND IMPRESSIVE Airport artwork doesn’t get much bigger than at Doha’s Hamad International Airport (HIA), which now boasts another giant sculpture to sit alongside its larger than life teddy bear.

The latest addition, SMALL LIE by American artist KAWS, towers above the ground and is a gift from the Qatar Museum as part of its commitment to making art available to all beyond the confines of a gallery.

Airport CEO, Badr Mohammed Al Meer, enthuses: “HIA’s space for public art is truly redefining the passenger experience.

“SMALL LIE is a monumental art piece.

Our operations team had to dismantle the airport façade at concourse D to handle the crates and we worked on the technical installation for several weeks.”

He adds: “We are preparing to handle 50 million passengers by 2022. The airport is thriving and is committed to giving transit travellers a memorable journey through arts and culture.”

Artworks on show at HIA co mprise a mix of site-specific creations and pieces which have been carefully selected for the airport, something the Qatar gateway feels “transforms the transportation hub into a large-scale gallery filled with breath-taking pieces of art”.

Its work of art include the iconic Lamp Bear by Swiss artist Urs Fischer; Oryx statues by Dutch artist Tom Claassen; and the Playground by American sculptor Tom Otterness.

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NEWS NEW PASSENGER TERMINAL AT TIRUCHIRAPPALLI Pascall+Watson has presented its vision and concept design for a new passenger terminal at Tiruchirappalli International Airport to India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Its scope for the 60,000sqm project at the Tamul Nadu located gateway includes architectural design, terminal planning and design co-ordination.

According to Pascall+Watson, the concept combines references from local heritage and culture with a contemporary architectural language, creating a sense of place and identity for passengers.

It adds that the terminal’s sustainable design maximises the use of natural light within the building and incorporates renewable energy measures, such as rainwater harvesting, ground source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels.

Due for completion in 2020, the airport will accommodate both international and domestic flights for over 3.5 million passengers each year.

The project complements the company’s portfolio of work in India, which includes the concept design of new terminals at both Trivandrum and Chaudhary Charan Singh international airports.

LEARNING FROM SWEDAVIA’S ENVIRONMENTAL EFFORTS Representatives from Singapore Changi, Singapore Airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore visited Stockholm Arlanda earlier this year to learn more about Swedavia’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of aviation.

The delegation was particularly interested in its investment on encouraging the use of bio-fuels, and their trip included a visit to the airport’s fuel depot to see how storage and refuelling with bio aviation fuel work in practice.

Over the past couple of decades, the air transport industry has made major progress in reducing fossil carbon dioxide emissions, APA Issue 1, 2018

becoming 70% more fuel-efficient in the last 40 years.

Swedavia buys the bio-fuel equivalent to the fuel consumed by its employees on 10,000 annual ‘business’ flights per annum and believes that bio aviation fuel is the key to the long-term sustainability of air travel. Its vision is for Swedish domestic air travel to be fossil-free by as early as 2030.

“It was an interesting visit, with a great many experiences exchanged concerning how we, as players, can work to reduce the environmental impact of the air transport industry,” said Swedavia’s sustainability and environmental manager Lena Wennberg.

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ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF NEW CHINESE ROUTE Sydney Airport has revealed that its new service from Zhengzhou in China will pump A$60 million into the local economy.

According to the airport, Tianjin Airlines’ new service from Zhengzhou will bring an extra 14,000 Chinese visitors annually to Australia and ensure “tens of millions of extra dollars” for businesses in New South Wales (NSW).

“This is a brilliant result for our state’s tourism industry and for the broader economy,” said Sydney Airport’s CEO, Geoff Culbert.

China is Sydney’s largest and fastest-growing inbound visitor market, and the Australian gateway has implemented a range of measures to enhance the experience of Chinese passengers, including by becoming the first organisation outside of greater China to use Baidu Maps, a popular mobile navigation service.

HUGE DEAL GUARANTEES FUTURE OF A380 Emirates has signed a contract for 20 additional A380 aircraft and 16 options, firming up the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was announced in January.

The total agreement for 36 aircraft is valued at $16 billion based on latest list prices and effectively guarantees the future production of the A380.

The deal was signed by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of the Emirates Group and Mikail Houari, president of Airbus Africa Middle East, under the watchful eye of the Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe.

Together with the airline’s 101-strong A380 fleet and its current order backlog for 41 aircraft, this new order brings Emirates’ commitment to the A380 programme to 178 aircraft, worth over $60 billion.

Sheikh Ahmed says: “This agreement underscores our commitment to the A380 programme, providing stability to the A380 production line and supporting tens of thousands of high-value jobs across the aviation supply chain.

“For Emirates, the A380 has been a successful aircraft for our customers, our operations, and our brand. We look forward to continue working with Airbus to further enhance the aircraft and onboard product.”

Airbus, which had warned that it may have to end production of the aircraft if a big new order didn’t come in soon, believes that the deal will ensure that it continues to produce the A380 for at least another ten years. www.aci-apa.com

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ACI ASIA-PACIFIC NEWS

Regional update

Vivian Fung rounds up the latest news from across Asia-Pacific in what has been a busy start to 2018 for the region.

Changi Airport Group’s CEO, Lee Seow Hiang, has agreed to step up from first vice president, and assume the role of ACI Asia-Pacific’s president for the remainder of Kerrie Mather’s term, following her decision to retire as managing director and CEO of Sydney Airport, earlier this year.

Mather, who has served on ACI AsiaPacific’s Regional Board since September 2011 and was elected president in April 2016 for a term of two years, meaning that her permanent successor will be appointed at the upcoming Regional Assembly, Conference & Exhibition in Narita, Japan.

Before leaving, the popular Mather noted that she had thoroughly enjoyed her time as president of ACI’s biggest, and arguably most dynamic region.

“It has been my honour and privilege to serve as president of the ACI Asia-Pacific Region,” she enthused.

“Airports play such an important role in driving our economies and creating jobs, through the growth in tourism and travel, and the significant investment in aviation infrastructure to support that growth and enhance the customer experience.

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“I feel enormous pride in our collective achievements and share your passion for our dynamic industry.

“It’s been a privilege to work collaboratively with you all to further our strategic goals for mutual benefit. I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to our members for their trust and support over the years.”

ACI Asia-Pacific’s regional director, Patti Chau, says: “On behalf of the Regional Board and ACI, I wish to thank Kerrie for her guidance, wisdom and strategic vision in leading ACI Asia-Pacific.

“We wish her the very best in her future endeavours. Together with the Board, we look forward to working closely with our incoming president, Mr Lee, in developing ACI Asia-Pacific to advance the collective interests of our members.”

The ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Board is a governing body which determines the overall development strategy of ACI AsiaPacific region. The Board is composed of 25 aviation business leaders across the Asia-Pacific region.

October 10-12 Small and Emerging Airports Seminar Langkawi, Malaysia

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

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April 23-25 Oct 31-Nov 1 ACI Asia-Pacific Regional The Trinity Forum Assembly, Conference Shanghai, China & Exhibition Narita, Japan

ACI ASIA-PACIFIC BOARD

PRESIDENT

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

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Vacant

SECOND VICE PRESIDENTS

REGIONAL BOARD DIRECTORS

Sheikh Aimen bin Ahmed Al Hosni* (Oman Airports Management Company, Oman) Badr Mohammed Al-Meer (Yangon Aerodrome Company Limited, Myanmar)

Fred Lam* (Airport Authority Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

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

PS Nair* (Delhi International Airport Limited, India)

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

SECRETARY-TREASURER

Kjeld Binger* (Airport International Group, Jordan)

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

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

Emmanuel Menanteau* (Kansai Airports, Japan)

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

Eric Delobel (Cambodia Airports, Cambodia)

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

Il-Hwan Sung (Korea Airports Corporation, Korea)

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

Dar-jen Tseng Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (Chinese Taipei)

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

Jianrong Wu (Shanghai Airport Authority, China)

Guruprasad Mohapatra (Airports Authority of India, India)

REGIONAL BOARD DIRECTOR (WBP)

ACK Nair (Cochin International Airport Limited, India) Futoshi Osada (Narita International Airport Corporation, Japan) Sasisubha Sukontasap (Airports of Thailand Public Co Ltd, Thailand)

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 March 2018.

* WGB member **Regional Advisor on WGB

The ACI Asia-Pacific region represents 106 members operating 603 airports in 49 countries and territories. www.aci-apa.com

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EVENTS 2018 2018

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ACI ASIA-PACIFIC NEWS CHINESE AIRPORTS PROVE PERFECT HOSTS FOR 2017 WBP AIRPORT TOUR

The sixth annual ACI Asia-Pacific World Business Partners (WBP) Airport Tour turned the spotlight on China with 12 delegates from seven companies visiting three airports in Southern China – Guangzhou Baiyun, Hong Kong and Shenzhen Bao’an – in three days.

Each day of the tour consisted of a meeting in the morning and an airport site visit in the afternoon.

During the meetings, the host airport was invited to deliver a presentation on their organisation and development plans followed by presentations from the WBP on their services and capabilities.

Day one was spent in Hong Kong where the group was welcomed by Airport Authority Hong Kong’s general manager for airport and industry collaboration, Henry Ma, who told everyone more about Hong Kong International Airport and its Third Runway Development Project (3RS).

The huge project includes a new passenger terminal, automatic people mover system (APM), baggage handling system (BHS) and the expansion of Terminal 2.

In the afternoon, the group had the chance to visit the Midfield Concourse and the Integrated Airport Centre.

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Day two was spent at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport. Shenzhen Airport Holding Company’s deputy secretary, Hsu Yan, met the group who then learnt about the gateway’s expansion plans from representatives of the Aviation Business Department and the Airport Development Project Command Post.

On the airport’s agenda are plans for a third runway and a new satellite concourse to ensure that Shenzhen Bao’an is better equipped for future growth. The group was taken for a guided tour of the terminal facilities in the afternoon.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport was the final destination. The group was welcomed

by Xie Bing Xin, chief economist of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co Ltd, and representatives of various departments provided briefings on the airport’s development projects.

These include the currently under construction Terminal 2, the planned T3 and fourth and fifth runways by 2025.

The group later had the opportunity to see some new terminal facilities and visited the T2 construction site.

ACI Asia-Pacific would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all three host airports for their warm hospitality.

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ACI ASIA-PACIFIC NEWS YOUNG EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

We are pleased to announce that Andrew Warrender of Northern Territory Airports Pty Ltd is the new ACI Asia-Pacific Young Executive of the Year for 2018.

He succeeds last year’s winner, Surabhi Rana, who is pictured above being congratulated by ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, at ACI Asia-Pacific’s 2016 Regional Assembly in Doha.

A total of nine submissions were received this year and the papers were reviewed by a panel of judges chaired by Emmanuel Menanteau, Co-CEO of Kansai Airports and secretary treasurer of ACI Asia-Pacific.

They concluded that Warrender’s submission demonstrated a substantial amount of research and provided thoughtful recommendations on an airport’s response to the trend of e-commerce.

ACI Asia-Pacific’s regional director, Patti Chau, said: “I would like to congratulate Andrew Warrender for his outstanding work on how airport commercial offerings can maintain competitiveness in the era of e-commerce. “His research also discussed case studies across different industries, which can serve as valuable references to the dynamic field of airport business.”

Honorable mentions were also given to Kyoji Fukuda of Narita International Airport and Manish Agnihothri of GMR Hyderabad International Airport.

The panel described their submissions as very comprehensive, noting that they shared unique insights on the topic.

The award presentation ceremony will be held on April 24, 2018, at the ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly in Narita, Japan.

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AERODROME CERTIFICATION COMPLIANCE AND AUDITING DNA SEMINAR

The ACI Developing Nations Airport Assistance Programme (ACI-DNA) organised a training seminar in co-operation with the ICAO in Nadi, Fiji, in January.

The event, the ACI-ICAO ‘Aerodrome Certification Compliance and Auditing’ DNA Seminar was organised with the support of the host, Airports Fiji Limited.

Twenty-one participants representing airports and civil aviation authorities from the South Pacific Islands, including the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu attended.

The five day seminar was conducted by ACI Instructors, Owen Ryan and Natrajan Chandra Sekhar, and gave participants the opportunity to discuss topics such as Safety Management Systems; Aerodrome Physical Characteristics; Emergency Planning; and Wildlife Hazard Management.

As part of the programme, participants were also given the opportunity to apply the different auditing tools and techniques they learnt in class during a visit to Nadi International Airport.On the last day, the participants made group presentations to share their analysis on audit findings and recommendations for follow-up actions.

For further information about ACI DNA, please visit the website at http://www.aci. aero/Services/NA-Assistance-Programme.

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REGION’S AIRPORTS RECOGNISED FOR THEIR GREEN SCHEMES FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT

We are pleased to announce the results of the ACI Asia-Pacific Green Airports Recognition 2018 scheme, which recognises airports’ outstanding achievements in their environmental projects.

After much deliberation of the 19 entries, the panel of judges concluded that recognition will be awarded to the following airports: Over 35 million passengers per annum: • Platinum – Hong Kong International Airport • Gold – Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport • Silver – Indira Gandhi International Airport

Between 15 to 35 million passengers per annum: • Platinum – Auckland Airport • Gold – Abu Dhabi International Airport • Silver – Kansai International Airport

Less than 15 million passengers per annum: • Platinum – Adelaide Airport • Gold – Rajiv Gandhi International Airport • Silver – Christchurch International Airport

“I am pleased to see more participating airports this year and more airports being recognised.

Congratulations to all of them,” enthused ACI Asia-Pacific’s regional director, Patti Chau.

“The submissions will be a great contribution to the Green Airports Recognition 2018 publication, which shares best practices. In addition, it will be considered for the ICAO Eco Airport Toolkit for waste management at airports.”

The international panel of judges included Christopher Paling, a senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Centre for Aviation, Transport and the Environment (CATE); Christopher Surgenor, editor/publisher of GreenAir Online; Juliana Scavuzzi, ACI World’s aviation environmental specialist; Dr Panagiotis Karamanos, an aviation environmental consultant; and Patti Chau, ACI Asia-Pacific’s regional director.

Paling noted: “It is interesting to see what airports in this region are doing. There are a lot of excellent projects as the submissions show.”

The awards presentation ceremony will take place on April 24, 2018, at ACI Asia-Pacific’s Regional Assembly in Narita, Japan.

The Green Airports Recognition was established by ACI Asia-Pacific with the support of the ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Environment Committee.

Its objective is to promote environmental best practices to minimise aviation’s impact on the environment and to recognise ACI Asia-Pacific airport members who have outstanding accomplishments in their environmental projects. www.aci-apa.com

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AIRPORT REPORT: TOKYO NARITA

Tokyo rising NAA’s president and CEO, Makoto Natsume, talks to Joe Bates about Narita International Airport’s growth, development and expansion plans ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

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ith passenger traffic reaching an all-time high in 2017, a new 3,500m runway and extended operating hours for flight arrivals and departures recently receiving the green light, and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo just around the corner, these are heady times for Narita International Airport.

Although the anticipated late 2020s opening date for the new runway means that it won’t come in time for the Olympics, the longer operating hours will play a crucial role APA Issue 1, 2018

in helping the gateway, and indeed the city of Tokyo, accommodate the tens of thousands of extra passengers and hundreds of additional flights that Narita expects to handle during the build up to, during and immediately after the summer games.

The planned expansion of its second runway, 16L/34R, which is set to be extended by 1,000 metres to 3,500m, is expected to be completed at the same time as the third runway.

The bigger picture, however, is that the airfield enhancements and longer operating hours – finally approved in mid-March 2018

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MILESTONE YEAR

Looking back at the last 12 months, Natsume describes 2017 as a good year with some “significant milestones”, which included handling more than 40 million passengers per annum for the first time.

He notes that in July the airport handled its one billionth passenger since opening and that NAA’s incentive packages for new routes led to the addition of a handful of new international services.

These included Mexico City (ANA), Shanghai (Jetstar Japan) and Melbourne and

Kona (Japan Airlines), while Jetstar Japan also expanded its domestic network with the addition of a new service to Miyazaki.

The new routes mean that a total of 18 cities in Japan and 112 across the globe are currently served from Tokyo Narita, and the list will grow in 2018 with the launch of new services to Vienna (Austrian Airlines), Montréal (Air Canada) and Nadi (Fiji Airways).

Natsume also points out that the airport introduced a number of new IT driven initiatives in 2017 that were designed to make using Narita quicker and easier for passengers.

And he believes that several new additions to Narita’s retail and food and beverage offerings will help boost passenger satisfaction levels and the airport’s commercial revenues.

“We have worked hard to expand non-aeronautical revenues while improving customer convenience and comfort through a number of different initiatives,” enthuses Natsume.

“These included the trial introduction in March of self-service bag drop kiosks for international flights at Terminal 1, which was a first in Japan. August saw the opening of new universal design toilets at Terminal 2 and a Visitor Service Centre at Terminal 1.

“We opened the first Arrivals duty-free shops at a Japanese airport from September, and a number of new duty-free outlets from November onwards that included Bottega Vaneta and some bookstores airside in Terminal 1.”

TRAFFIC GROWTH

The airport recorded its sixth successive year of air traffic growth in 2017, in the process exceeding the 250,000 aircraft movements mark for the first time.

Natsume attributes the upward traffic trends – Narita handled 251,639 aircraft movements in 2017 – to the airport’s expanding route network, and in particular the growing attraction of Japan to visitors from China, South Korea and Hong Kong.

And such is NAA’s confidence in the tourism and business appeal of Tokyo and Japan that it www.aci-apa.com

AIRPORT REPORT: TOKYO NARITA

by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as well as Chiba Prefecture and local municipalities surrounding the airport – will actually extend the life of the airport by allowing it to grow and accommodate more passengers and international traffic in the future.

The measures – the airport’s operating hours are set to be extended by 2.5 hours a day so that flights will be able to take off and land from 5am to 12.30am – will help raise the number of aircraft movements annually at Narita from 300,000 to 500,000.

It is the first time the airport’s 6am to 11pm operating hours have been changed since its 1978 opening and, theoretically, should allow the gateway to handle up to 75 million passengers per annum.

If the projected growth rates prove accurate, the airport, which handled a record 40.7 million passengers (+4.3%) last year, is anticipated to reach this figure sometime between 2032 and 2048.

Makoto Natsume, president and CEO of airport operator, NAA, called the capacity enhancing decisions an “historic moment” for Narita, which is located about 60 kilometres from downtown Tokyo.

Talking about the difference the new runway and extended operating hours could make to Narita, Natsume told Asia-Pacific Airports (APA) magazine: “Approval for the third runway and the easing of night-time restrictions, could increase the airport’s capacity by at least 50%.”

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AIRPORT REPORT: TOKYO NARITA

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

is predicting that Narita will handle 43 million passengers, 270,000 aircraft movements and 2.1 million tonnes of cargo in 2018.

Natsume says that open skies agreements and the Japanese government’s decision to relax the visa requirements for many foreign countries, in line with its goal of attracting 40 million overseas tourists annually by 2020 and 60 million by 2030, have boosted numbers.

He also reveals that Japan’s low-cost carriers (LCCs) have proved the catalyst for growth in the domestic market, with ANA subsidiary Vanilla Air, and Japan Airlines (JAL) owned Jetstar Japan, leading the way.

“On domestic routes, the recent rise of the LCCs has been striking, with Narita also cultivating new markets,” says Natsume. “We are conscious of them being a key partner supporting the growth of Narita. The full service carriers are still the dominant players in the domestic services and on short-haul flights in Asia, but both offer exceptional scope for expansion.

“Thanks in particular to LCCs based at Narita, the number of cities serviced by domestic routes operated from Narita Airport has grown from 9 in October 2011 to 18 today.”

Natsume believes that the LCCs have helped transform Japanese attitudes to air travel since entering the market in 2012, driving down air fares and encouraging more Japanese to travel than ever before.

APA Issue 1, 2018

Indeed, NAA built its own dedicated budget facility, Terminal 3, in a bid to boost its appeal to the LCCs, and the tactic appears to have worked as the complex, which opened on April 8, 2015, is now served by five budget carriers – Jetstar Airways, Jetstar Japan, Jeju Air, Spring Japan and Vanilla Air. “Both domestic and international fares have become dramatically cheaper since the entry into the market of the LCCs, and this has uncovered a vast new demand for travel in Japan,” says Natsume.

“At Narita Airport, we expect the LCCs to form the core of the potential future expansion in domestic flights and short-haul routes in Asia.

“By becoming an LCC hub and seeking to expand the domestic network and short-haul routes in Asia, Narita is striving to further increase passenger numbers through stronger networks that integrate demand for transfers from regional flights to international services, as well for connecting flights to regional destinations in Japan, from the growing number of overseas visitors to Japan.”

The biggest airlines serving Tokyo Narita today in terms of market share are ANA, JAL, Jetstar Japan, Vanilla Air and United, while the most popular routes, based on aircraft movements, are Seoul Incheon, Sapporo New Chitose, Hong Kong, Taipei Taoyuan and Honolulu.

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

HIGH-TECH AIRPORT

Narita’s reputation for operating a technologically advanced airport is probably well deserved, and Natsume reveals that there

www.aci-apa.com

AIRPORT REPORT: TOKYO NARITA

The major airline alliances are also well represented at Narita with Star Alliance (33%), oneworld (25%) and SkyTeam (17%) all enjoying a healthy market share.

But it hasn’t been all good news for Narita as Natsume admits that the airport has experienced a decline in transfer passengers over recent years. NAA attributes the decline to “strategic shifts by airlines and increasing direct Asia-North America services by US airlines spurred on by advances in aircraft materials and rising aviation demand accompanying rapid economic growth in Asia’s major cities”.

Natsume, however, stresses that NAA is actively working to ensure that Tokyo Narita remains an important airport for US airlines and a key hub between North America and Asia.

are two main drivers behind its IT philosophy – the desire to raise customer service standards and Japan’s declining birth rate.

“The growth in demand for air travel combined with Japan’s declining birth rate and aging population means that we anticipate difficulty in recruiting our future workforce,” says Natsume.

“In the circumstances, labour savings by automation and mechanisation will be an essential part of overcoming this problem. We plan to make use of IT to operate with a smaller workforce at Narita Airport.

“This will take the form of introducing automated check-in kiosks and bag drops, installing cutting-edge security screening equipment and using robots to provide passengers with assistance and information.

“We also plan to increasingly rely on innovation rather than conventional methods to enable passengers to travel with greater convenience and to provide a more valuable customer experience.”

He says that Narita International Airport will facilitate Fast Travel strategies and harness IT to improve safety, convenience and efficiency with the focus on five key areas – clear signage; common use self-service kiosks; common-use bag drops; smoother, more advanced security screening; and improved pre-boarding waiting environments.

And it will include robots, with trials of a handful of robotic technologies having already taken place at the airport. They include the use of HOSPI, an autonomous vehicle developed for the medical industry, that can move around buildings on its own making deliveries.

“NAA is collaborating with manufacturers on the testing and development of multilingual customer assistance robots equipped with artificial intelligence as well as mobile robots that will escort passengers to their desired facility,” says Natsume.

“Robots for security, cleaning and other activities are also being considered and we believe that Narita Airport will be able to demonstrate the world’s most advanced technology at home and abroad when it welcomes visitors to the nation in 2020.”

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AIRPORT REPORT: TOKYO NARITA TERMINAL VELOCITY

Although the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo is still a couple of years away, passengers passing through Narita’s Terminal 3 could be forgiven for thinking that they were already here courtesy of the innovative, ‘running track’ style interior design of the complex.

Indeed, colour coded tracks circuit the entire facility – red lanes are for arriving passengers and blue ones for departing visitors – and are designed to aid wayfinding and provide visitors with a “comfortable walking experience” through Narita’s LCC terminal.

A series of icons stencilled in the lanes provide additional information such as the distance to other terminals, directions to nearby restaurants and shops and where to find outside transport options.

And just like in real athletic stadiums, the running tracks are made of a rubber mulch, only in Narita’s case it has been used to make long walking distances more comfortable for passengers.

The running track design ensures something a little different at the airport’s newest terminal, which is fairly basic in its design and features based on the requirements of the LCCs. As a result, the terminal has no moving walkways or illuminated signs other than APA Issue 1, 2018

FIDS boards and is quite minimalistic in its fixtures and fittings.

It is, however, certainly not lacking in style due to a number of trendy and comfortable seating areas, designed

by Japanese homegoods brand MUJI, which NAA wanted to help create “chic simplicity” and a positive impression of the budget terminal.

“I would like to say that the Olympics were the inspiration for the interior design of the new terminal, but to be honest with you, it was all to do with budgets,” says Natsume.

“The focus on reducing the terminal’s costs necessitated a signage plan that did not rely on suspended illuminated signs, and given that the low ceiling reduces visibility, it was decided to use floor signage instead to provide clear guidance throughout the building.

“The advantage of the universally recognisable running track design is that anyone is able to instinctively find the right direction.”

These are exciting times for Tokyo Narita, and with recent events seemingly securing the mid to long-term future of the airport, it is definitely on the right track.

APA

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CUSTOMER SERVICE: ASQ AWARDS

Leading the way

Indian airports shine as Asia-Pacific airports hold on to the top spots in all the global best airport by size categories in ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) customer satisfaction awards, writes Joe Bates.

A

host of first time winners and new names taking the honours in the coveted categories for passengers handling over 40 million passengers per annum arguably make the 2017 results of ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) customer satisfaction survey the most exciting and unpredictable in years.

The one constant, however, was the continued dominance of Asia-Pacific’s airports, with the region’s gateways winning all the global best airport by size categories.

And 2017 proved to be a very good year for India’s airports, which picked up three of the six global best by size awards, one second place and two joint third places.

Mumbai-Chhatrapati Shivaji and DelhiIndira Gandhi airports arguably led the way for India, scooping joint first place in the world for airports handling over 40 million passengers a year, narrowly beating China’s Beijing Capital and Shanghai Pudong into second place and Taipei Taoyuan in third.

The Indian gateways also couldn’t be separated for the honour of being the Best Airport in the Asia-Pacific Region, although Mumbai-Chhatrapati Shivaji was the sole winner in the Best by Size and Region category in Asia-Pacific for airports handling over 40mppa.

APA Issue 1, 2018

Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport finished top of the pile in the global 2-5mppa category and HyderabadRajiv Gandhi International Airport triumphed in the global 5-15mppa where fellow Indian gateways Cochin, Kolkata-Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Pune finished joint third.

Equal first in the global 15-25mppa category was Bali’s Denpasar–Ngurah Rai International Airport and China’s Haikou Meilan and Sanya Phoenix airports.

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport finished second and fellow Indian airport Chennai, and Indonesia’s SurabayaJuanda International Airport, were third.

There was a true multi-national feel to the roll of honour’s in the global 25-40mppa category led by China’s Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, which finished top, followed by Seoul-Gimpo in South Korea and Japan’s Tokyo-Narita in third.

Chongqing Jiangbei repeated its global success in the 25-40mppa category in the Best by Size and Region section for Asia-Pacific, as did Lucknow, Hyderabad and Denpaser in their respective categories.

Talking about Mumbai-Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport’s triple ASQ success in 2017, Dr GVK Reddy, chairman of GVK, which spearheads airport operator, MIAL, said: “We

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

CUSTOMER SERVICE: ASQ AWARDS

Global Best Airport by Size Over 40 million pax per year First place

Second place

Third place

Delhi

Beijing

Taipei Taoyuan

Mumbai

Shanghai Pudong

25-40 million pax per year First place

Second place

Third place

Chongqing

Seoul Gimpo

Tokyo Narita

First place

Second place

Third place

Denpaser

Bangalore

Chennai

15-25 million pax per year

Haikou

Surabaya

Sanya 5-15 million pax per year First place

Second place

Third place

Hyderabad

Balikpapan

Cochin

Hohhot

Kolkata Pune

2-5 million pax per year First place

Second place

Third place

Lucknow

Guayaquill

Bandung

are delighted to win these awards. When we took over the operation of the airport in 2007 its ASQ score was 3.53 and in under ten years has risen to around 4.99 out of a maximum of five. This is testimony to the quality of service provided by over 30,000 odd members of the airport community to 46 million travellers in 2017. This includes everyone from Customs, Immigration and airline staff to the F&B/retail operators, housekeeping and maintenance units and our employees.

“Our mission is to constantly raise the bar and create new benchmarks day after day. So, going forward, we will continue to strive harder and innovate through technology enabled services to delight our travellers.”

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While Delhi International Airport (DIAL) CEO, I Prabhakara Rao, called his gateway’s awards “profoundly gratifying”, stating that they reflected DIAL’s strong focus on operational efficiencies and resilient approach towards service delivery.

“Despite phenomenal year-on-year passenger growth, DIAL has once again consolidated its position on the word aviation map,” he enthused.

“Winning the coveted world number one award is the natural outcome of the focus, dedication, self-belief and hands-on leadership of various partners of Indira Gandhi International Airport. This is a historic moment not only for DIAL and IGIA but for the entire nation.” www.aci-apa.com

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CUSTOMER SERVICE: ASQ AWARDS

Best Airport by Region (over 2 million pax per year) ASIA-PACIFIC First place

Second place

Third place

Delhi

Beijing

Sanya

Mumbai

Denpaser Haikou Shanghai Pudong

MIDDLE EAST First place

Second place

Third place

Abu Dhabi

Amman

Dubai

Medina

Talking about Hyderabad International Airport being ranked best airport in the world handling between 5-15mppa for the second year running, GMR Group’s airports chairman, Srinivas Bommidala, noted that the gateway has now won the award four times and always ranked among the top three.

He said: “This is a recognition of the collaborative work of all stakeholders at Hyderabad Airport. I applaud the efforts made by employees of GHIAL and that of the entire airport community.

“As we witness robust traffic growth, we look forward to a strong collaboration and support of all airport stakeholders and partners.

“We are embarking on the expansion of Hyderabad Airport, which will not just provide the necessary infrastructure boost to facilitate high air traffic and passenger growth, but also a delightful passenger experience with the right fusion of technology and a human touch.

“As custodians of the national asset, we stay committed towards nation building by providing adequate capacity for aviation growth and the adoption of the latest global technologies.”

Other regional ASQ successes included Abu Dhabi retaining its title of Best Airport in the Middle East. Amman–Queen Alia and Medina’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz APA Issue 1, 2018

Best Airport by Region (under 2 million pax per year) ASIA-PACIFIC

Indore

Best Airport by Size (Asia-Pacific) 2-5 million passengers per year

Lucknow

5-15 million passengers per year

Hyderabad

15-25 million passengers per year

Denpaser

25-40 million passengers per year

Chongqing

Over 40 million passengers per year

Mumbai

Best Airport by Size (Middle East) 5-15 million passengers per year

Medina

Most Improved Airport ASIA-PACIFIC

MIDDLE EAST

Ahmedabad

Dubai

finished second, with Dubai International Airport taking third.

Tibah Airports operated Medina, however, become another of the first time winners by topping the 5-15mppa group in the By Size and Region for the Middle East.

Sofiene Abdessalem, managing director of Tibah Airports Operation Co, remarked: “We are proud to receive the ASQ award that ranks Medina Airport’s customer experience among some of the best airports in the world.

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CUSTOMER SERVICE: ASQ AWARDS

“It’s an important acknowledgement of the commitment of the entire Tibah team and all our strategic partners, and it is one that we should be proud of and must continue to live up to.”

The company added that the award is one among many that strengthens Medina Airport’s global standing as a world-class and top ranking airport.

Also tasting the winning feeling for the first time were the Indian airports of Indore-Dev Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport and Ahmedabad–Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, which triumphed in the regional categories for best airport in Asia-Pacific handling less than 2mppa and the Most Improved Airport, respectively.

Referring to his airport’s success, acting CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports, Abdul Majeed Al Khoori, said: “We are honoured to have received such a high accolade for the second consecutive year.

“We consider the ASQ awards to be a key indicator of our performance and success as they are a transparent reflection of what our passengers think of us and our services.

“I am personally extremely proud of our team, our stakeholders, and all the entities operating at the airport, as I know the challenges they are going through day and night, yet they never fail in exceeding expectations, and delivering a world-class gateway for the capital of the UAE. “I look forward to their continued commitment, and drive to excel, as we embark on the next phase in our transformation journey.”

GLOBAL PICTURE

Top spots for airports handling over 40mppa in North America and Europe also went to first time winners in the shape of Toronto Pearson and Rome Fiumicino respectively.

Other first time winners in 2017 included Newcastle (Best by Size and Region for Europe in the 2-5mppa category); Athens (Best by Size and Region for Europe in the 15-25mppa category); Casablanca (Best in Africa over 2mmpa); and George (Best by Region under 2mppa for Africa).

The Most Improved Airport by Region category produced three other first time winners in addition to Asia-Pacific’s Ahmedabad – Belo Horizonte (Latin America-Caribbean), Cleveland (North America) and Zagreb (Europe).

Indeed, this year an unprecedented sixteen airports are first time winners, challenging best-in-class airports in the delivery of top-quality customer service.

According to ACI, this “phenomenon reflects the increasingly competitive airport industry operating environment, where continuous service improvement is a key ingredient in business performance. Airports make the customer experience a high priority.”

ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, says: “Objective measurement and benchmarking are critical in driving performance in any business especially in such a competitive and dynamic one as an airport.”

“These winning airports have dedicated themselves to delivering a stellar customer experience.

APA

www.aci-apa.com

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SPECIAL REPORT: CONNECTIVITY

Making the right connections

ASM’s Nigel Mayes and York Aviation’s James Brass tell us more about the economic and social benefits of route development.

R

oute development is the most important activity an airport can undertake, for without air services, an airport is just a strip of concrete.

The key asset of all airports, air services define gateways and bring economic and social benefits to the serving city and region, whether as a catalyst for direct new foreign investment, tourism growth or enabling migration flows.

This article identifies where the traffic growth in Asia is expected to occur in 2018 and what type of economic and social benefits might be generated.

Finally, as the stakes have become higher, we look at how airports are investing in the route development function to ensure that APA Issue 1, 2018

they maximise the economic and social benefits from their networks.

BOOMING ASIA-PACIFIC

According to IATA, the Asia-Pacific region is forecast to be the largest travel market on the planet by 2036, by which time it is expected to account for around 40% of the world’s passenger traffic.

This should be no surprise though, as Asia-Pacific’s GDP is expected to grow by 3.9% annually over the next 20 years, as the share of the world’s GDP is projected to rise from 33% to 40% by 2036.

These top line statistics demonstrate the link between economic growth and passenger growth and a relationship, which is two-way. Other drivers for growth have

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SPECIAL REPORT: CONNECTIVITY

been liberalisation, new aircraft technologies and the successful evolution of new airline business models.

Annual capacity growth provided by the low-cost carriers continues to outstrip the total regional growth of 10% per year, with a 22% annual increase on average.

Looking at seat capacity growth for 2018 v 2017, the three countries with the largest rise in seat capacity are: India, China and Indonesia, with nearly 4.6 million extra seats between the three country markets, providing growth of 13%, 2% and 6% respectively (see table below).

For all three markets, additional domestic seats account for a significant proportion of this growth. In China, domestic seats account for around 44% of the total,

compared to around 90% in India and 80% in Indonesia.

If we look at China alone, of the 13 million additional seats, six million are domestic, and the next largest growth is to Thailand with 2.4 million seats. Thereafter, it is Cambodia with 550,000 and the US with 400,000. For Thailand, the increase in Chinese visitors will prove a major boost to tourism revenues.

It is interesting to see the US as the third largest country market where there has been an increase in seats from China. Many Chinese cities outside of the main hubs are now being connected to the US direct, and three of the largest increases in capacity from Chinese carriers for 2018 are connecting so called secondary cities: Qingdao – LAX (Xiamen Airlines), Chengdu

Top 3 Country Markets by Volume Growth 2017 Seats

2018 Seats

Difference

% Change

INDIA

180,061,604

203,846,588

23,784,984

13%

CHINA

726,973,612

739,909,856

12,936,244

2%

INDONESIA

161,092,080

170,243,722

9,151,642

6% www.aci-apa.com

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SPECIAL REPORT: CONNECTIVITY

– New York (Hainan Airlines) and Shenzhen – LAX (Air China).

Similarly, some US cities are achieving direct services to China for the first time.

Atlanta, for example, is to be connected to Shanghai from July 2018.

The economic benefit of connecting two cities from two economic giants such as China and the US is huge, Chicago O’Hare estimated that the launch of Hainan Airlines between O’Hare and Beijing would generate $85 million in economic impact.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS OF ROUTE DEVELOPMENT

This wave of connectivity growth in three of Asia-Pacific’s fastest growing and most significant economies will bring with it far reaching economic and social benefits.

Growth in capacity will fuel pure passenger demand growth at airports, creating jobs in a wide variety of different companies, ranging from the airport operators themselves to airlines, retailers, ground handlers, maintenance and engineering firms and others.

These jobs will provide wages and salaries to individuals and the chance to increase profits for companies, ultimately growing the direct contribution of air services to GDP. These initial direct impacts will ripple out into the wider economy through supply chain effects and income expenditure effects, supporting growth across a wide range of economic sectors, again increasing employment and GDP, and enabling increased productivity and standards of living.

However, this economic boost from increased activity in the aviation sector itself is very much only part of the story. As economies grow and move up the development curve, there is a shift in why airports and growing air services are economically important.

In countries with significant excess labour or where the skills-base is relatively APA Issue 1, 2018

low, the provision of jobs at airports, and in their supply chains, can be vitally important.

Nevertheless, as productivity rises, this shifts and the economic importance of airports becomes much more about what they can do for passengers in terms of connecting them to new markets, new destinations and new opportunities.

In other words, economic effects become more driven by the connectivity an airport offers, which is clearly strongly linked to its route network. This is increasingly what we see in the Asia-Pacific region.

As airports and their supporting economies develop and the connectivity they offer grows and becomes more refined, they become powerful facilitators of trade in all of its forms, both domestically within geographically large countries, such as China, India and Indonesia, and internationally.

Air services enable people to travel to make deals; compete in new markets; service customers; invest or to manage their investments; access new suppliers and new partners; acquire knowledge; meet colleagues from across the world; or simply to visit a new place (tourism is ultimately a form of trade).

Trade is at the heart of growth in the modern world economy. It enables

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ASM

ASM provides data, consulting and training to airports, governments and airlines across the globe. It was the original business that developed the Routes events, now the world’s largest commercial gathering of airports, airlines, tourism authorities and governments, where the world’s future route networks are decided.

Nigel Mayes is ASM’s SVP for consulting and product development.

SPECIAL REPORT: CONNECTIVITY

comparative advantage and leads to specialisation and, ultimately, helps to facilitate a more efficient allocation of resources globally that builds prosperity.

Route development and, increasing connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region, needs to be viewed in this context. China, India and Indonesia are already significant forces in international markets and further connectivity growth will enable them to reap further benefits, even where domestic connectivity is a primary focus.

Growth in domestic connections will ultimately improve the functioning of their domestic economies, increasing efficiency and productivity through internal trade.

The scale of these types of effects is often difficult to assess, but research by a range of organisations in recent years has suggested that a 10% increase in connectivity relative to GDP could result in around 0.5% increase in total GDP. This suggests that route development in 2018 could support $16 billion in GDP growth in India, $11 billion in China and $3 billion in Indonesia.

The scale of these impacts helps to explain why route development is so important for airports and the regions they serve.

Connectivity matters in the modern world because trade matters in an increasingly globalised economy, and the economic benefits that can be secured are truly significant.

ROUTE DEVELOPMENT FUNCTION

The scale of benefits has meant that attracting new air services is the single most important function an airport can undertake, and over the last 30 years they have begun to realise this and the route development function has become more sophisticated in many ways.

Gone are the days that an airport marketing team was responsible for creating a paper timetable and finding out what new business they have received from the slot submissions for the next season.

Route development teams now require specialist skills in data mining, research, traffic forecasting, accountant management, marketing B2B and B2C (digital, social, content, traditional), PR, procurement (and legal), sales and negotiation.

The market leaders in route development, the airports winning the Routes Awards, have account management structures and plans, sophisticated traffic forecast models, developed brand identities and built consumer databases.

And they use them effectively, employ social media and content marketing to communicate key messages and drive engagement.

These airports will have sales teams that are tenacious, skilled negotiators, with an ability to build relationships and execute the right deal for all parties.

To ensure an airport maximises its route development potential and in turn the economic and social benefits, it needs to make route development its number one priority.

YORK CONSULTING

UK based York Aviation has developed into one of the leading consultancies in Europe specialising in assessing, understanding, capturing and communicating the economic impact of air services and air service connectivity.

James Brass is a partner based at the company’s Leeds HQ. www.aci-apa.com

APA

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SPECIAL REPORT: CONNECTIVITY

On the surface Improving surface access is a commercial and environmental challenge facing airports across the globe, write ICF’s Angus Reid-Kay and Rob Rushmer.

T

o focus on airlines and the development of an airport’s route network would provide only a partial view of a gateway’s connectivity. This is because surface access matters, and failure to meet demand on the ground can hamper growth.

Airports know and understand this, but worldwide they face an emerging 21st century challenge: how to balance their service, commercial, cultural and sustainability objectives.

The aviation industry tends to think of the passenger’s journey as being from airport X to airport Y. We spend most of our time monitoring the activity of airlines and modelling the movement of aircraft, passengers and cargo around our network of regional and global airports.

Arguably, we spend less time focussing on the passenger’s surface journey to and APA Issue 1, 2018

from the airport. In most cases, that infrastructure is outside the airport’s control – whereas the air journey is fully within it, so a focus on air connectivity is understandable, but it is not forgivable.

Whether going on holiday, visiting family and friends or a business trip, every passenger’s journey begins and ends at home. And, although journeys vary and might involve a taxi, hire car or public transport, they inevitably include a trip to the airport or train and/or bus station, potentially weighed down with luggage, and likely stress.

The surface journey at both ends features large in the passenger’s planning. Who has not been more stressed worrying about an on-time arrival at the airport to catch the flight, than an on-time departure once safely through security?

Airports are somewhat unusual businesses in that the customer is not

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

parking a private car, to drop off by taxi, which has the advantage of likely also taking a different passenger from the airport, to private drop-off, being the least sustainable as it necessitates two vehicle journeys for every one passenger journey.

In geographies that historically have prioritised the private vehicle, either through practical necessity or as a perception of personal aspiration, this trend requires that the passenger’s journey through the public transport network, likely carrying luggage on and off trains and buses, is simplified and eased.

How, therefore, have airports tackled this challenge? The world is perhaps too full of mixed success stories. Arguably, the most successful examples are in AsiaPacific where certain states have either a natural geographical advantages that encourage the widespread uptake of public transport (Hong Kong, for example), and/or, they have avoided the US and European historical legacy of seeing the private car as an aspiration.

The most recent example of the addition of a new rail link to an airport is the Soekarno-Hatta Airport rail link in Jakarta, Indonesia, where road access to the airport has been notoriously difficult.

The new rail link, which opened in late 2017, offers a 55-minute journey to central Jakarta compared to an unpredictable two hours that a car journey may take.

And the government is now contemplating extending the high-speed rail network to serve the airport. www.aci-apa.com

SPECIAL REPORT: CONNECTIVITY

entirely theirs. At the airport, the passenger interacts with the airline, the airline’s agents, the airport’s retailers, or the state’s border authorities. Outside the airport, the passenger might interact with the stateprovided transport network.

However, surface connections at the airport – most notably the final mile, set down, car parking or train or bus station interface – present one of the few passenger touchpoints that the airport can fully control.

It is therefore very important for the airport to get it right: to gift the passenger a good experience and memory of the airport.

It is also a commercially important touchpoint, and in some regions the most important for the airport.

North America in particular is exposed to the commercial impact of a reduction in private car related income with around 40% of non-aeronautical income derived from the use of a private car, but its geography makes it more challenging to put in place public transport alternatives.

Conversely, for example, Hong Kong has a natural geographical advantage promoting the use of public transport.

However, in a time of increasing focus on climate change, airports worldwide are, through preference or legislation, having to manage a modal shift away from private to public transport as a means of accessing the airport.

This can clearly create commercial tension.

From an environmental perspective, there is a clear order of preference for access from public transport as the most sustainable, long-term solution, through

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Less successful has been the city of Toronto’s efforts to encourage passengers onto the Union Pearson Express (UP Express), linking Union Station in downtown Toronto to Pearson International Airport.

Following lukewarm interest from the private sector, it was eventually built by the government and, despite high customer satisfaction, low patronage has allegedly led to significant tax payer subsidy.

On the other hand, the newly opened and high-performing rail link at Taoyuan International Airport (Taipei) is on track to wash away any negative connotations relating to the long roll-out of the project.

After all, the express service reaches downtown Taipei in 35 minutes and offers check-in and baggage check services at stations along the route.

Maybe the UP Express will attract passengers in time and perhaps the delayed opening of the Taoyuan rail link will be forgiven, but the greatest success story must be the Hong Kong Airport Express. The challenges of excavating through mountains, navigating Victoria harbour and linking with the airport on reclaimed land were overcome by advanced planning by the government majority owned MTR Corporation.

On top of the seamless connectivity the rail link adds to the Hong Kong mass transit railway’s (MTR) network, the Airport Express offers a higher service standard than commuter lines, as well as check-in at Hong Kong and Kowloon stations.

Although it must be noted that despite the comfort, reliability and convenience of the Airport Express, as well as Hong Kong’s APA Issue 1, 2018

natural geographical advantage, the rail link still only captures just over 20% of the market to and from the airport, perhaps demonstrating the difficulty of satisfying the wide-ranging needs of individuals connecting to an airport.

Nevertheless, the success of Hong Kong has led the MTR Corporation to recently announce that it is contemplating backing rail links into Heathrow in the UK. However, for all the successes of Hong Kong, Asia-Pacific can also experience difficulties realising projects successfully.

The Delhi Airport Metro Express was meant to be, and may yet be, a world-class system linking Indira Gandhi International Airport with the New Delhi Metro station connecting the airport into the rail network.

Originally constructed as a public-private partnership (PPP) project, it was beset with technical challenges, opened late, and was eventually nationalised, being operated today by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

Global experience offers successful and unsuccessful examples of public transport links to airports. Cultural expectations play a part, as do the challenges or advantages of the particular geographies.

It is however likely, that as global initiatives in the 21st century increasingly prioritise impacts to climate change, all airports will become more involved with their surface access and the use of public transport.

In doing, so they can take greater control over a key customer touchpoint, but must balance that with the commercial needs of an evolving range of nonaeronautical incomes.

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Time for change?

ACI director general, Angela Gittens, provides her thoughts on the allocation of slots at airports and considers how the system could be improved to ensure the most efficient use of a scarce resource.

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CI’s World Airport Traffic Forecasts 2017–2040 projects that global traffic will double by 2031. Traffic demand is growing (4.5% average annual growth rate 20162040), aircraft operations are forecast to double in about 20 years, and already many airports are congested with demand far exceeding the available capacity.

As of November 2017, 189 Level 3 or slot co-ordinated airports were listed and 122 Level 2 airports (the lesser congested, schedule managed airports with some peak congestion). Indeed, all regions across the globe are concerned by this challenge.

According to IATA forecasts, there could be 100 more co-ordinated airports in the next 10 years (2017-2030).

Consequently, the management of airport capacity, which includes slots allocation, is essential to ensure efficient access to airports’ infrastructure and resources.

Airport slots are specific points in time allotted for an aircraft to land or take off at an airport. Where the demand for slots at a particular airport exceeds the available supply, the airport can be considered ‘capacity-constrained’, at which time, a ‘slot allocation’ process is implemented.

Airport congestion leads to delays and a deterioration in the quality of the service and passenger experience. It can also APA Issue 1, 2018

reduce competition since it is difficult for new carriers to enter an already full airport.

This gives increased market power to incumbent airlines and, potentially, means higher fares for passengers.

However, the premium enjoyed by incumbent airlines at congested airports is not reflected in aeronautical charges. Rather those same airlines fiercely ask for stricter airport charges regulation, and stronger control on investment, which are often the primary obstacle to reducing congestion by modernising the infrastructure.

This could also explain the incumbents’ reluctance to meaningful reform of the slot allocation system, as enshrined in the IATA Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG) and, in some instances, incorporated into local regulations or national laws.

In 2015, ACI created an Expert Group on Slots (EGS). The EGS develops worldwide airport policy on slots, acting with the ACI regions.

EGS works to promote a paradigm change of the current allocation system whereby airport operators must play a leading role in the efficient allocation of slots to airlines as they are best placed to define airport capacity for runways (aircraft movements), terminals (passenger movements) and aprons (number of aircraft parking stands), in consultation with air

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traffic controllers and other appropriate stakeholders as necessary.

In order to ensure this paradigm change, however, there is a need to review the current WSG, starting by reviewing the objective of airport co-ordination.

This would mean abandoning the view that co-ordination is meant to simply achieve the “maximisation of benefits for the greatest number of airport users” (Preface WSG Edition 8).

Rather, a new model of global guidelines should aim at achieving the “maximisation of benefits for the stakeholders in airport co-ordination and the passengers they serve”.

This crucial change in perspective would contribute to identify the most appropriate tools and procedures to ensure that slots are allocated to the airline that can better achieve the above-mentioned objective.

Indeed, the basic principles of airport co-ordination included in the WSG were developed in the mid-70s and still apply today, with timid changes over the years.

At the time of the development of these guidelines, international air traffic was dominated by the so-called ‘flag carriers’ that were wholly or mostly government-owned. While most airports were government owned and regarded as public infrastructure.

The interests were solely focused on the benefits of the national airline. Therefore, the principles for the allocation of scarce airport resources were developed by publicly owned airlines under the umbrella of IATA, while the public interest and influence was safeguarded by national governments’ participation in the ownership of the air carriers.

However, the structure of the industry under which the principles of slot co-ordination were developed has changed fundamentally over the last twenty-five years. This was mainly driven by the liberalisation of the sky with the resulting competitive pressures transforming both airlines and airports alike.

The divesture to the private sector of governments’ stakes in the airline and airport sector has been a compelling solution to energise and diversify supply in order to meet the increasing demand for travel.

Furthermore, the low-fare business model successfully emerged, with new airlines competing strongly with the established carriers.

Airports have also developed as businesses in their own right as public financing has run out to be replaced by significant amounts of private investment in airports. www.aci-apa.com

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SPECIAL REPORT: CONNECTIVITY

Airports make substantial investments to improve the service they offer to airlines and passengers, and they have a vested interest in making sure that slots are allocated in the most efficient way.

Despite the important role played by the WSG to ensure a level of consistency at global level in the slot allocation system, the increasing level of congestion at airports and the fundamental changes in the aviation industry, call for a wider discussion about alternative methods to allocate slots.

With this objective in mind, the Strategic Review of the WSG engaging ACI with IATA and the Worldwide Airport Coordinators Group (WWACG) was started. This was an ACI initiative at the 39th ICAO Assembly in October 2016 and represents a first global test to improve the global slot allocation process in a fully inclusive manner.

ACI supports any measure that can improve the efficient use of limited airport capacity to the benefit of the community, airlines and airports.

Airport operators wish to promote the greatest possible efficiency in the use of their infrastructure, which implies the allocation of slots to the airlines that value them most, and will fully use them, according to the allocation outcome.

Under the current WSG and national legislations, the non-utilisation or under utilisation of allocated slots has no or little consequence for airlines, which results in a negative economic impact for the community and the airport operator, as well APA Issue 1, 2018

as potential adverse consequences to competition at the airport.

Better defining an airport slot would require interpreting it as both a permission and as an obligation for the aircraft operator to use it at a certain time, with proportionate sanctions for misuse, which could include removal of slots as extreme remedy.

There are several areas that, from an airport industry perspective, would deserve further analysis, including market mechanisms such as codified secondary trading, new charging mechanisms, or auctioning.

Among others, a higher level of transparency should be achieved in understanding how slots are allocated, especially as long as secondary criteria are applied.

Transparency implies that whenever a slot co-ordinator approves a request for a new slot by applying what IATA calls “additional criteria�, the co-ordinators should make transparent the criterion used.

Ideally airports should be consulted by the co-ordinators about requests for slots before the initial co-ordination is started.

If the airport operator is aware of the request, it could more effectively provide relevant information to the co-ordinator to facilitate the best allocation possible, thereby increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the total infrastructure.

This is a winning scenario for the travelling public and the community at large.

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Towards Tokyo 2020 Amadeus IT Group’s Sarah Samuel considers how technology will help Tokyo’s airports cope with demand during the 2020 Olympic Games.

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he 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo represents a significant opportunity for the city and for Japan.

The eyes of the world will turn to Tokyo as athletes from across the globe compete for gold while the potential for Japan to showcase their most modern and complex metropolis is huge.

Done right, the Olympics could result in new and repeat visitors returning to the country for years to come, as well as greater prominence and recognition on the world stage.

For airports, the Olympics also represents a once in a lifetime passenger surge, as hundreds of thousands of officials, athletes, VIPs, venue operators, and, of course, spectators descend upon the country.

Larger and fuller aircraft will arrive with more passengers for processing. Airlines will increase the frequency of flights to meet demand, and airlines which traditionally do not fly to Japan may temporarily offer ad-hoc flights there for the length of the Olympics.

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This means more aircraft for stands, refuelling, and baggage processing.

VIPs and athletes will also put additional strain on security as they are moved through terminals.

Managing this inundation of travellers will be a substantial challenge. Airports will face passenger numbers that they may not see again prior to another decade of growth; almost all arriving and departing within the space of a month, as attendees at the games move in and out of Japan.

USING OFF AIRPORT CHECK-IN TO MEET DEMAND

A natural and steady rise in passenger numbers can be met incrementally with investment in additional infrastructure and systems. However, a brief, yet unparalleled spike in traffic, like the one which will accompany the Olympic Games, requires a different approach.

Permanent infrastructure cannot be developed to meet a temporary influx, which may not be repeated in terms of passenger numbers for ten years to come.

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WHY WE MUST THINK BEYOND THE AIRPORT

Therefore, meeting the challenge of the Olympic Games requires airport operators to think beyond fixed infrastructure.

Airports must think outside of the box and outside of the airport to meet the demand with new and innovative solutions.

Off airport check-in is one such solution. Currently being trialled in Australia in partnership with Virgin Australia, Off Airport Check-In Solutions (OACIS) allows passengers to perform check-in and bag drop securely, outside of the airport.

This is achieved via ‘pop-up’ check-in desks and bag drops, which can be placed at downtown hotels, at conference venues, cruise ship terminals or sporting events.

Off airport check-in is not entirely new, Hong Kong International Airport has offered downtown check-in at select MTR stations, which connect to the Airport Express, for some years now.

However, where OACIS differs is in flexibility and portability.

Using Amadeus cloud technology, OACIS requires very little equipment to

No matter how durable on-site airport solutions may be, they still feature the limitations of being contained at the airport.

For example, Auckland Airport’s recent investment in mobile check-in kiosks has allowed the airport to roll out additional kiosks based on demand.

During passenger surges, new kiosks can quickly and easily be deployed to meet the influx of passengers, which can then be removed when the surge is cleared.

Singapore Changi Airport’s new Terminal 4 features significant investment in biometrics to streamline the airport experience, moving travellers through the terminal using biometric tokens. This helps to reduce processing times and results in greater efficiency.

However, the limitation of these systems is that travellers must still be at the airport to use them. Passengers must still arrive at the terminal, queue, drop their bags, and be processed there. It does not alleviate the issues associated with using the airport as the sole point of check-in and bag drop.

This is where services such as OACIS can assist. Like how online check-in removes the need for travellers to check-in at the airport, OACIS removes the need for both check-in and bag drop to be performed at the airport. This reduces pressure on airport systems by allowing processes to take place elsewhere.

BENEFITS FOR TRAVELLERS AND TOKYO

For many travellers, the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will form fond, life-long memories.

People from across the world will www.aci-apa.com

SPECIAL REPORT: CONNECTIVITY

operate. All that is needed is a computer terminal, printer, scanner, and baggage processing staff to move bags from the pop-up location to the airport. All communications are handled either via a WiFi or 3G/4G connection.

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SPECIAL REPORT: CONNECTIVITY Tokyo Narita’s Terminal 3 is the airport’s dedicated low-cost carrier facility.

remember where they were in Tokyo when their home country, sports icon, or idol secured the gold or was beaten by a quarter of an inch at the finish line.

More moments such as this are enabled by removing the hassle of luggage. If a traveller can drop their baggage at an off airport check-in location at their hotel or a central location such as Shinjuku Station or the Tokyo Dome, then they are then free to explore and enjoy Tokyo for longer, prior to their flight.

Instead of manoeuvring their luggage through the busiest metropolitan area in the world or going straight to the airport to avoid the hassle, travellers can now spend more time in the city centre. There, they can shop, eat, or visit a sporting event, which they may not have otherwise had the capacity to visit.

This gives travellers a greater experience, increases tourist spend for the Japanese economy, and relieves stress on airports as travellers spend less time at the terminal and more time in the city.

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THE NEXT STEP FOR AIRPORTS

When speaking to Matt Lee, CEO of OACIS for this article he said: “Traditional solutions are still based on the premise that you must come to the airport to check-in and bag drop.

“The minute you sever ties with that traditional thinking, you can think, if you choose to do it (off airport check-in and bag drop), where do you do it? You then open up a whole new world.”

In the lead-up to the upcoming passenger surge of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, airports in Japan much re-evaluate their traditional systems, and look for new ways to manage the influx of travellers.

By thinking outside of the box and outside of the airport, airports in Japan can leverage innovative solutions such as off airport check-in and bag drop to meet the demands of travellers and offer the best possible Olympics experience. APA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah Samuel is Amadeus IT Group’s head of airport IT for the Asia-Pacific region.

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SECURITY

Smart security

Jerome de Chassey, Smith Detection’s vice president for Asia-Pacific considers how smarter checkpoints can improve security efficiency and the passenger experience.

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n the face of increasing passenger numbers, new regulations and ever-evolving threats, airports are constantly challenged to maintain operational and security effectiveness whilst striving to improve efficiency and the overall passenger experience.

This demands smarter and more complex checkpoint solutions to deliver on all levels.

From the introduction of the first automated baggage sorting systems in the 1990s to recent advances in biometrics, risk-based assessment and, of course, the ‘smart’ checkpoint, technology has transformed the airline industry at an extraordinary pace.

Smiths Detection understands the requirements and challenges of the passenger checkpoint and have gained unrivalled expertise over the last four decades of supplying efficient and effective screening technologies to airports all over the world.

Leveraging our in-depth knowledge, we are focused on developing smart checkpoint solutions to help solve three critical issues faced by airport operators: security, efficiency and the passenger experience.

Our checkpoint solutions deliver the highest levels of security and the most APA Issue 1, 2018

advanced combination of exceptional detection performance; low false alarm rates; and fast belt speeds.

As they are modular in design, our solutions can be tailored to individual requirements and upgraded to meet changing criteria or evolving threats and regulatory requirements – making them a future-proof and cost-effective option.

Productivity, increased throughput and reduced costs all contribute to optimum operational efficiency. Thus, it is insufficient for checkpoint systems to solely provide outstanding security; it must also be flexible enough to support passenger growth and allow airports to operate profitably.

The latest fully-integrated and connected checkpoints can capture data before, during and after the screening process, as well as deliver actionable insights on passenger traffic to support resource deployment decisions.

CREATING A SMOOTHER, FASTER PROCESS

Airports are constantly looking to create a better passenger experience at security checkpoints by reducing queuing times while improving screening process and passengers’ interaction with staff.

To create a smoother and faster process for passengers, airport operators can turn to some of the latest innovative technologies and designs that can easily handle passenger volumes larger than predicted for

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People screening is another core checkpoint component. Smiths Detection’s eqo people screening system with automatic detection uses flat panel, millimetre-wave technology to locate concealed threat objects.

Passengers simply hold their arms away from the body whilst completing a turn in front of the scanning panel. The display monitor can be seen by both passenger and operator and, for privacy, uses the same generic outline of a person for every scan.

Once the scan is completed, results are presented immediately so people can be cleared in a matter of seconds.

Any potential threats are marked in the appropriate position on the silhouette image allowing for a fast and efficient, directed search – eliminating the need for full body searches, which have been proven to be very unpopular with both passengers and operating staff alike.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR SECURITY CHECKPOINTS?

The focus will remain on creating an environment where everyone will be checked and screened quickly with minimum inconvenience and within a process which operates at optimum efficiency.

Computed Tomography (CT) scanning is just arriving at the checkpoint and it is expected to offer many benefits and drive automation and efficiency. The development and testing of the next generation of systems incorporating CT is already underway, with risk-based security at the centre of emerging concepts.

Using screening technologies, which focus on aviation’s primary threats combined with the risk assessment of passengers and their travel characteristics, the checkpoint will become yet more flexible.

With risk based concepts, technologies and processes advancing at such an impressive rate, we can look forward to a APA radical transformation in air travel. www.aci-apa.com

SECURITY

peak periods, hence keeping the length of queues under control.

For example, Tokyo’s Narita International Airport relies upon Smiths Detection for cabin baggage and people screening equipment. Similarly, Kansai International Airport and Haneda Airport have also deployed solutions such as the advanced checkpoint lane solution, iLane, as well as the innovative people screening system, eqo, at the checkpoints.

Over 25 million visitors entered Japan last year and this number is expected to rise dramatically with the upcoming Rugby World Cup in 2019 as well as the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games in 2020. Therefore new technologies are vital to keep passengers moving, however busy the checkpoint is, whilst maintaining the integrity and quality of the security system.

An effective lane with a tray handling system is a primary checkpoint component.

By delivering a steady flow of trays, it plays a critical role in ensuring an effective screening process and delivering the subsequent benefits of increased throughput, lower per capita costs, and improved passenger experience. iLane has been designed to eliminate bottlenecks, keep queues under control and the system moving. This means that operators can expect key advances such as parallel divest, a completely different approach to preparing passengers for the screening process; automatic diversion, which efficiently separates suspicious baggage from the main conveyor; and an automated tray return to eliminate the need to transport trays manually.

The high level of automation leaves operators free to focus on the passengers, getting them ready for screening and keeping the whole process moving. This, in turn, will increase the number of people screened per hour, reduce the screening cost per head and allow passengers to travel quickly through security checkpoints.

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DESIGN & BUILD

Bahrain International Airport Gulf gateway’s eagerly awaited new terminal to open in 2019.

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he key project of its $1.1 billion Airport Modernisation Programme (AMP), the new terminal at Bahrain International Airport is expected to prove transformational for the Gulf gateway when it opens for business in 2019.

Four times the size of the terminal it is replacing, it will have the capacity to serve 14 million passengers per year and, according to Mohamed Yousif Al-Binfalah, CEO of Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), it is set to make a big impression on passengers.

“Our new terminal won’t be the biggest in the region and we will never become the biggest airport, but I assure you that it will allow us to provide an exceptional passenger experience in terms of efficiency, comfort and technology,” he enthuses.

“I promise that the new terminal building will be very special and position APA Issue 1, 2018

KEY FACTS LOCATION: AIRPORT: PROJECT:

PRICE TAG: DELIVERY DATE: KEY PLAYERS:

Kingdom of Bahrain Bahrain International Airport New terminal and associated infrastructure $1.1 billion 2019 Bahrain Airports Company (BAC), ADP Ingénierie (ADPI), Hill International, Arabtec, TAV Construction, Fraport

the airport to be at the forefront of providing an exceptional passenger experience for all.

“We are creating a boutique airport in the sense that passengers will feel the difference when they arrive here and experience our facilities as compared to others. Walking distances will be short, processing times quick and easy and customer service standards high.”

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provide comprehensive Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) consulting services for the new passenger terminal.

The contract also covers the airport’s new apron area, fire station, fuel farm and aircraft maintenance facilities.

Under the terms of the deal, Fraport, is providing its full range of ORAT services bundled in three consulting phases, running over 32 months and requiring a total of 4,700 project man-days.

Dr Stefan Schulte, Fraport AG’s executive board chairman, stated: “The size and scope of this consulting project underscores the Bahrain Airport Company’s commitment to developing Bahrain as a leading international aviation gateway in the years to come.

“Not only is this our largest ORAT contract to date, it is our most comprehensive – whereby we will be delivering operational readiness services and solutions before, during and after the inauguration of Bahrain’s new terminal.”

The new terminal project is primarily being funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), an autonomous organisation set up to help countries achieve “sustainable socio-economic growth”.

Al-Binfalah adds: “We firmly believe that the project we are currently managing at BIA will completely transform our industry and be one of the most important platforms for economic growth in Bahrain’s aviation history.”

“Once completed, it will revamp all aspects of the airport’s operations to accommodate the growing demands of today’s travellers, who will be passing through a state-of- the-art airport four times its current size, catering to 14 million passengers each year. This will make the AMP a major contributor to Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030.” www.aci-apa.com

DESIGN & BUILD

Also on the agenda as part of the AMP are plans to enhance the airfield and add new facilities ranging from a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) base, fuel farm, fire rescue station and two multi-storey car parks to a central utilities centre and new power substations and water treatment plant.

Indeed, such is the size of the project that BAC is effectively building a new gateway on the existing airport site and Al-Binfalah expects that it will transform the airport and people’s perceptions of it.

The 201,000sqm complex will boast a 4,600sqm Departures Hall, centrally located 9,000sqm retail, duty free and F&B zone area, five E-gates for arriving passengers and a host of new airline lounges as well as unique facilities such as a national museum and art gallery.

Al-Binfalah says BAC wants the onekilometre long building to be Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified by the US Green Building Council.

ADPI won the international tender to design the terminal and supervise its construction. Hill International is the programme manager. BAC is overseeing the project on behalf of the airport owner, Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications.

A joint venture between Dubai-listed Arabtec and Turkey’s TAV Construction is building the new passenger terminal at Bahrain airport.

China’s CIMC has been awarded a contract for the construction of the terminal’s airbridges; Vanderlande will supply the baggage handling system (BHS); L3 Communications is to provide its security screening equipment; and, Finland’s Kone will provide its horizontal and vertical transfer systems.

BAC will be helped in its task by Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide, which has signed a multi-year contract to

APA

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE

Asia-Pacific Airports reports on the latest industry and World Business Partner news from across the region’s airports.

NEW SMARTGATES INTRODUCED AT DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Dubai International Airport (DXB) has become the latest gateway to introduce Automated Border Control SmartGate technology, which it is confident will offer passengers a state-of-the art border control experience and enhance the immigration security process.

Designed by Vision-Box and partner Emaratech, the ground-breaking project includes the development, delivery and maintenance of a new generation of multimodal biometric passenger flow solution, comprising 122 SmartGates, deployed across all three terminals at DXB. The SmartGates – commissioned by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) – provide a speedy self-service transaction by way of multi-biometric verification, sustained by passport, Emirates ID and SmartGate cards authentication.

Brigadier General Talal Al Shanqiti, assistant director General for Ports Affairs at the GDRFA in Dubai, says: “The installation of the new smart gates in the Terminal 1 arrivals area is part of an integrated development project to provide passengers with facilities and services that make their travel through Dubai International quick and easy.

“Passport control is a critical process as part of which maintaining a high level of security is our top priority. This new system helps us strike a balance between achieving that objective while also ensuring a better experience for the passengers through speed and efficiency.”

Vision-Box claims that the new SmartGates exhibit a “stunning, exclusive design, remarkable ergonomics and attention to detail, perfectly fitting and adding on to the airport’s carefully thought interiors”.

CEO, Miguel Leitmann, adds: “The project is a perfect combination between a robust border control strategy and orientation to service excellence. It brings together state-of-the-art border security technology, the most modern human-machine interaction and a magnificent design.

“We are happy to provide such a top-notch experience for passengers travelling through Dubai and to be trusted by GDRFA and Emaratech for this cutting-edge project.”

The Emirate’s other gateway, Dubai World Central–Al Maktoum International Airport, will get its own SmartGates in the near future. www.aci-apa.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

Growth and innovation

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SECTION TITLE INDUSTRY NEWS

WBP PROFILES

VANDERLANDE WINS BHS CONTRACT FOR TAOYUAN’S NEW TERMINAL 3 Taoyuan International Airport Corporation has awarded Vanderlande a contract to supply a state-of-the-art baggage handling system (BHS) at its new terminal.

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s new Terminal 3, scheduled for completion in 2020, will ensure that it is equipped to meet rapidly rising demand for the foreseeable future.

For this project, Vanderlande has formed a consortium with its local partner Kenmec to deliver a BHS capable of accommodating up to 19,200 bags per hour.

At the current time, TTIA’s two existing terminals (T1 and T2), are operated individually without a connection between the two systems. However, upon completion of T3, all three terminals will be connected with Vanderlande’s automated individual carrier system (ICS) – TUBTRAX. This, says Vanderlande, will result in a significant improvement to TTIA’s operational efficiency and tracking accuracy, as well as enhancing the experience for passengers.

Vanderlande’s solution in T3 will comprise 206 check-in counters distributed over six islands. Baggage will be transferred from the check-in area via the transport conveyors connected to four tilt tray sorters located at the main baggage hall.

Bags will then pass through security screening before transfer to either the designated make-up carousels, EBS (early bag store) area, or other terminals via TUBTRAX. “We are delighted to be awarded the TTIA T3 project,” says Vanderlande’s executive vice president for airports and Board member, Andrew Manship. ”This project will be an important step in developing Vanderlande’s ICS capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region, and we look forward to delivering this project successfully.”

TTIA is expecting to handle 60 million passengers by 2030.

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PACCAYA Location: Hong Kong, China Contact: Andrew Ford, president E: andrew.ford@paccaya.com W: www.paccaya.com Paccaya Resources Ltd is a Hong Kong based company, specialising in advisory services for companies associated with the travel sector and, in particular, as it pertains to generating commercial value from tourism and airport concessions. For airports, the Paccaya team specialises in analysing the commercial revenue generated from airport concessions (general and duty-free retail, F&B, advertising, currency exchange, etc), comparing the results to international benchmarks (peer group airports), and advising on short and long-term improvements and planning. Additional areas of expertise include concession planning, alternative models of duty free management, tender planning and promotion, assessing potential bidders.

SUZUOKA CO. LTD Location: Tokyo, Japan Contact: Kouji Samejima, director of General Administration Department E: headoffice@suzuoka.co.jp W: www.suzuoka.co.jp Suzuoka, an airport signs specialist has provided design, manufacturing, installation, and repairing of visual guidance equipment and displays to over 60 airports both in Japan and abroad since 1960. The policy of the company is to handle the visual guidance as an integral part of the total airport system, working together with other equipment and facilities in the airport.

APA