Future airports

Ron Reed,
SITA Airport Services

The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing were a reminder of how much the world has changed during the last two decades. The world has grown smaller, bringing people closer together. Air travel has also changed, becoming the primary means by which people travel vast distances. The air transport industry (ATI) will be even more critical in the future as it helps sustain the global economy.

With this in mind, the ATI will have to rely on advance technology and communications solutions to handle the steady rise in passenger traffic and to resolve many of the challenges it faces today, such as congestion at check-in and security, lack of predictability, flight delays and mishandled baggage.

The adoption of new and proven technologies will not only address these issues but will fundamentally change the way airports operate.

New IT solutions will bring transformational possibilities to future airports

Because of the rapid adoption of 2D bar codes, new mobile applications and the Internet, most passengers will consummate check-in before ever reaching the airport. Passengers will be able to tag their own luggage at home, using off-the-shelf inactive bag tags, making it convenient to drop off their bags upon reaching the airport before proceeding to their departure gate.

Airport check-in halls will be filled with kiosks and bag-drop stands only.  Check-in kiosks will be used for 'exceptions' and incorporate multi-functional services for ancillary revenue generation or dispensing money (in different currencies) similar to the ATMs of today. 

Mini 'virtual' airports will be established away from the traditional airport campus. Premium passengers will park their vehicles at an off-site facility, drop off their bags, and validate their travel documents and authorization before boarding a ‘secured’ bus that will take them directly to their departure gates on the airside of the airport, bypassing check-in halls and security checkpoints.

With information technology such as biometrics, RFID and 2D barcodes, airports and airlines can now envision these virtual check-in facilities that will alleviate congestion at check-in and security, reduce mishandled bags and improve predictability from parking to planeside.

According to the SITA Airport IT Trends Survey 2008, nearly 100% of airports provide wireless communication infrastructure and most travellers now carry a mobile device. Thus, the groundwork has been laid for advance mobility-services offerings. Wireless devices of the future will include location-based technology such as GPS (e.g., Google g-Phone, Apple i-Phone, etc.), leading to improved passenger tracking, notification services (e.g., flight delays, gate changes, lounges, etc.) and advertisements for discounts or sales at retail shops throughout the airport. 

Mobile devices will also permeate the airport’s workforce, leading to better and faster communication. SITA anticipates that non-weather related flight delays will be a thing of the past. Stakeholders will embrace new collaborative decision-making tools and leverage emerging communication infrastructure, such as Wimax, providing more accurate and timely data. This will make takeoff and landing more efficient, reducing flight delays, fuel burn and unnecessary taxi times. Airlines, ground handlers and airport staff will all use some sort of personal digital assistant (PDA) device, bundled with industry applications for recording and reporting information pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight.

Advance technologies coupled with changes in business processes will relieve the anxiety and stresses related to air travel and simplify the business.

The above developments are just a glimpse of the many possibilities the future of air travel will hold. As the ATI continues to evolve and embrace emerging technologies, existing business processes will improve, potentially eliminating bottlenecks and constraints.

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