Asia-Pacific Airports - Issue 1, 2021

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF ACI ASIA-PACIFIC

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: CARGO & LOGISTICS

Issue 1, 2021

Issue theme: Cargo Airport report: Bahrain & Anchorage Plus: ACI Asia-Pacific, Industry & WBP news www.aci-asiapac.aero

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CONTENTS 6. VIEW FROM THE TOP

Director general, Stefano Baronci, reflects on how ACI Asia-Pacific has stepped up its efforts to support its airport members and World Business Partners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

8. INDUSTRY NEWS

We salute the region’s ASQ customer experience award winners and cover the latest news from across the region.

10. REGIONAL UPDATE

Communications manager, Samantha Solomon, rounds-up the latest news and developments from ACI Asia-Pacific.

14. WELCOME TO THE FUTURE

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Bahrain Airport Company CEO, Mohamed Yousif Al-Binfalah, tells Joe Bates more about what passengers can expect from the airport’s new state-of-the-art terminal.

20. DELIVERING THE GOODS

Editor, Joe Bates, reports on the 2020 performance of the region’s leading cargo hubs and the key role they are playing in helping distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.

26. ADVANTAGE ANCHORAGE

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport enjoyed a record breaking year for cargo and has some ambitious plans to enhance its freight facilities, writes marketing and communications manager, Eland Conway.

ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF ACI ASIA-PACIFIC

Asia-Pacific Airports www.aci-apa.com Editor Joe Bates joe@aci-apa.com +44 (0)1276 476582 Design, Layout & Production Michael Sturman michael@aci-apa.com

ACI Asia-Pacific Jeannie Wong Head of Communications and Events jeannie@aci-asiapac.aero + 852 2989 8003 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 Subscriptions subscriptions@aci-apa.com

Asia-Pacific Airports is published four times a year for the members of ACI Asia-Pacific.

The opinions and views expressed in the magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect an ACI policy or position.

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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30. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Vivian Lau, executive director of Hong Kong cargo handling giant, Hactl, looks back on a tough year for aviation and hopes for better things for the industry in 2021.

34. REMAINING RESILIENT

Lim Ching Kiat, managing director, air hub development at Changi Airport Group, explains how Changi Airport is helping maintain Singapore’s air cargo supply chain and spearheading its recovery from COVID-19.

36. KEEPING COOL

SATS has continued to invest in equipment, manpower and new cargo handling solutions to serve its customers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, writes senior vice president for cargo services, Nazri Othman.

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38. GOLD IN THE HOLD

Its chief officer for cargo, Guillaume Halleux, tells us more about the airport facilities, fleet and route network that make Qatar Airways one of the world’s biggest cargo airlines.

42. VERTICAL REALITY

We take a closer look at plans for the world’s first vertiport for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Singapore and how its opening might revolutionise taxi services at Changi Airport.

44. WBP NEWS

The latest news from ACI’s Asia-Pacific and global World Business Partners.

Asia-Pacific is proud to be the voice of airport operators in the fastest-growing regions of the world, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

ACI Asia-Pacific key facts:

Our team of professionals works tirelessly to serve and lead airports in the region with the vision to shape the future of the aviation industry globally.

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AIRPORT MEMBERS

AFFILIATE AIRPORT MEMBERS

606

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49

95

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

OPERATED AIRPORTS

Based in Hong Kong SAR, ACI Asia-Pacific is one of five regions of the only global airport trade organization, Airports Council International (ACI) World.

In 2019, ACI Asia-Pacific airports handled 3.8 billion passengers and 5.8 billion tonnes of cargo.

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WORLD BUSINESS PARTNERS

COUNTRIES/ AREAS

5.8

BILLION TONNES CARGO

3.8

BILLION PASSENGERS

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VIEW FROM THE TOP Director general, Stefano Baronci, reflects on how ACI Asia-Pacific has stepped up its efforts to support its airport members and World Business Partners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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hisper it softly, but with the global roll out of COVID-19 vaccines gathering pace, there are finally reasons to believe that the end of the pandemic could be in sight, and that by the second half of the year, aviation could start to look to the future again with renewed optimism.

There is no disputing that 2020 was the toughest year ever for the world’s airports, and while we were all glad to leave it behind us, we have taken the time to compile our annual Year in Review publication documenting our efforts in support of the region’s airports in the face of a global pandemic. The publication is available on our website.

You can be assured that the ACI Asia-Pacific team remains focused on understanding the continually evolving situation around the region and developing relevant positions to support advocacy work for our members.

REGIONAL BOARD MEETING

We have just concluded the 16th ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, which due to the current travel

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restrictions, was once again held in a virtual format. It is, sadly, a scenario we have all become very used to over the last 12 months, but was nonetheless very productive.

I am pleased to announce that the leaders of Airport International Group (Jordan); Taoyuan International Airport Corporation Ltd (Chinese Taipei); Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (Malaysia); Airports Corporation of Vietnam (Vietnam); and Delhi International Airport Ltd (India) have come onboard as new Board Directors.

We are delighted to welcome them and have such knowledgeable leaders on our Regional Board and look forward to their insights in shaping the recovery and activities of our association.

We also welcome new members Albury Airport in Australia; Papa Rererangi i Puketapu Limited – the operator of New Plymouth Airport in New Zealand – and Dammam Airports Company in Saudi Arabia as new members. Their addition means that we now have a total of 120 members operating 606 airports in 49 countries and territories.

WORLD BUSINESS PARTNERS

These are clearly difficult days for airports and our World Business Partner (WBP) community, yet they continue to innovate and develop new solutions, such as touchless technology, that will help ensure the industry’s recovery from the pandemic and future growth.

The ‘Perspectives’ series on our website has provided a new platform for our World Business Partners to gain more exposure for their companies and share some industry insights with us.

In April we are launching a new series of virtual events that will give airport members, World Business Partners and industry stakeholders an opportunity to interact with one another in the absence of traditional industry conferences and in-person events, most of which have been cancelled in 2021 due to the pandemic and ongoing travel challenges. @ACIAPAC Online is a new virtual event series filled with conversation and interaction with ACI Asia-Pacific leaders and industry stakeholders. In each session, we will focus on a different topic and hear rich insights from voices that matter in our airport sector and the ecosystem it serves.

TESTING, QUARANTINE AND VACCINATIONS

A recent survey, the third conducted by the COVID-19 Task Force, revealed interesting insights for the prospects to international travel. Following the outbreak of new variants of the virus, 70% of the 33 airport operators surveyed in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East said that testing and quarantine measures were tightened.

Almost 80% of airports surveyed now require testing both on departure and arrival. To support this discussion, we issued a position paper, available on our website, on COVID-testing.

While the start of wide-scale COVID-19 vaccinations is a first step in the path to recovery, it would be unrealistic to wait until the global population is vaccinated before allowing the industry to resume operations. Hence, tests will continue to play an important role. The position paper outlines critical considerations for a new testing programme.

Not covered in the position paper, yet on everybody’s mind, is whether the combination of vaccines with testing can remove quarantine requirements.

The survey showed that 85% of airports now require quarantine for all passengers. We will table this discussion in the coming weeks.

Noting the diversity of our region, we continue to raise the point that interoperability between the solutions is key to avoiding further confusion for the travelling public.

The position paper is being used to engage policymakers at regional and national level to ensure airports’ perspectives are taken into consideration in the development of policies pertaining to testing and health certification for international travel. We invite members to make use of the position paper in consultations with national authorities.

We have conducted more than twenty webinars with members to refocus and customise our advocacy efforts depending on national needs.

LONG-TERM FORECAST

Despite the gloomy near-term forecast, we can find comfort in the fact that over the next twenty years, our two regions will be the fastest-growing globally, according to the World Air Traffic Forecasts 2020-2040.

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As you will be able to read more about in the ACI AsiaPacific Regional Update on page 12, we are pleased to have started 2021 by welcoming several new WBPs (Cirium, Materna IPS, The Moodie Davitt Report Asia and Smart Airport System). Welcome to the ACI community!

The position paper also addresses passenger health identification. Multiple parties both inside and outside the industry are working on travel and health testing passes.

With a number of initiatives underway, we are supportive of any system that will allow testing and vaccination data to be shared consistently, effectively and in a way that protects the personal data of those using it.

Total passenger traffic is forecasted to grow fast at a compound growth rate of 5.2% in the Middle East and 4.7% in Asia-Pacific.

Among the top 10 fastest-growing countries above 50 million passengers by compound growth rate from 2019 to 2040 are projected to be Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iran in the Middle East and Indonesia, India, Vietnam, the Philippines and China in Asia-Pacific.

MAGAZINE MAKE-OVER

As you (digitally) opened this first issue of the new year, we hope you noticed the new cover design and fresh new look of the magazine.

Ever since its launch in 2007, coinciding with the merger of the ACI Asia and ACI Pacific regions to form ACI AsiaPacific, the appearance of Asia-Pacific Airports has been refreshed every couple of years. In this refresh, we see a return to proudly spelling out Asia-Pacific Airports. You’ll also note more room for photos spotlighting the airports you operate and a change back to a larger format, which some of our long-term readers might remember.

We hope you like it and that it continues to keep you informed about all the latest news and developments from across our region. As your association, we will continue to fly the flag for the resumption of air travel.

Stefano

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INDUSTRY NEWS

LEADING BY EXAMPLE – ASIA-PACIFIC’S 2020 ASQ WINNERS It might have been easy for the region’s airports to let their usual high customer service standards drop in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic significantly reduced their passenger numbers, but ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards prove otherwise, with 30 winning Best Airport by Size accolades and nine picking up new Best Hygiene Measures by Region honours.

Winners of the Best Airport by Size in the Asia-Pacific region included China’s Haikou Meilan (HAK) and Shenyang Taoxian (SHE) airports which shared top prize with India’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD) in the 15-25mppa category.

Beijing Daxing (PKX) and Bengaluru-Kempegowda (BLR) which finished joint top in the 25-40mppa category, and a magnificent seven that couldn’t be separated for top spot in the Over 40mppa section – Beijing Capital (PEK), MumbaiChhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj (BOM), Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN), Delhi-Indira Gandhi (DEL), Shanghai Pudong (PVG), Shenzhen Bao’an (SZX) and Singapore Changi (SIN).

In the Middle East, Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport (AMM) retained its title in the 5-15mppa category for the third year running and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) triumphed in the category for airports handling 15-25mppa.

To take into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the airport industry’s response to it, the

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2020 ASQ passenger survey included a number of hygiene-related questions to allow for the introduction of a new award for Best Hygiene Measures by Region.

And the inaugural list of 33 global winners of the award included seven Asia-Pacific gateways – Beijing Daxing (PKX), Chandigarh (IXC), Depati Amir (PGK), Husein Sastranegara (BDO), Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (CCU), Pune (PNQ) and Soekarno-Hatta (CGK) – and two from the Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s King Khaled International Airport (RUH) and Salalah (SLL) in Oman.

ACI believes that the hygiene awards provide airports with a reliable method of gauging passengers’ response to the new health measures and recognises airports’ success in responding to the intense focus on hygiene.

“Even as our members battled the debilitating impact of the virus throughout 2020, airports in different size categories in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East maintained their focus on the customer and their evolving needs,” said ACI Asia-Pacific’s director general, Stefano Baronci.

“We congratulate our airport members for this high accolade which sets the stage for a recovery that puts the traveller first.”

The full list of 2020 ASQ winners, including all of the Best Airport by Size & Region, can be viewed here.

ADANI GROUP EXPANDING FAST IN AVIATION SECTOR Hot on the heels of taking over the management of India’s Ahmedabad, Mangaluru and Lucknow airports and agreement to operate and develop Trivandrum, Guwahati and Jaipur from July 2021, the Adani Group has paid $312 million for a 23.5% stake in MIAL, operator of Mumbai-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

Adani acquired its stake by buying out ACSA and Bidvest’s shares in MIAL and is shortly expected to take a controlling stake in the company by completing its

already agreed purchase of GVK Group’s entire 50.5% interest in the gateway.

Under the proposed deal, the Adani Group will take over $462.9 million of debt owed by GVK Airport Developers, which is the holding company of MIAL. In addition to operating the gateway, MIAL has a 74% stake in the consortium awarded a 30 year concession to operate the currently under construction Navi Mumbai International Airport.

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HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TRIALS DIGITAL HEATH PASSES In a hugely pioneering initiative, Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) has successfully conducted the trial of digital health passes on a flight between Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

In the trial, Cathay Pacific air crew role-played as passengers and took the COVID-19 test at HKG’s testing centre, with the test results sent to their mobile phones in the form of digital health pass which were presented to airline staff for check-in.

Upon arrival at LAX, the role-playing passengers presented their digital health pass to local staff for validation and entered Los Angeles successfully.

Vivian Cheung, Airport Authority Hong Kong’s executive director of airport operations, said: “As COVID-19 tests and vaccinations are poised to become new essentials for air travellers in the future, a digital solution is required to effectively integrate this new requirement into the existing digitalised travel process, from laboratory to check-in and to landing.”

HKG says that it has been collaborating with major hub airports in the world to facilitate the adoption of digital solutions to tackle challenges such as trustworthiness of paper reports, diversified and dynamic entry requirements across countries and regions, long queues for passengers for document check, and labour intensive checking duties for airline staff.

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REGIONAL UPDATE

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Communications manager, Samantha Solomon, rounds-up the latest news and developments from ACI Asia-Pacific.

HUMAN RESOURCES CASE STUDIES The Regional Human Resources (HR) Committee has published a guide that is designed to help airports prepare their respective workplaces and workforce for the return to the new normal.

Via this publication, the committee sought to highlight key recommendations which airport HR and administration should take into consideration when gearing up the workplace to be a safe environment for airport staff under the new normal brought on by the pandemic.

The guide addresses key issues around Communications, Wellness, Facilities Management and On the Job for Human Resources professionals.

In the publication, ten members share their experiences, case studies or examples of what steps they have undertaken over the past few months, as a means of

knowledge and experience sharing with the broader ACI Asia-Pacific community.

The following members, all part of the Regional HR Committee, are featured: Changi Airport Group, Singapore; Bahrain Airport Company, Bahrain; GACA, Saudi Arabia; Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong SAR; Incheon Airport, South Korea; Korea Airports Corporation, South Korea; Kansai Airports, Japan; Narita Airport, Japan; Oman Airports, Oman; and Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, Chinese Taipei.

The Regional Human Resources Committee is a platform for discussion and exchange of best practices and enhancing standards of HR excellence among member airports.

The guide is available in the Library on the ACI AsiaPacific website.

YEAR IN REVIEW 2020 The 2020 Year in Review, the association’s annual report, highlights the efforts of the ACI Asia-Pacific team and the regional committees in handling the impact of the global pandemic on the airport sector in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

The digital publication, available on the association’s website, documents the initiatives and activities across the

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economics, environment, human resources, safety and security policy areas to represent members’ interests during the industry’s worst crisis and to position our sector for recovery.

“These times of crisis are when the value of associations has become more evident,” noted Seow Hiang Lee, president of the ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Board.

NEW COMMITTEE LEADERS Both the Regional Environment Committee and the Regional Economics Committee started 2021 with new leaders.

The Regional Environment Committee announced the election of its new chair, Dr Murugesan Muthukrishnan of Delhi International Airport Limited, and vice chair, Gerald Ng of Changi Airport Group (CAG). They will lead the Committee for two years from 2021-2022.

ACI ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL BOARD PRESIDENT Seow Hiang Lee*

(Changi Airport Group Pte Ltd, Singapore)

“I foresee a great opportunity to enhance the committee’s progress towards aviation environment and sustainability management in this region with good teamwork and collaborations with all committee members,” he enthused.

(Sharjah Airport Authority, UAE)

(GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited, India)

SECRETARY-TREASURER Sheikh Aimen bin Ahmed Al Hosni*

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid**

REGIONAL BOARD DIRECTORS Mohamed Yousif Al-Binfalah*

Jean-Michel Ratron

Nicolas Claude

Nitinai Sirismatthakarn*

(Bahrain Airport Company SPC, Bahrain)

(Airport International Group, Jordan)

Geoff Culbert*

Chang Wan Son

Jerry Dann

Akihiko Tamura*

(Brisbane Airport Corporation PTY Limited, Australia)

The Regional Economics Committee provides support to members on airport economic matters and serves as a forum for members to share best practices, discuss challenges and opportunities in areas such as airport charges, models of ownership, financing and performance management.

(Airports of Thailand, Thailand)

(Korea Airports Corporation, South Korea)

Gert-Jan de Graaff

“My primary goals are to strengthen the presence and reach of this committee, enhance mutual co-operation and strengthen relationships among key stakeholders in the largest regional travel market, and proactively support the economic and environmental development of the air transport industry in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East region,” explained Abu Zeid. He has over 24 years’ experience in the aviation and travel industry.

(Tahiti Airport, French Polynesia)

(Sydney Airport, Australia)

(Taoyuan International Airport Corporation Ltd, Chinese Taipei)

Oman Airports’ Nagy Abu Zeid (above left) is the new chair of the Regional Economics Committee, where he will be ably assisted by Fariz Qisti Takwir of Malaysia Airports (above right), who continues in his role as vice chair.

(GMR Airports Limited, India)

(Narita International Airport Corporation, Japan)

Yoshiyuki Yamaya

(Kansai Airports, Japan)

Kejian Zhang

Videh Kumar Jaipuriar

(Guangdong Airport Authority, China)

Fred Lam*

WBP REPRESENTATIVE Greg Fordham

(Delhi International Airport Ltd, India)

(Airport Authority Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR)

Dato’ Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh

(Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, Malaysia)

Quoc Phuong Nguyen (Airports Corporation of Vietnam, Vietnam)

Yun Qin

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Gerald Ng (pictured above right), CAGs environment and sustainability director, notes that he hopes to work on meaningful and realistic carbon emissions reduction measures, recognising that airports will decarbonise at different paces.

(Cambodia Airports, Cambodia)

SECOND VICE PRESIDENTS HE Ali Salim Al Midfa SGK Kishore*

(Oman Airports Management Company, Oman)

Dr Muthukrishnan (pictured above left) is the GMR Group’s airport sector head for EHS and sustainability, and has been supporting the Regional Environment Committee’s work since joining it in 2012.

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Emmanuel Menanteau

(Airbiz Aviation Strategies Pty Ltd, Australia)

SPECIAL ADVISORS Suleiman Al Bassam

(General Authority of Civil Aviation, Saudi Arabia)

Xue Song Liu*

(Beijing Capital International Airport Co Ltd, China)

(Shanghai Airport Authority, China) * WGB member **Regional Advisor on WGB

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY EXTENDED TO WEEK-LONG CAMPAIGN To help promote gender diversity within the airport industry, ACI Asia-Pacific ensured that female airport leaders from across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East were centre stage at this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8.

The campaign tagged onto the United Nations Women’s theme of ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’. Extending the global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women to a full week, nine female leaders from the association’s member airports gave candid answers and perspectives to the following questions: • How have/can women contribute to the COVID-19 recovery in aviation?

• How can women support each other?

• What positive signs of gender equality are you seeing?

• What advice do you have for women entering the aviation industry?

We are pleased to report that representatives from airport operations, commercial development, communications, human resources, marketing, representatives and even a professor from Adelaide Airport, Airport Authority Hong Kong, Angkasa Pura 1, Bahrain Airport Company, Bangalore International Airport, Changi Group Singapore, Hamad International Airport, Incheon Airport and Kansai Airports gave their full support to this important initiative.

You can read the full articles in the Perspectives section of the ACI Asia-Pacific website.

A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW WORLD BUSINESS PARTNERS The ACI Asia-Pacific region has three new Affiliate World Business Partner members – Cirium, Materna IPS and Smart Airport System. The Moodie Davitt Report Asia has also joined as a Regular World Business Partner.

Cirium delivers data and analytics solutions globally to a variety of industries including aerospace, travel and airlines. Launched in 1909 as the first printed magazine related to aviation, the company has become a leading global aviation data and analytics company.

For more than three decades, Materna IPS, the aviation brand of the Materna Group, has specialised in airport and airline solutions, focusing on improving passenger handling.

Smart Airport Systems (SAS), an Alvest Group company, provides sustainable solutions for the aviation industry. Its solutions for airports are all about creating operational

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efficiency. Smart Airport Systems products include unique airconditioning units as an alternative to on-ground use of auxiliary power units, an autonomous electric baggage tractor, mobile electrical ground power (MEGP) units and the TaxiBot, the semi-robotic dispatch towing vehicle.

Well-known to many in the industry, The Moodie Davitt Report Asia has now formally joined ACI Asia-Pacific as a WBP. The Moodie Davitt Report is a leading information source for the travel retail and airport commercial revenues sectors. The company also co-hosts The Trinity Forum with ACI World and ACI Asia-Pacific; owns the annual Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference & Awards and ‘The Moodies’ – a renowned award scheme for social and digital media excellence.

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WELCOME TO THE FUTURE Bahrain Airport Company CEO, Mohamed Yousif Al-Binfalah, tells Joe Bates more about what passengers can expect from the airport’s new state-of-the-art terminal.

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ahrain International Airport (BIA) celebrated a major milestone on January 28 when its eagerly awaited new terminal opened for business.

The new state-of-the-art facility is the crowning jewel of a massive and comprehensive Airport Modernization

Program (AMP) designed to elevate BIA’s infrastructure, facilities and services – effectively transforming it into a world-class boutique airport and a key driver of national economic growth.

The $1.1 billion project is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and aims to cement Bahrain’s reputation as a leading financial, cultural and aviation hub in the region.

Spanning 210,000sqm, the impressive new facility is four times larger than the airport’s old terminal and will increase BIA’s capacity to 14 million passengers a year.

Its facilities include a 6,600sqm Arrivals Hall and a 4,780sqm Departures Hall; 104 check-in desks; 36 passport control offices; 22 e-gates designed to ensure the rapid processing of passengers; eight baggage reclaim belts; and 10,002sqm of retail space which incorporates a duty free area that is three times larger than in the old terminal.

The terminal also has its own hotel and spa for transit passengers and an airport clinic where a dedicated team of healthcare professionals are on hand around-the-clock to provide medical services to visitors.

Fittingly, the first flight to operate out of the new facility was a Gulf Air flight to Abu Dhabi with His Excellency, the

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Minister of Transportation & Telecommunications and BAC chairman, Kamal bin Ahmed Mohamed, on board along with the company’s CEO, Mohamed Yousif Al-Binfalah, and other dignitaries.

His Excellency, Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, noted at the time: “Through the provision of world-class facilities and services and backed by robust infrastructure, the new airport will sustain the growth of Bahrain’s aviation sector for decades to come.

“This, in turn, will help drive investment into the Kingdom and stimulate national economic growth in line with Bahrain’s Vision 2030.”

These sentiments are certainly shared by Al-Binfalah, who believes that the new terminal will allow BIA to take a giant step forward in terms of operational efficiency and customer service, helping reinforce Bahrain’s position as a regional aviation hub.

“The first thing that I want to say is that our beautiful new terminal was built in a relatively short space of time and, most importantly, within a well-managed budget,” he enthuses.

“This was no vanity project – we really needed a new terminal. The old one served us well, but it was last upgraded in 1994, when its stated design capacity was four million passengers per annum. We handled around 9.6 million in 2019, so we simply didn’t have the capacity or the facilities to provide the levels of quality and service we wanted to offer passengers and our airline customers.

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“I am also happy to report that the opening went almost unnoticed, which meant that it happened without incident, and this pays testament to the success of our ORAT [Operational Readiness Activation and Transition] programme. As we all know, this hasn’t necessarily been the case with terminal openings elsewhere.

“That has all changed now as the new terminal has provided us with quality infrastructure that will serve our needs for years to come. Its addition is in line with the Kingdom’s vision to improve our key infrastructure, and it finally gives BIA the opportunity to excel and showcase the very best of Bahrain.”

Al-Binfalah describes the new terminal as a “right-sized” building that, from day one, was designed with the passenger journey in mind.

“Many airport buildings are large, confusing and even a little overwhelming with few features to distinguish one from another. We think our one is different. We went for quality rather than size, so it is easy to navigate, hasslefree and to a large extent, very relaxing to use,” he says.

“Elements of our rich local heritage are found throughout the building, which makes fantastic use of natural light. It also has outdoor open air terraces and technology that offers passengers a very personal experience and journey.”

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Passengers will also notice a big difference in the number and variety of retail/F&B offerings in the new terminal. They include Bahrain’s first Jamie’s Deli and Pizzeria from celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, which is one of 21 F&B outlets operated at BIA by food concessionaire SSP. IT INNOVATION The AMP broke ground in 2016, and although it has taken a little longer than expected to come to fruition, not helped by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was always the plan that it would boast some of the most advanced technology on the planet.

As a result, the new passenger terminal contains a host of new technologies designed to ensure the fast and efficient handling of passengers and give travellers more control of their journeys.

These technologies include SITA’s biometrically enabled Smart Path kiosks and Flex cloud-based passenger processing solution, and 22 e-gates supplied by Vision-Box that utilise facial, iris and fingerprint recognition to confirm passengers’ identities.

TRAFFIC TRENDS The combination of new passenger friendly facilities, extra capacity and advanced technology deployed in the terminal makes Al-Binfalah confident that BIA is now equipped to expand its route network and grow as a hub.

He believes the new facilities will provide the Kingdom’s national flag carrier, Gulf Air, with the platform to build its regional route network and help persuade new foreign airlines to launch services to Bahrain when the pandemic is over.

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Any new services will, of course, be good for Bahrain and maybe allow it to close the traffic gap slightly on the super hubs on its doorstep. However, Al-Binfalah is quick to note that BIA isn’t competing against them as its future development is very much focused on supporting Bahrain’s strategic position in the Gulf and the growth and success of Gulf Air’s regional and international network.

“I don’t think we have ever competed with any of the regional hubs, and we’ve certainly no intention of changing that strategy now as I truly believe that we complement each other by providing different options across the region,” says Al-Binfalah.

“Becoming a major hub was never on the drawing board for us. They do what they do, and they do it well. We are a strong regional hub and can now do this job even better.

“Our aim for the AMP was very simple. We wanted to create a high quality, boutique airport that provides facilities and services that are on a par with anything found around the world today, and I think we’ve achieved this with the opening of the new terminal.”

Like almost every other airport on the planet, BIA has experienced somewhat of a rollercoaster ride in the last two years in terms of its passenger traffic, going from an all-time high of 9.6 million in 2019 to a COVID-19 impacted low of 2.3 million (-76%) in 2020.

Al-Binfalah is hoping that Bahrain International Airport will fare better this year and, in the best-case scenario, be back to 2019’s traffic levels by 2023/24.

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AIRLINES In normal times, the Kingdom’s national flag carrier, Gulf Air, accounts for around 60% of all passengers at Bahrain International Airport courtesy of its network of non-stop flights to 46 destinations in 25 different countries.

The airlines with the next biggest share of the market in 2019 were Emirates (6%), Flydubai (4%), Air Arabia (3%) and Etihad (2%), and therefore it is not surprising to learn that Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait and Riyadh are among its most popular routes.

In addition to the big regional carriers, other international airlines operating non-stop flights to Bahrain have traditionally included Air India, British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, SriLankan Airlines and Egypt Air. On the cargo side, airlines such as Cargolux, Texel Air and Emirates Sky Cargo operate freighter flights to BIA. Bahrain is also the regional hub of DHL which supports the growth of the overall tonnage handled.

All contributed towards the airport handling 300,205 tonnes of freight last year, and Al Binfalah believes that there is much more to come in terms of growth, describing cargo as the gateway’s next frontier in terms of needing to build new facilities to attract more cargo operators to Bahrain to boost freight volumes.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF BIA TO BAHRAIN On the importance of BIA to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Al-Binfalah simply states: “BIA is the only international airport in Bahrain, and as we are an island nation, it is more than just a connecting point, it is our gateway to the rest of the world.

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“It is a vital economic and social asset for the country and must be capable of meeting the Kingdom’s present and future needs.”

He states that the airport’s importance to Bahrain was clear for all to see in 2020 through the key role it played in enabling and facilitating the import of PPE and urgent medical supplies and helping repatriate stranded Bahrani nationals.

And BIA has, of course, continued to play a leading role in Bahrain’s fight against COVID-19 this year by accommodating the flights that have brought and continue to bring potentially life-saving vaccines to the Gulf state.

CHANGING FORTUNES Al-Binfalah believes that BIA has been on an upward trajectory since BAC took over responsibility for operating the gateway in 2010.

He says that BAC transformed the way the airport was managed and provided the impetus needed to finally move BIA forward in terms of working more closely with the government to formulate a strategic plan for its future growth and development.

In addition to the new terminal, the Airport Modernization Program has also led to the opening of a new Rescue and Firefighting Station, a 2,700 vehicle capacity multi-storey car park, a Central Utilities Building, fuel farm and Super Gate (security entrance) for staff and goods.

And he feels that BAC’s management team are well equipped to oversee the next step of BIA’s development post COVID-19, which will see the construction of a new

Express Cargo complex as part of plans to enhance the airport’s cargo facilities, and a new Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hangar.

In the meantime, BIA plans to rehabilitate all of the aircraft stands in front of the old terminal and adding some underground fuel hydrants before eventually demolishing the now effectively mothballed complex.

It may still only have one runway, but Al-Binfalah has no doubt that BIA is now more than well equipped to cope with demand for at least the next 20 years.

“We have seen the capacity airports such as London Gatwick can get from a single runway, and we are nowhere near those kind of levels, so I believe that the new terminal has effectively extended the life of BIA until at least 2040 and probably beyond, before it is eventually replaced by a planned new off-shore airport,” notes Al-Binfalah.

“This is great because it gives us time to consider the next steps for the long-term growth of Bahrain’s aviation sector and passengers have the chance to come and experience our fantastic new terminal for themselves.”

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FRENCH CONNECTION ADP Ingénierie, the international division of global airport operator, Groupe ADP, worked on the design of the new passenger terminal in Bahrain for eight years.

Indeed, Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation & Telecommunications (MTT) appointed ADP Ingénierie as the lead consultant for BIA’s Airport Modernization Program (AMP) back in 2013.

and financial assistance during the tender phase of the various technical packages.

“The ADP Ingénierie Bahrain Team worked extensively on the construction supervision of the terminal building and all the facilities since 2015,” says a company statement.

As a result, it was awarded the design and supervision consultancy services for the terminal expansion and refurbishment in addition to the Land Use Project.

“Despite the COVID-19 situation, our team was fully mobilised on site to perform the construction supervision works. This showed the dedication of ADP Ingénierie staff and our extensive support to our customers. We have a trusted relation with them, and they relied on us in this difficult period.

ADP Ingénierie was responsible for the studies and the design up to the detailed design of the passenger terminal building, its ancillary facilities, access roads, viaduct, landside and airside infrastructure, including the technical

“It also provided further evidence of ADP Ingénierie’s ability to design comprehensive projects in-house (architecture, structure, MEP, Infrastructures, EMS, and ICT) and advise our clients in accordance with their needs and requirements.”

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DELIVERING THE GOODS Editor, Joe Bates, reports on the 2020 performance of the region’s leading cargo hubs and the key role they are playing in helping distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.

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n terms of volumes and payloads, air cargo fared much better than the passenger side of the business in 2020, and that seems likely to be repeated for most or all of this year as COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc with people’s travel plans.

These included Shanghai Pudong (PVG), the third busiest cargo hub on the planet, which saw its cargo volumes rise by 1.37% to 3.68 million tonnes and Taipei Taoyuan (TPE), which handled a record 2.34 million tonnes of freight (+7.35%) to cement its Top 10 status.

Indeed, while the combination of travel restrictions, quarantine rules, the fear of catching COVID-19 and reduced airline services are keeping passengers away from airport terminals, cargo volumes have rallied and demand for some shipments has never been higher.

ACI World’s provisional traffic data for 2020 also shows that Incheon International Airport (INC) enjoyed a positive year for cargo movements with its annual tonnage numbers rising by 2.1% to 2.82 million.

Months of shop closures and being forced to stay at home, for example, has led to a boom in e-commerce and arguably companies like Amazon and Alibaba have never been so busy.

While aircraft continue to bring vital Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), medical supplies and now vaccines to countries across the globe as efforts are ramped up to finally win the war against COVID-19.

The upturn in these consignments, in addition to the continued need for more traditional cargos flown across the region on freighters and in the belly-holds of passenger flights, means that some of the Asia-Pacific region’s biggest cargo hubs reported an upturn in volumes in 2020.

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And Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), an ACI Asia-Pacific affiliated member, consolidated its Top 10 ranking courtesy of the 3.1 million tonnes (+16%) to pass through its facilities in 2020. You can read more about its impressive performance and plans to enhance its cargo operations on page 28 of this issue.

Taipei Taoyuan reveals that transhipment cargo soared by 19% last year to account for 51% of all freight handled at TPE. The upturn, it says, reflected the “noticeable performance of industries” in Chinese Taipei.

The increase was also helped by the sizeable cargo fleets of TPE’s two home carriers, China Airlines and Eva Air, which the airport note prevented it from being “greatly challenged by the declining passenger traffic”.

Preliminary World Top 10 Cargo Airports 2020 AIRPORT

IATA CODE

COUNTRY

ANNUAL TONNAGE

% CHANGE

1

Memphis

(MEM)

USA

4.61 million

+6.72%

2

Hong Kong

(HKG)

Hong Kong SAR

4.47 million

-7%

3

Shanghai Pudong

(PVG)

China

3.68 million

+1.3%

4

Anchorage

(ANC)

USA

3.1 million

+16%

5

Louisville

(SDF)

USA

2.91 million

+4.5%

6

Incheon

(INC)

South Korea

2.82 million

+2.1%

7

Taipei Taoyuan

(TPE)

Chinese Taipei

2.34 million

+7.3%

8

Los Angeles

(LAX)

USA

2.23 million

+6.62%

9

Hamad

(DOH)

Qatar

2.17 million

-1.83%

10

Miami

(MIA)

USA

2.13 million

+2.1%

Hong Kong as the busiest cargo gateway on earth.

Despite the drop, the Airport Authority of Hong Kong (AAHK) is quick to point out that HKG recorded an 18% rise in all-cargo flights during 2020 and that “cargo imports and exports continued their strong growth in, climbing by 18% and 8% year-on-year, respectively” in the final month of the year.

President and CEO of Taoyuan International Airport Corp, Jerry Dann, believes that the airport’s performance in 2020 showed the world how TPE was able to take maximum advantage of its key advantages – its location, route network and transportation facilities.

Describing 2020 as a “relatively stable” year for cargo, the airport operator noted that transhipments “decreased significantly due to the shortage of belly capacity on passenger flights”.

Thinking about the future, he said: “Now, in pursuit of excellence, TPE is following the Taoyuan International Airport Conceptual Plan, approved by the government in early 2021, to arrange the new cargo park and the second Free Trade Zone, upgrading the cargo industry to the next level by improving efficiency and implementing innovative technologies.”

Other airports across the region, however, didn’t do quite so well as the reduction in passenger flights and the loss of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of cargo they accommodate onboard each year meant that 50% of Asia-Pacific’s Top 10 busiest cargo airports experienced a downturn in volumes last year.

They included Hong Kong (HKG) and Dubai International (DXB), which have announced that their cargo volumes dipped by 7% to 4.47 million tonnes and 23% to 1.9 million tonnes respectively in 2020.

The downturn at HKG, and a 6.72% upturn in volumes at Memphis (MEM) – home to FedEx’s world hub – means that for the first time in a decade the US airport has replaced

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The USA (32%) and Mainland China (15%) traditionally account for the bulk of transhipments at TPE, and both enjoyed robust growth in 2020, with volumes rising by 25.2% and 8.5% respectively compared with 2019. The upturn, says TPE, reflected the strong demand for technology products made in Chinese Taipei and Asia, such as semiconductors and consumer electronics.

ACI’s provisional cargo figures for 2020 also indicate that Hamad (DOH), Tokyo Narita (NRT), Singapore Changi (SIN) and Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) all experienced a tough year and an annual fall in tonnage.

Out of them, Qatar’s Hamad International Airport fared best, based on its 1.8% drop in volumes, and Singapore Changi the worst because of a 23% decline in cargo tonnage compared to 2019. However, the 1.54 million tonnes of freight handled at SIN during 2020 meant that it is the 17th busiest cargo hub in the world and the ninth biggest in Asia-Pacific.

Overall, air cargo volumes across both Asia-Pacific and the world decreased by 12.2% in 2020, with ACI’s preliminary data revealing that around 105 million tonnes of freight was handled globally and 39.1 million in the APAC region.

There is, of course, no getting away from the fact that 2020 was a bad one for aviation, and IATA has pulled no punches in calling it a “catastrophe” for passenger traffic and the worst for air cargo since it began monitoring the cargo performance of airlines in 1990.

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According to IATA, global demand measured by cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs) fell by 10.6% in 2020 while global capacity in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs) plummeted by 24% compared to 2019.

It waits to be seen how long it will take for cargo volumes to return to and eventually surpass those kind of levels, although the signs are good that the bounce back has already started.

Nevertheless, there are some grounds for optimism as it recently revealed that global cargo demand returned to pre-COVID levels for the first time in a year when CTKs in January 2021 were 1.1% above those reported in January 2019.

For the record and based on a combination of airport figures and preliminary 2020 data from ACI World, AsiaPacific airports currently account for five of the top 10 busiest cargo airports in the world.

The news prompted IATA director general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, to comment: “Air cargo traffic is back to pre-crisis levels and that is some much-needed good news for the global economy.

“But while there is a strong demand to ship goods, our ability is capped by the shortage of belly capacity normally provided by passenger aircraft. That should be a sign to governments that they need to share their plans for a restart so that the industry has clarity in terms of how soon more capacity can be brought online.

“In normal times, a third of world trade by value moves by air. This high value commerce is vital to helping restore COVID damaged economies – not to mention the critical role air cargo is playing in distributing lifesaving vaccines that must continue for the foreseeable future.”

Pre-COVID, IATA’s often repeated mantra was that airlines transport over 52 million tonnes of goods a year, representing more than 35% of global trade by value but less than 1% of world trade by volume. That is equivalent to $6.8 trillion worth of goods annually or $18.6 billion worth of goods every day.

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MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND COVID-19 VACCINES Air cargo has played a major role in the battle against the pandemic by providing the quickest, safest and most reliable way of transporting vital medical supplies, PPE and now COVID-19 vaccines across the world.

To assist in this process, in recent months Dubai Airports – operator of Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC) – and Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD) have joined forces to create a COVID-19 vaccine distribution corridor capable of handling up to 300 tonnes of vaccines per day.

The HYD-DXB vaccine corridor connects major vaccine manufacturers in India with markets around the world via Dubai’s state-of-the-art cargo hub.

“This corridor is the result of our proactive strategy to be ready with innovative, collaborative and agile shipping solutions for the industry,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

GMR Airports executive director – south & chief innovation officer, SGK Kishore, enthused: “As the world embarks on an unprecedented vaccination drive to combat COVID-19, our collaboration with Dubai Airports in the form of an exclusive vaccine air freight corridor will play a key role in enabling seamless, safe and efficient shipment of

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COVID-19 vaccines to and from Hyderabad, the pharma capital of South Asia.”

Dubai has also launched the Vaccine Logistics Alliance to speed up distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world through the emirate.

Elsewhere, HKG continues to play a prominent role in the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, most recently handling the first batch of Comirnaty vaccines to arrive in Hong Kong from Frankfurt and shipping more supplies from Beijing to Mexico.

While in Singapore, the Changi Ready Taskforce, co-led by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG), declared Changi ready for the transportation and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020.

CAG’s managing director for air hub development and co-lead of the Changi Ready Taskforce, Lim Ching Kiat, said: “Changi has always placed a strong emphasis on pursuing the highest standards in pharmaceutical cargo handling. Given our efforts in infrastructure upgrades and manpower training over the years, our air cargo hub is well-poised to handle the transportation of APA COVID-19 vaccines”.

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ADVANTAGE ANCHORAGE Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport enjoyed a record breaking year for cargo and has some ambitious plans to enhance its freight facilities, writes marketing and communications manager, Eland Conway.

T

he coronavirus pandemic has caused global disruption and a downturn in passenger traffic the likes of which we’ve never seen before, and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) was no exception, registering a 62% drop in numbers in 2020.

However, that doesn’t tell the full story, as 2020 turned out to be a record breaker for air freight, with cargo volumes at the Alaska gateway soaring by 16% on 2019, its previous banner year.

Indeed, the disruption to the global supply chain has sent the airport’s cargo volumes rising to more than 3.1 million metric tons.

Airport director, Jim Szczesniak says: “The pandemic has highlighted ANC’s significance in the global supply chain.

International passenger travel was decimated, seemingly overnight, and the cancellation of those flights sent shippers – who traditionally rely on the cargo space

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available in the bellies of those passenger flights – scrambling for solutions. They needn’t have worried as the air cargo carriers responded accordingly, recognising the strategic advantages of ANC’s location.

“A stop at ANC means higher payloads, more efficiency, and at a time when so many people are counting on expedited service from an already stressed supply chain – faster shipping!”

In addition to the loss of cargo space on international passenger flights, the demand for freighter space has been further exacerbated by increased demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) and booming e-commerce, as many have resigned themselves to a home-life of teleworking and self-imposed solitary confinement adopting online shopping as the preferred shopping experience in a new reality.

Anchorage has seen first-hand, the air cargo industry’s response to the pandemic. Before COVID-19, ANC touted

daily service to 21 markets and an additional 23 markets with at least weekly service. ANC now boasts daily widebody freighter service to 30 destinations and another 20 destinations with at least weekly service.

“In addition to an increase in frequency from our traditional ANC customers, we’ve also seen a few unexpected visitors, such Ethiopian Cargo, Longtail Aviation, AeroUnion and Ukraine International,” notes Szczesniak.

“Even the Antonov 225 and the New England Patriots plane moved some PPE through Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.”

The shortage for cargo space sent air carriers across the globe scrambling for aircraft. In early 2018, both UPS and FDX cut MD11 operations at ANC by nearly half as they brought newer aircraft online. In 2019, MD11 operations fell another 30%.

However, since January 2020, ANC has seen UPS and FedEx’s MD11 operations steadily increase – spiking in May and June – to the highest number of MD11 operations since November 2017. All added up to a total of 443 and 442 landings for those months when combined with Western Global MD11 landings.

The airport is doubling down on its location and significant cargo transfer rights with new developments.

Anchorage International Airport has the most liberalised cargo transfer rights in the entire United States. Since 1996 cargo carriers have been allowed: • Interline transfer between foreign flagships • Interline transfer between foreign and domestic flagships • Online transfer between foreign flagships • Change of gauge • Commingle US and non-US bound freight on the same flight “We have had these tremendous privileges to transfer cargo here at ANC for quite some time, but we’ve lacked the infrastructure to properly leverage them,” says Szczesniak.

“You cannot expect an Asian customer heading to LAX to drop a pallet of iPads, pharmaceuticals or other sensitive cargo on the ramp during the long sunny days of summer or the cold Alaska winter months and have to wait for it to be loaded on a connecting flight to Miami.

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APA Issue 1, 2021

“ANC’s new facilities coupled with the transfer rights and our network of freighters will be a game changer.”

Before the pandemic, Alaska’s gateway to the world sought proposals to develop its cargo infrastructure. To date, ANC has received five proposals totalling more than one billion dollars in private development. New projects include:

FEDEX • Expanding existing facility by 19 acres • 98,000 square feet domestic operations centre • Seven additional acres of aircraft ramp

ALASKA CARGO & COLD STORAGE (ACCS) • Footprint of 30 acres • 700,000 square feet warehouse making 32.5 million cubic feet of space • Climate controlled zones • Smart warehouse technology • 500kW solar power • Oxygen reduction fire suppression system • Highly efficient 3-stage ammonia refrigeration

ACCS and 6A have fully executed lease agreements. The remaining lease agreements are currently being negotiated.

IC ALASKA • Footprint of 98 acres • 14 flow through widebody aircraft parking • Cargo storage and transfer warehouse • Maintenance Repair & Overhaul 6A AVIATION • Footprint of 29 acres • 195,000 square feet warehouse • 6 widebody aircraft parking UPS • Expanding existing facility by 28 acres • Three additional widebody aircraft parking positions

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• New cargo sort facility • Ground equipment servicing building

6A Aviation will break ground west of the north-south runway this spring. This is the first development in the West Airpark.

ACCS, an Alaska based company has received, through the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), a $21 million BUILD grant from the US Department of Transportation. Groundbreaking will commence in the fourth quarter of this year and be constructed in phases. The first phase being approximately 190,000 square feet.

UPS will be expanding their existing 35 acres footprint by an additional 28 acres, adding three more spaces to accommodate their growing fleet of B747-8s. The project includes a significant expansion of their cargo sort facilities, ground service equipment, and employee parking areas.

FedEx is also expanding their existing 63 acres footprint. The additional 19 acres will support the 98,000 square feet Domestic Operations Centre and nine new small aircraft positions. The new

Cargo market share at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

IC Alaska is seeking to develop the largest development on the south side of the airport. The new facility will provide 14 flow through widebody parking positions, warehouse space, and seeks to capitalise on ANC’s strategic location to develop a global MRO operation.

Szczesniak says: “With 2,600 jet engines transiting through ANC annually, it makes perfect sense to conduct parts distribution and MRO here in Anchorage.

“Parts warehousing and distribution is much cheaper here, where land is cheap and space is ample, compared to the high rent and scarcity of space in many Asian cities.

“We also have a strong workforce to pull from. There are two universities with well-established aviation maintenance programmes and nine military bases in Alaska. Aviation is the life blood of Alaska.”

ANC is working to bring passenger travel and cargo together – leveraging newly expanded passenger transfer rights. The expanded passenger transfer rights mirror existing cargo transfer rights, which allow:

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development accommodates all of FedEx’s local traffic allowing for more widebody international traffic at their existing facility.

• On-line passenger transfer to US destinations • On-line passenger transfer with change of gauge • Interline passenger transfer to foreign carriers to foreign destinations • Passenger transfer to US carriers to US destinations • Passenger transfer to US carriers to foreign destinations “We have analysed passenger aircraft performance and belly cargo capacity, and there is a substantial revenue opportunity for airlines to utilise ANC,” enthuses Szczesniak.

“For example, the Hyderabad, India, to LAX non-stop has a belly cargo weight penalty – a stop at ANC eliminates that penalty and allows for more than $64,000 in additional cargo revenue for each flight.

“Transferring passengers and cargo at ANC creates synergies for airlines for more destinations, there are a lot of interesting route combinations that can benefit from routing through ANC.” Adversity often spawns creativity, and the pandemic has provided nothing if not adversity. At a time when the aviation industry is facing adversity head-on, ANC is working hard to garner the attention of the industry seeking new creative ways to operate.

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CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Vivian Lau, executive director of Hong Kong cargo handling giant, Hactl, looks back on a tough year for aviation and hopes for better things for the industry in 2021.

T

o say that 2020 was an extraordinary year for air cargo and the aviation industry would be an understatement.

After a promising start with solid cargo volumes, we began to hear increasingly alarming reports about the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus on the Chinese mainland, and the threat of transmission beyond its borders.

Two major types of cargo emerged in 2020: personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies, and IT equipment: both for home working and for home entertainment (such as gaming consoles).

At that stage, we did not even know whether COVID could be transmitted from human-to-human, nor its mortality rate. However, Hactl identified the potential risk of service failure in the event of staff infections, so we took a number of preventive measures to ensure staff safety.

PPE handling was not without challenges: the initial supply shortage gradually improved after Chinese factories resumed production, but then Chinese Customs imposed export controls on PPE shipments. Some hand sanitisers were re-classified as dangerous goods, so required special handling, too.

Every person visiting our SuperTerminal 1 facility at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) was temperaturemonitored before being granted entry and all 2,400 staff were issued with face masks and sanitiser.

The top priority was to protect staff and maintain Hactl’s operational stability and service standards.

These steps initially looked like an over-reaction, but

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events soon proved their value, and it’s thanks to our decisive and early actions that Hactl has been virtually untouched by COVID-19.

Our charter broker friends told us of charter rates that tripled overnight, and how they scrambled to get every available aircraft into the air. In Hong Kong, Hactl saw the arrival of increasingly exotic big birds – such as Boeing’s Super Guppy (normally used for carrying wing assemblies), the Antonov An-225, and several military transports.

A lot of new charter carriers were attracted to HKG and many new routes emerged such as Hong Kong direct to Mexico – one of the longest sectors ever flown.

For Hactl – whose normal handling business had previously comprised around 60% freighters and 40% passenger bellies – all of this caused a dramatic shift. In tonnage terms, most of our operation became freighter handling, supplemented by loading ULDs for cargo-only passenger flights, and presenting ULDs to our passenger flight handling counterparts, for cargo-incabin (CiC) flights.

These “Preighters” well reflect the agility of this industry, both among airlines and ground handlers – the latter quickly mobilising resources to cater for this new ‘aircraft type’.

Another major factor in 2020, and one which we saw clearly in Hong Kong, was the accelerating trend towards e-commerce.

Locked-down consumers around the world – unable to shop on the high street or to buy goods due to stock shortages caused by supply chain disruptions – turned to the internet in their masses.

The result was enormous growth, particularly in small packages and post. But there was also evidence of some bulk stocks switching from ocean to air in a massive game of ‘catch-up’, while some e-commerce or postal traffic on

regional routes opted for ocean freight (for example, from HKG to the ASEAN countries).

Multi-modal logistics combining air, sea, rail and road also became more commonplace, due to the limited capacity worldwide.

Throughout the enormous challenges of 2020, Hactl’s highly-automated facility, and its dedicated team of professional staff, enabled it to continue operating without any disruption – despite the major shift in our business, and the frequent peaks in operational demand.

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Anything that could fly was flying. Initially, charters tended to be ad hoc; as the year progressed, charterers were committing to multi-flight programmes often spanning three to six months.

Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Hacis, also launched an E-commerce Fulfilment Centre. Located in SuperTerminal 1, the new centre enables e-commerce operators to deal with online shopping orders.

Hacis provides value-added services such as ‘pick & pack’ and delivers the goods to the carrier. Its IT system interfaces with e-commerce platforms to provide seamless data flows and maintain the information transparency essential to e-commerce vendors’ tracking systems.

As 2020 progressed it gradually became more like a “normal” year for the industry, with continued depressed air cargo levels, but with some of the shortfall made up

by PPE and medical traffic and e-commerce – and rates running at a level not seen since the official IATA rates of the 1970s.

And while nobody would make light of the enormous damage done to the aviation sector by COVID-19 restrictions and loss of passenger confidence, the air

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APA Issue 1, 2021 cargo side of the industry – including freighter operators and those passenger airlines who grasped the opportunity to continue carrying cargo – can be grateful that the year ended much better than most had expected.

and automation – and this includes the air cargo industry.

In the meantime, e-commerce will continue to grow as it has become a new consumer habit, and its scope has still not been fully recognised or exploited.

So, what about 2021 and the longer-term future? The next big issue will be vaccine transportation as the world places its faith in immunisation as the most effective route back to normality – people going back to work, earnings and economies recovering, and travel becoming safe and trustworthy once again.

Indeed, consumers now regard reliable, visible and economical delivery of their orders as an inherent feature of the goods they are ordering. E-tailers who provide slow or expensive delivery service, whose goods are damaged in transit, or who do not enable customers to track their orders, will be left behind.

While new vaccine sources are still emerging, vaccine distribution is not just a logistics issue: it’s now becoming a political issue, too.

Recognising this fact, they will seek service partners who facilitate their business, rather than impeding it.

But, whatever happens, Hactl is ready: the investment which we made in qualifying first for WHO GDP and, later, IATA CEIV Pharma, led us to transform our systems, processes and resources to create a state-ofthe-art fast-track service that will be invaluable in the successful mass handling of this temperature-sensitive, life-saving commodity.

We believe the pandemic will speed up the transformation of most industries, driving greater adoption of digitisation

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As an element in the supply chain, the air cargo industry must therefore recognise its duty to facilitate e-commerce; we must replace any remaining paperwork with digitised alternatives, and we must support the seamless flow of shipping data from origin to end customer.

Overall, the pandemic has changed the world and reshaped the aviation sector. The future belongs to those who are prepared to invest, innovate and listen to customers’ needs. For such companies, the future is once again an opportunity, not a threat.

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REMAINING RESILIENT Lim Ching Kiat, managing director, air hub development at Changi Airport Group, explains how Changi Airport is helping maintain Singapore’s air cargo supply chain and spearheading its recovery from COVID-19.

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OVID-19 has gravely impacted the global aviation industry and cargo volumes at Singapore Changi initially proved no exception, with throughput down due to the significant reduction in belly-hold capacity on passenger flights.

Indeed, in the earlier months of 2020, international border restrictions severely weakened air travel demand forcing many airlines to reduce frequencies or cease services altogether.

The situation meant that Changi Airport Group (CAG) had to work closely with its airline partners to close air cargo capacity gaps and minimise disruptions to supply chains.

Together, we tripled our weekly cargo flights and welcomed five new scheduled freighter operators into the Changi airline family in 2020. The new services helped Changi Airport handle 1.54 million tonnes of air freight in 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 23%.

Our air trade (comprising imports and exports), on the other hand, was fairly resilient with a much lower contraction rate

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of 10% year-on-year. Despite the contraction in overall air cargo volumes, we saw bright spots in verticals such as pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

According to Seabury, Singapore’s air trade (imports and exports) for pharmaceuticals and semiconductors registered a 16.1% and 6.2% year-on-year growth respectively in 2020 in terms of air tonnage.

COVID-19 vaccines will play a critical role in the global recovery from the pandemic, and the efficient and safe distribution of these vaccines by air is vital to support global vaccination efforts.

Given the time and temperature sensitivity of the vaccines, there is a need to ensure that the air cargo supply chain has adequate cold chain capabilities.

In preparing our air cargo community for the COVID-19 vaccine distribution, CAG, together with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, established a local public-private partnership taskforce – the Changi Ready Taskforce – to ensure the safe, reliable and efficient handling and

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transportation of vaccine shipments into and through Singapore.

On the global front, Changi Airport co-led Project Sunrays, a global joint initiative between The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) and Pharma.Aero.

Singapore successfully received its first batch of PfizerBioNTech Covid-19 vaccines and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines in December 2020 and February 2021 respectively. In addition, Singapore Airlines supported the delivery of Australia and New Zealand’s first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines earlier this year.

The successful import and transhipment of COVID-19 vaccines is testament to Changi air cargo hub’s connectivity, as well as its cold chain capabilities and reliability.

Looking ahead, there are still uncertainties due to continued trade protectionism, as well as vaccine availability, accessibility and adoption. Notwithstanding this, the World Trade Organization has forecasted that the

global merchandise trade will recover by 7.2% in 2021.

The recent above 50 reading in the Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) signals expansionary manufacturing activities in the near-term.

The growth trajectory of B2C e-commerce is likely to be accelerated due to the structural change in consumer purchasing behaviour to higher reliance on online shopping.

Semiconductor demand will remain strong as a result of home-based work and learning personal computers, smartphones and home equipment, as well as the recovery of the automotive sector.

In addition, global demand for pharmaceuticals will be boosted by the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutic drugs over the next one to two years.

In this regard, we are cautiously optimistic that cargo verticals such as e-commerce, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors will remain resilient.

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KEEPING COOL SATS has continued to invest in equipment, manpower and new cargo handling solutions to serve its customers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, writes senior vice president for cargo services, Nazri Othman.

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he air cargo industry has experienced sharp declines in cargo volumes with COVID-19 disrupting supply chains around the world since its onset last year.

As the crisis unfolded, supply chain disruptions contributed to shortages in essential supplies such as food and medical products in several countries.

Like its peers in the industry, SATS worked around the clock to keep supply chains open and connected throughout its cargo terminal operations (CTO) network, which spans 10 countries.

By preventing major disruptions to cargo movement, we helped to ensure that customers and communities would continue to have access to critical supplies, while protecting and supporting the industry.

We simultaneously worked closely with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to diversify its sourcing network to help strengthen Singapore’s food supply resilience and meet the daily needs of the public and essential workers at the time.

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In April 2020, IATA reported that industry-wide cargo tonne kilometres (CTKs) plunged 27.7% year-on-year, alongside a 42% reduction in cargo capacity annually with the absence of the belly capacity of passenger aircraft.

SATS soon saw cargo tonnage and flights handled plunge to as low as 45% and 10% of pre-COVID volumes respectively in that same month. However, the company stayed resilient by further strengthening its hub capabilities and connectivity over the past year.

This included SATS’ largest redeployment of 10,000 staff into new and critical roles across the group’s operations, ramping up training and development, as well as accelerating the enhancement of cool chain capabilities and capacity.

As Asia’s first on-airport perishable handling centre in 2010 and the world’s first coolport to obtain IATA’s Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators on Pharmaceutical Handling (CEIV Pharma) certification in 2014, SATS Coolport in Singapore reaped the benefits of its early investment in pharmaceutical handling during the pandemic.

Designed to meet the highest international standards of cold chain integrity, the 8,000-square-metre coolport is equipped with electronic temperature-monitoring technology, 18 cold rooms with temperature zones ranging from -28ºC to 25ºC, and an annual handling capacity of up to 250,000 tonnes of temperature-sensitive goods.

At the same time, the company recognised the importance of actively engaging industry stakeholders through a broader ecosystem approach as a member of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), Singapore Aircargo Agents Association (SAAA), and Singapore’s Changi Ready Taskforce by coming together to resolve the logistical challenges of transporting and handling lifesaving vaccines to nearly eight billion people worldwide.

Hence, we readily supported Project Sunrays by Pharma.

Aero and TIACA, which seeks to establish useful guidelines to ensure the proper and safe handling, storage, and transport of high volumes of COVID-19 vaccines globally.

Our presence in key airports in the region has helped to pave the way to establishing more secure temperaturecontrolled quality corridors between other countries and Singapore through close collaboration between airlines and the Changi air cargo community.

Other SATS joint venture coolports in Asia that are IATA or GDP-certified include Beijing Aviation Ground Services in Beijing, AISATS Coolport in Bengaluru, SATS Saudi Arabia in Dammam, Asia Airfreight Terminal in Hong Kong, JAS Airport Services in Jakarta, and Transom SATS Cargo in Muscat.

Building a network of pharma handling facilities with similar capabilities, coupled with the strong air connectivity

However, even though the COVID-19 situation looks set to improve with the roll-out of new vaccines, there is still a long road ahead. We continue to work closely with our airline partners to adapt operational procedures and processes for the conversion of passenger flights to cargo-in-cabin (CIC) flights to maximise cargo load factors.

From trialling new ways of loading and securing cargo in aircraft cabins and overhead stowage compartments, to utilising hi-lifts that are typically deployed to uplift inflight meals and baggage skyloaders, the experienced team at SATS leaves no stone unturned.

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However, we also invested an additional S$1 million in equipment such as cool dollies and temperature loggers to gear up for the specialised handling and transhipment of COVID-19 vaccines.

of these key cities’ airports with Changi Airport, has contributed to boosting Singapore’s status as a key regional distribution hub.

Today, SATS’ cargo volumes have rebounded to more than 80% of pre-COVID levels in tandem with a significant increase in freighter and CIC flights.

Moreover, as e-commerce transactions spike amidst heightened travel restrictions and lockdowns, another of SATS’ early investments was validated.

Set up in 2017, the highly automated SATS eHub tripled Changi’s e-commerce mail-sorting capability, halved processing time, and can handle as many as 1,800 mail bags a day. This has enabled the company to manage and meet the growing volume of eCommerce shipments.

While the operating environment remains challenging due to ongoing pandemic-related travel restrictions, demand for air freight to transport e-commerce, pharmaceutical, and perishable products continue to rise.

We remain committed to protecting the safety of communities, travellers, and the movement of goods, even as it encourages greater collaboration and trust amongst the air cargo community to take the industry forward.

APA

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APA Issue 1, 2021

GOLD IN THE HOLD Its chief officer for cargo, Guillaume Halleux, tells us more about the airport facilities, fleet and route network that make Qatar Airways one of the world’s biggest cargo airlines.

HOW IMPORTANT IS CARGO TO QATAR AIRWAYS? The cargo division is a significant contributor to the airline’s revenue and overall business, and this has been growing each year. Our current global market, as of January 2021, is 8.95%, according to IATA. Based on cargo tonne kilometres (CTKs) growth (YTD Jan 2021), we are up by 18.3%, this is a great indication of our growth and support by customers.

HOW MANY TONNES OF FREIGHT DO YOU HANDLE ANNUALLY AND HOW MUCH OF THIS IS CARRIED

BY FREIGHTERS? Cargo handled each year is growing. For the calendar year 2020, our tonnage increased by 4% compared to 2019. In 2019, the split between belly-hold and freighter was 52% and 48%, but this changed during the pandemic in 2020, where cargo flown on freighters increased to 55% while belly-hold split was at 45%. In fact, during January 2021, 61% of Qatar Airways Cargo’s capacity was aboard dedicated freighters while 39% was on passenger aircraft. Quite a turnaround.

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WHAT ARE YOUR TOP FIVE CARGO ROUTES TODAY IN TERMS OF VOLUMES? Our top five origin stations (freighter and belly-hold) in terms of tonnage for 2020 are Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Shanghai and Oslo. The top five destinations (freighter and belly-hold) are Doha, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London Heathrow and Chicago. Our top five routes in 2020 in terms of volumes are Hong Kong-Amsterdam, Hong Kong-London Heathrow, Amsterdam-Doha, Beirut-Doha and Hong Kong-Frankfurt.

CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR CARGO FACILITIES AT HAMAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT? On an average day this March, we had 140 to 150 cargo flights (freighters, mini freighters and passenger freighters) and utilised different types of airplanes such as the Boeing 747-8F, Boeing 777F, B777-300 mini freighters, passenger freighters and Airbus and Boeing passenger flights, all with varying capacities. Our entire cargo complex area at Hamad International Airport covers 292,000sqm where we have parking facilities capable of simultaneously accommodating 11 freighters.

Our high-tech Cargo Warehouse Information System (CWIS) can pinpoint the location of every cargo item in the terminal with precise accuracy. We have invested in a fleet of refrigerated or reefer vehicles for the transportation of temperature-sensitive goods. We also offer the fastest global aircraft transfer times at Hamad through our Quick Ramp Transfer (QRT) service.

In addition to the 55,000sqm cargo terminal building that houses separate areas for different types of products, our 2,470sqm Climate Control Centre, a transit facility, handles about 285,000 tonnes of cool chain cargo, making it one of the largest airside pharmaceutical centres globally.

Our hub in Doha is IATA CEIV Pharma certified and our ground handling partner Qatar Aviation Services has also received the same certification for warehouse and pharma operations. We have a 4,200sqm air-conditioned live animal facility in Doha with special features such as dedicated holding areas for animals, stalls for horses, kennels for pets, 24/7 expert animal healthcare services, walking yard and much more. We also have the DeBoer facility which is a dedicated facility for the screening, handling and storage of transiting courier and mail cargo,

with a built-up size of 6,700sqm and capacity to handle up to 256,000 tonnes annually.

We are currently handling 2.3 million tonnes of cargo with a number of workarounds at Hamad International Airport. This is higher than the actual cargo capacity that the airport was designed to handle, which is 1.4 million tonnes. To support the anticipated future growth, the Cargo Terminal 2 project is underway, which will boost the combined cargo capacity of both terminals to 4.6 million tonnes.

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We have invested heavily in our state-of-the-art fullyautomated hub at Hamad International Airport to support and facilitate the growth of cargo, with special processes and teams in place to handle all kinds of cargo, even the most time-sensitive shipments.

Future projects include roll out of IATA DG Auto Check, a digital solution that will allow us to automatically check the compliance of the shipper’s declaration for dangerous goods (DGD). We are also working on the development of a cargo bridging facility for import and export cargo in the State of Qatar.

HOW BIG IS YOUR CARGO FLEET AND DO YOU ENVISAGE THIS CHANGING ANY TIME SOON? We have a fleet of 26 freighters – two B747-8 freighters and 24 B777Fs. We also transport cargo on passenger freighters and mini freighters. We have a strong belly-hold cargo fleet of more than 200 aircraft and, during the pandemic, the airline took delivery of five A350-1000 planes.

Our mix of modern fuel-efficient freighters and passenger planes helps us to develop a sustainable and adapted solution, to offer the right capacity in each market, where we can flexibly adjust to the needs of the cargo business and this is a very cost-effective combination.

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APA Issue 1, 2021

IS THE AIRLINE PLAYING A MAJOR ROLE IN THE SHIPMENT OF MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND VACCINES ACROSS THE GLOBE? Air cargo is the lifeline of trade and the pandemic has magnified its importance. It was air cargo that enabled global supply chains and maintained delivery of critical supplies, PPE and now vaccines. Time was a constraint but with it, there was an added pressure of less capacity that we had to deal with. Despite all hurdles, we have played a significant role throughout the pandemic and did the most flying, to support our customers business and the transport of critical supplies and PPE. Working closely with governments and NGOs around the world, more than 250,000 tonnes of PPE, medical and aid supplies were transported on our flights to impacted regions. Above that, over 500 charters transporting essential aid, medical supplies, food, live animals, among other cargo were flown last year. Through Chapter 1 – One Million Kilos launched in June 2020, we went a step further and offered one million kilos of free cargo to our customers to support charities of their choice.

Vaccines aren’t a new product for our industry, but the quantity and scale of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination roll out is new and immense. Fortunately, we have invested much time and effort into creating a logistics plan for vaccines. We recently surpassed the 10 million milestone for COVID-19 vaccines, which included transporting COVID-19 vaccines for UNICEF as part of the five-year MoU to support the United Nations agency’s Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative.

I must say that our staff, including all cargo workers around the world deserve our praise, respect and a standing ovation. They have been exceptional and have

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gone out of their way, working tirelessly and long hours to support world trade. I am humbled and at the same time proud of what we have done, and will achieve, as a team.

HOW IS QATAR AIRWAYS INNOVATING? Innovation up and down the line is key on our agenda, with a strong focus on utilising technology and data analytics to enhance the customer experience and business efficiency. We are moving towards more systems that allow for dynamic pricing, automated quotations, robotic integration and improved reporting.

We have already introduced Robotic Process Automation for shipment tracking, Salesforce (Service Cloud), IATA’s One Record Pilot project with Champ and eBookings via WebCargo by Freightos that is now live in six countries.

We are also premium members of Validaide Digital Platform. Validaide membership is an enhancement to our Pharma product where we are able to digitally manage and share our station capabilities for pharmaceuticals and healthcare products. This will help our customers make informed decisions and lane assessments to plan the most optimal routing for their time and temperature sensitive pharma shipments at the click of a button.

Great progress has been made on the e-AWB front.

Currently, e-AWB penetration for Doha is at 99.8% and network is at 85% (Dec 2020).

Digitalisation is a better and more efficient way of working, it kills borders, it kills currency issues and rate of exchange risks, brings transparency and improves speed to market.

Digitalisation was already a key foundation pillar in our Goal22 strategy. However, the pandemic has accelerated a number of digitalisation initiatives.

APA

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APA Issue 1, 2021

VERTICAL REALITY We take a closer look at plans for the world’s first vertiport for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Singapore and how its opening might revolutionise taxi services at Changi Airport.

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t feels like momentum is gathering pace in AsiaPacific, Europe and North America for a new type of airport taxi – one that is capable of avoiding traffic jams on the ground by simply flying over them!

We are, of course, referring to recent global announcements in the UK, US and Singapore about the development or planned development of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, for transporting passengers on short journeys across cities and regions.

And, in the case of Singapore, it is already a reality as trials of a Volocity eVTOL vehicle – manufactured by German-based Volocopter – have already been carried out in Marina Bay. “It’s very quiet, and when we flew around Marina Bay in Singapore, people walking along the pavement with the Volocopter behind them at 70 metres didn’t even turn around,” says Skyports founder and CEO, Duncan Walker.

“You can’t hear that it’s there unless you know it’s coming, and even on landing, it’s not that much more noisy than existing city environmental noise.”

The fact that Walker and his Skyports team are pioneering the new technology should come as no surprise as they were behind the proof-of-concept

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construction of the world’s first vertiport (a take-off and landing area for eVTOLs) in Singapore in 2019.

Indeed, the company aims to launch commercial operations there within two years, in partnership with Volocopter, one of the world’s leading e-VTOL manufacturers. The vehicle used here, called Volocity, can carry 200 kilogrammes or two people.

Much of Skyports’ current effort is with existing airports, working with them on how they best integrate into the vertiport network.

In collaboration with Groupe ADP, one of Skyports early investors, the company is building a test facility at Cergy-Pontoise, a general aviation airport to the north of Paris.

This site will be used for operational testing ahead of commercial launch in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Skyports is also working with the Civil Aviation Authority, London Heathrow, London City Airport and a number of vehicle manufacturers on the concept of operatons for London.

Why would airports, and particularly Singapore Changi be interested in the project? Airports are likely to be the biggest customer for this technology, according to Skyports, which notes that a large percentage of the investors in the company are airports.

It believes that the concept will be particularly attractive to airports where ground connections into the city are an issue.

by Atkins to look at the feasibility of eVTOL aircraft; and AECOM and Ferrovial announcing that they are working on the design of a network of vertiports in Florida, USA.

What kind of air taxi service will it provide? It is designed to be an additional form of transport to alleviate struggling ground-based infrastructure, although Walker is quite clear that eVTOL vehicles are not going to replace the car, well not quite yet, anyway.

While announcements from Joby, Archer and Lilium about public listings on the NASDAQ stock exchange have confirmed that billions of dollars are flooding into the sector.

“We think of them as an augmentation of an overstretched network and a way of connecting with other forms of transportation,” he muses. “Not every building will have a vertiport, rather like you don’t need a metro station on the corner of every street.”

Where will eVTOL taxis land? Volocopters have an advantage over traditional helicopters as they are much quieter, allowing them to more easily get into and land in busy city centres, says Walker.

Could they be located on an airport and therefore generate extra income for them? “Absolutely – that’s rather the idea of them,” says Walker.

Before looking to add a vertiport to their facilities, there are of course a number of key considerations for airports.

Should the vertiport operate landside or airside? What are the security implications? How will the service dovetail with the other elements of the passenger journey? And how will airspace be integrated?

Whilst the majority of these vehicles will initially be piloted, the long-term ambition for the industry is autonomy, which brings added complexity around manned and unmanned aircraft interaction.

“It’s a complex challenge, but the prize for airports is big,” enthuses Walker. “Enhanced connectivity to city centres, rapid adoption of electrification and the associated environmental benefits, improved customer experience and the potential to drive significant additional revenue streams have caught the attention of a number of substantial national and international airport owners and operators. There’s much to be gained.”

There is no denying eVTOLs have recently hit the mainstream in a big way with the UK government awarding an industrial research grant to a consortium led

But what makes the eVTOL such a compelling proposition? And how can these craft be compared as an alternative to the helicopter?

“All-electric vehicles are much quieter than traditional helicopters powered by combustion engines,” says Walker.

“Depending on which type of helicopter we’re talking about, many have ‘a single point of failure’, meaning one motor, or one connection with the rotor. This makes them relatively unsafe compared to norms in the aviation industry, which is the safest of all forms of transportation.

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“Although many eVTOLs have a wing for lift during forward flight, they can all land in constrained environments within city centres. This brings a great opportunity for airports in adding a quick, safe, environmentally friendly alternative to current citycentre-to-airport transportation for people and cargo without the huge infrastructure costs associated with ground transportation.”

“Archer’s deal also included a pre-order of in excess of $1 billion of aircraft from United Airlines,” notes Walker.

“The share price of eHang, the Chinese passenger drone manufacturer listed on the NASDAQ, is up 500% year-to-date.”

“The configuration of an eVTOL is different. They have what’s called ‘multiple points of redundancy’, so you have multiple rotors, multiple motors, multiple batteries, and that adds further degrees of safety.”

All of the current vehicles are certified by either the European Air Safety Agency in Europe, the Federal Aviation Administration in the US or the other regulators in the manufacturers’ own countries, so the level of safety threshold for all of these vehicles is no less than a commercial airliner.

This, says Walker, is important for the industry as a whole, but also for public perception in terms of safety and efficiency.

The relative simplicity of these vehicles also gives them an advantage over their more traditional predecessors. “They have far fewer moving parts in their motors,” he explains.

“This means less down-time and cheaper maintenance.

They will ultimately be capable of being flown automatously, without the need for a pilot (which is the biggest cost and the biggest cause of accidents), making them even more economical to operate.

“Increasing scales of production will drive prices lower, meaning this transport will be something that is affordable by the masses, not the elite few.”

APA

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WBP NEWS

APA Issue 1, 2021

The latest news from ACI’s Asia-Pacific and global World Business Partners.

VANDERLANDE WINS NEW SYDNEY AIRPORT CONTRACT Vanderlande has been chosen to supply the baggage handling system (BHS) for Australia’s planned new Western Sydney International Airport (WSIA).

The greenfield project is being completed in several phases and is expected to enter operational readiness and acceptance trials (ORAT) in late 2024 and open to international, domestic and freight services in late 2026.

Vanderlande states that it is delivering a range of innovative solutions to the airport as part of the BHS package. Based on unique shuttle technology, Vanderlande’s ADAPTO BAGSTORE will be the heart of the system, and provide flexibility and scalability, high storage density and 100% redundancy.

According to Vanderlande, it also gives WSIA the ability to “batch build” baggage, ensuring efficient use of resources, and to deploy the emerging service of “reclaim on demand” due to its ability to store inbound bags.

In addition, all Vanderlande solutions are integrated with its high-level controls platform, VIBES. This intelligent software solution covers the complete baggage process, and interfaces directly with airport and airline IT systems to provide a holistic view.

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The Vanderlande system will also include out-of-gauge baggage handling utilising FLEET Bag AV-technology, speed loaders for efficient ULD loading, and a central make-up area for economic use of resources.

It will even link to a sub-system in which couriers will be able to drop off bags enabling WSIA to provide the option of remote check-in and bag drop services. The company will also integrate self-bag drop and state of the art in tub baggage screening into its system.

“As a strong local partner, we understand and share Western Sydney Airport’s vision,” says Vanderlande’s executive vice president for airport and parcel solutions and board member, Andrew Manship.

“We are committed to working transparently and collaboratively in order to deliver the highest levels of passenger satisfaction through best-in-class baggage performance. This is not only about technology, but also understanding how our solutions can make WSIA a great place to work and support the wider Sydney community.”

The airport is the core project in the development of Sydney’s third Central Business District (CBD).

DELHI’S NEW ‘GREEN’ GATEWAY It also meets a number of other predefined objectives such as envisaging green spaces inside and around the building in line with the possible future creation of an airport city.

The company is supporting master architects NordicHaptic-Grimshaw on the project after the team’s design was chosen by the client, Zurich Airport, for “demonstrating a proficiency in balancing passenger comfort with sustainability, and timeless design with flexibility for future needs”.

NACO regional manager, Joeri Aulman, says: “We are very happy to have contributed to winning the confidence of Zurich Airport through our involvement in the terminal competition design for Noida International Airport.

This included incorporating flexible expansion options into the design so that the new airport can serve up to 30 million passengers per annum in the future.

The winning design is said to merge “Swiss efficiency and Indian hospitality” to create a modern and seamless passenger experience that will “set new benchmarks in sustainability for airport terminal buildings in India”.

“Fully aligned with our focus on smart airports with customer experience and sustainability at its core, Noida International Airport will become a unique new gateway to the world city of Delhi and to the state of Uttar Pradesh”.

Once complete, Delhi Noida International Airport will serve the fast-developing industrial region between Delhi and Agra, and its investment will support the Indian government and Uttar Pradesh through infrastructure development and job creation.

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NACO, Netherlands Airport Consultants, is part of the international design team for the terminal building at India’s planned new Delhi Noida International Airport.

AIRPORTS ARE ACCELERATING THEIR INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGY The world’s airports are accelerating their investment in technology to aid the aviation industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by ACI World.

Based on the findings of a survey by IT provider SITA, airports have been agile in adapting to the changing health and safety requirements, focusing on automated and touchless solutions for both customers and staff.

The survey discovered that airports spent 5.46% of their revenue on IT in 2020, which represents about $3.5 billion in absolute spend, and that 55% of the responding airports estimate that their 2021 IT budgets will either stay the same or increase.

It also revealed that 87% of airports confirmed that programmes to address passenger health and safety protocols have either been implemented or are planned.

These are said to include sensors, video monitoring and robots to automatically monitor passenger social

distancing, temperature checks, sanitisation and other health criteria introduced in the battle against COVID-19.

Business intelligence tools, which can be linked to these technologies to help staff maintain a safe airport environment for all customers and staff, ranked third in the list of top investments.

David Lavorel, SITA’s CEO for airports and borders, noted: “In the face of a severe slowdown in 2020, the air transport industry was forced to focus on driving new cost efficiencies. Adding to the pressure, airlines and airports had to rapidly incorporate new health measures such as touchless passenger processing and the handling of new health information and protocols including PCR testing in many destinations.

“To solve these challenges the industry has turned to technology such as biometric technology (83% of airports), offering more mobile apps for passengers and staff, and focusing on remote and virtual IT services.”

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WBP PROFILES MATERNA IPS

Location: Germany Contact: Philipp Kugelmann E: philipp.kugelmann@materna-ips.com W: www.materna-ips.com Materna IPS GmbH, the aviation brand of the Materna Group, is an international service provider for automated passenger handling for airlines and airports. From kiosk check-in and self-bag drop hardware through to software implementations as well as service delivery and maintenance, Materna IPS has huge expertise in this sector with lots of successful customer-projects around the world.

TO70

APA Issue 1, 2021

NEW GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR PLAZA PREMIUM GROUP Award winning airport hospitality provider, Plaza Premium Lounge, has taken a potentially game-changing move for the company by opening its first lounge at a railway station in China.

Opened in collaboration with the global digital travel services platform, DragonPass, the 700sqm lounge at Changsha South High-Speed Railway Station in China is expected to be in demand as up to 5.5 million passengers a month pass through the key connecting hub to cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Shanghai.

“Extending our global hospitality experience of over 20 years and award-winning lounge services beyond airports is a game-changing opportunity for us,” explains SongHoi-see, founder and CEO of Plaza Premium Group.

“Indeed, the high-speed railway is an alternative way of travel for many in China and we look forward to bringing our world-class hospitality across the region.”

DragonPass digitally distributes a wide range of premium travel services including lounge access, limousine transfer, fast-track access, meet and assist, dining, valet parking, baggage porterage and advanced medical services.

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To70 delivers high-quality consulting and research services to the global aviation community. Since its inception in 2000, To70 has built a reputation on integrity, drive, knowledge and innovation. Its services help aviation and society cope with current and future challenges in airport and airspace operations. To70 specialises in: airport strategic planning; aviation policy; aviation & the environment; air traffic management; aviation safety; aviation communication; and route development.

FEEYO TECHNOLOGY COMPANY (VARIFLIGHT) Location: China Contact: Tong Xuan E: xtong@VariFlight.com W: www.VariFlight.com/en/

“The strategic partnership with DragonPass represents a milestone for us to explore a new territory in travel.

High-speed rail traffic in China has skyrocketed in recent years and even more so post pandemic.

The companies say that the new collaboration is committed to enhancing the passenger experience at high-speed railway lounges from ambience, dining, entertainment to service quality.

Location: Australia Contact: Arie Van der Eijk E: arie.vandereijk@to70.com.au W: www.to70.com.au

APA

VariFlight is a leading global aviation data provider with over 94% coverage of commercial flight status data worldwide. Today we pride ourselves in providing an extensive range of products and services to passengers, businesses and airports, including mobile apps, aviation analytics and tailored industry solutions. We provide flight data services to more than 300-million air travellers annually through our data solutions and mobile app. VariFlight A-CDM has been implemented at 81 airports globally, enabling continuous efficiency improvement in ground operations.

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