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02Investment Priorities
As airports strive to increase capacity, improve operational performance and boost the passenger experience, a number of technologies are expected to play a role in the short and long term.
The technologies expected to make the biggest impact for airports in the next 12 months are:
%
Machine learning
%
Digital payments
%
Data analytics
%
Cloud computing
%
Biometrics
Looking out over a five-year horizon this picture changes, as data analytics (34%) drops out of the top five, to be replaced by extended reality,
or mixed reality applications. Cloud computing and biometrics both increase in relevance over this longer horizon.
The technologies expected to make the biggest impact for airports in the next five years are:
%
Cloud computing
%
Machine learning
%
Extended reality
%
Biometrics
%
Generative artificial intelligence
Over the coming year, airports are betting on digital transformation. From cloud computing to digital payments, machine learning and data analytics, airports are now embracing new technologies more commonly found in other sectors of the economy.
A quiet transformation is underway.
This is visible when working with the industry. Airports are prioritizing data management and aiming for
operational improvements that better information can help deliver. For example, airports are increasingly
capturing data relating to their passenger service points like check-in, bag drop, and boarding.
Analyzing this type of information helps airports in a number of areas.
Pro-active troubleshooting:
Airports can spot issues when things go wrong. For example, perhaps passengers are dwelling too long at the self-serve check-in kiosks and the kiosk user experience could be improved.
Optimize resources and improve forecasting:
By understanding patterns of asset usage, airports can ramp up or down based on an accurate understanding of what’s needed. For example, perhaps only half of an airport’s security lanes will be needed today, and others can be placed on standby to reduce costs.
Spot baggage hotspots:
Amadeus is working with airlines and airports to predict where baggage mishandling is likely to occur with machine learning. This helps the industry take proactive steps to address mishandling before it happens.
Improve collaboration:
An airport working with Amadeus identified that passengers were connecting through the airport, but ultimately their destination was New York. This insight was used to work with the airport’s largest airline to open new direct international flights to the city.
Airports are extremely complex operational environments with many moving parts.
Holger Mattig
SVP Product Management, Airport and Airline Operations, Amadeus
Airports are focused on implementing the following capabilities in the next 12 months:
%
Data analytics for insight
into key airport processes
%
New technology for
improved airport operations
%
Improved data sharing
with airline partners
%
Moving passenger processing to the
cloud for more flexible services
%
Billing and contracting software to
bill airlines more accurately
When it comes to specific on-going implementations, researchers found that airports are focused on data analytics, new technology for operations and improved data sharing with airline partners, as well as moving passenger processing to the cloud and implementing new billing and contracting systems.
It’s particularly interesting to note that a third of airports said they are currently improving data sharing with their airline partners. This has long been an objective across the sector, as common information shared among stakeholders contributes to a common situational awareness, smoother operations and improved passenger services.
By sharing basic, aggregated, passenger information airlines can help their airport partners deliver improved outcomes. For example, if the airport and ground handler know how many passengers are arriving on a flight and the passengers’ onward connections, they can allocate the aircraft to a convenient gate. This can reduce passenger connection times in the terminal, avoiding delays for the departing flight and reduce missed connections for passengers.
There are many interesting examples where airlines and airports can share information in a compliant manner that can lead to better overall outcomes. Disruption is a particular case in point, which this report will address in subsequent sections.
Airports are focused on implementing the following capabilities in the longer-term (more than 12 months):
%
Ultralight passenger
processes e.g., mobile
phone + biometrics for check-in
%
More advanced and collaborative
technology at the APOC
%
New technology for
airport operations
%
Improved data sharing
with airline partners
%
Technology to improve
sustainability of the airport
While it’s interesting to see airports implementing analytics, cloud passenger processing and operational software in the short-term, it’s respondents’ longer-term plans that are particularly enlightening.
Ultralight passenger processes’ came top, with 44% of airports considering this approach. Here, passengers can check-in and drop their bags using only a mobile phone and present their face for a biometric check. For passengers that choose this advanced approach, check-in desks and kiosk fade into the background.
This type of innovation is of particular interest to airlines that are seeking to become modern retailers and to simplify the airport experience wherever possible.
A recent pilot of digital ID conducted by IATA, British Airways and ten partners, including Amadeus, shows what this future will be like.
During this trip, travelers chose from a range of personalized airline offers. Following selection by the passenger, a single order record was created. The passengers chose to share their digital passports in a digital wallet on their phone with British Airways and received a ‘ready-to-fly’ confirmation via text message. Those passengers that opted to share their biometric data with British Airways in advance were also able to pass through every airport service point including check-in, bag-drop, lounge access and boarding ‘handsfree’, that is without needing to present paper documents.
Our vision for future travel is fully digital and secured with biometric identification.
While the technology exists to do this at each stage of a journey, linking these steps together has up to now proven challenging. Today with our partners we showed that we can. And that will open up a world of possibilities for simpler journeys in the future.”
Nick Careen
SVP for Operations, Safety and Security
Amadeus
As an airline, we are always innovating and looking at ways to make the customer journey as seamless as possible.
We introduced biometric boarding on selected flights earlier this year and it has been a huge success with positive customer feedback. Working with IATA on enabling a fully integrated travel journey helps us build on that and shows us what could be possible in the future.”
Dirk John
Chief Information and Digital Officer
British Airways
Airports are also intending to implement more collaborative technologies at the Airport Operations Centre, or APOC. This is encouraging to see as thereis a significant opportunity to improve how the aviation sector handles irregular operations.
When disruption occurs airlines and airports need to be in constant contact to fit airport capacity to evolving airline plans. Today, this interaction is largely manual, relying on phone calls and emails. But APOCs are now beginning to overhaul their technology.
Dynamic dashboards covering key metrics, like runway capacity, turnaround efficiency and on-time performance provide a real-time view of airport capacity and performance. By drawing on third-party data streams, airports can see the likelihood and potential impact of impending bad weather before it happens.
But perhaps most importantly, they can make all this information available to their airline and ground handling partners through collaborative platforms like Microsoft Teams. This brings key stakeholders together around shared metrics so better decisions can be made more quickly and more collaboratively. It’s a step-change from the fragmented systems and legacy communications channels typically in use today. It’s encouraging to see such a large number of airports planning to improve APOC integrated solutions.
Collaborative platform technology is used across many industries to help different stakeholders deliver an overall operational process.
Holger Mattig
SVP Product Management, Airport and Airline Operations, Amadeus
