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How smart airports will transform the passenger experience

Air passenger traffic is set to double in the coming decades. Meeting that demand, and ensuring that customer experience is enhanced, will require cutting-edge solutions.

Challenge

Improve airport shopping experience

Airports are challenged to create new ways to engage consumers and appeal to their uniqueness. In a world where interactive and virtual reality experiences are the norm, airports would be remiss if they failed to provide consumers a highly realistic immersive shopping environment. By providing this type of experience, airports can deliver a powerful and lasting impression.

According to Nigel Dolby Consulting, missed opportunities in airport shopping and dining could result in up to $35 billion worth of lost sales a year.

Maximizing the media mix to reach the maximum number of consumers can help address this. Airports must ensure they provide consistent branding and messaging throughout the passenger journey.

Challenge

Manage growing traffic

Passenger and cargo air traffic are estimated to grow substantially through 2037. Air traffic infrastructure will follow suit and is expected to grow and modernize to meet airline and passenger demand. Is airport infrastructure able to meet this congestion of people and aircraft?

Adding new terminals and airport infrastructure takes years of planning and construction so airports require a plan to manage this increase in traffic in the meantime. Technology enables airport operators to find new ways to support expected growth to meet passenger and cargo traffic. And, an improved passenger experience is a hallmark marketing strategy of the airports of tomorrow. Busy markets with multiple airports have the most to gain by appealing to the airlines customer.

Forward-looking facilities, like the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, exploit digital technologies to enhance the end-to-end travel experience.

Hartsfield-Jackson… and other airports like ours will always be looking for opportunities to make our best better and take the passenger experience to new heights.

Dawn Gregory

Director of Innovation and Performance, Hartsfield-Jackson

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Challenge

Optimize infrastructure and maintenance

Most airport infrastructures are aging and been challenged by the boom of traffic around the world. According to IATA analysts, airlines, passengers and cargo need safe, functional and affordable airport infrastructure for their operations to thrive. Global airport infrastructure development is expecting to represent a US$1.2-1.5 trillion spending by 2030.

To do maintenance properly, they need to identify failure cause–effect, recognize when maintenance are beginning to deteriorate, make informed short and long-term decisions about maintenance and be knowledgeable about repair techniques. They also need to be able to address special considerations related to their airport's operating environment.

The Operations and Maintenance divisions must execute tasks round the clock, and as both divisions’ tasks are interdependent, it is imperative that team members can effectively work together towards common goals. As most tangible assets are spread across different environments, the airports must actively monitor these assets to maintain them at an optimal level of use and ultimately enhance the passenger experience

Becoming a smart airport is not about technology per se. It’s about how airports apply data generated by sensors that are part of a smart airport’s infrastructure.

Aneil Patel

Air Policy managing director of Washington, DC-based Airports Council International (ACI)

Challenge

Maximize revenue

Passengers wait on average more than two hours at the airport and spend about an hour of that time waiting in line. Instead, that time in line could be driving more revenue from shopping or dining. Efficient end-to-end processing helps maximize revenue opportunities from airport shopping and dining by allowing planners to reduce waiting time by about 30% without incurring additional costs.

End to end processing includes automated planning of all fixed resources. With full visibility and automated control of all resources such as airport gates, check-in counters, and baggage conveyor belts, airport planners can better allocate them. Planners can fit specific airline preferences, further streamline passenger flow and support higher passenger traffic.

By anticipating higher traffic and providing a world-class experience, airports can draw more passengers resulting in higher revenues.

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