MAGAZINE

AIRPORT WORLD 2015, ISSUE 06

Joe Bates 17th December 2015

Theme: Airport World’s 20th anniversary

Airport report: Minneapolis-St Paul

Airport design: Creating green spaces

Plus: Security, people matters & WBPs

The Airport World story

Editor, Joe Bates, reflects on the 20th anniversary of Airport World and the changing face of the aviation industry over the past two decades.

I may not have been here from the very start as Airport World was already nearly five years old when I joined it at the end of 2000, but after clocking up 15 years with the magazine it is fair to say that I have been in a privileged position to witness, write about and in some cases provide commentary on arguably the most exciting times in the history of ACI and the world’s airports.

You can read more about what some of today’s leading airport bosses and IATA’s Tony Tyler consider to be the industry highlights of the last 20 years later on in this special anniversary issue of Airport World, but from my perspective I think the biggest changes have been the evolution of ACI World and the giant strides forward airports have taken in terms of customer service, embracing new technology and green initiatives.

For in the last 20 years ACI World has developed and strengthened its relationship with ICAO to ensure that the voice of the world’s airports is heard on the global stage – the 2011 move of its HQ from Geneva to Montréal to be closer to ICAO proving pivotal – and it has introduced a host of training, customer service, safety, security and environmental initiatives that have already begun to make airports safer, more secure and user friendly.

Among the most significant of these has been the introduction of the Airport Management Professional Accreditation Programme (AMPAP) in collaboration with ICAO; the creation of the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programme; and most recently the launch of the Airport Excellence (APEX) in Safety programme.

ACI as a global organisation is also now stronger than it has ever been with all regions (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America-Caribbean and North America) increasingly working together with ACI World for the good of the world’s airports and the aviation industry.

ACI’s work as part of the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG); initiatives such as Airport Carbon Accreditation and the Airport Carbon and Emissions Reporting Tool (ACERT); and numerous pioneering ‘green’ projects by individual airports help ensure that aviation is doing more than most other industries to negate its impact on the environment.

The transformation of customer service at airports; introduction of game changing new technology; and traffic development at the world’s largest hubs over the last 20 years is covered in articles in this celebratory issue.

We also take a look at how airport design has evolved during the past two decades and predict what the passenger terminal of the future might look like.

From Airport World’s perspective in addition to bringing you news about all the big events of the last 20 years we have interviewed most of aviation’s leading personalities and covered everything from the key roles airports have played in helping regions and countries recover from natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes to the fun and the quirky such as the world’s tallest control towers, pet hotels and using honeybees to detect explosives.

Talking of personalities, elsewhere in this issue we interview Jeff Hamiel, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport’s long-serving executive director/CEO who will have chalked up an amazing 39 years at MSP by the time he retires in May 2016.

In many ways his retirement will be a watershed for the industry as I don’t believe that any other airport leader has served one airport for so long, and in today’s world where people tend to move from job to job every few years, it is unlikely to ever be repeated.

So, please enjoy this extra special issue of Airport World and here’s to the next 20 years!

Opinion
Editor, Joe Bates, reflects on the 20th anniversary of Airport World and the changing face of the aviation industry over the past two decades.

ACI news
ACI’s latest global traffic figures show that passenger numbers continue to rise steadily across the globe, writes Ryan White.

Old school
Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport’s Jeff Hamiel talks to Joe Bates about his airport’s growth and development under his leadership and reflects on some industry highlights ahead of his upcoming retirement.

Planes, trains and pet hotels
Joe Bates looks back at the first 20 years of Airport World and picks out some personal highlights in terms of key dates for ACI and unique or unsual stories.

Celebrate good times
Airport customer service has undergone a metamorphosis for the better over the last 20 years fuelled by management taking responsibility for customer experiences across the entire gateway, writes Joanne Paternoster.

Design and innovation
Stantec’s Stanis Smith reflects on the evolution of the terminal building since 1995 and considers what the future might hold for airport design.

Terminal velocity
Continually topping customer satisfaction polls is the goal of almost every airport and in today’s highly competitive operating environment, one way to impress is having a modern, state-of-the-art terminal.

Enabling growth
SITA’s Matthys Serfontein reflects on the evolution of airport IT and considers what the future might hold for new technology at the world’s gateways.

How time flies when…
Some of the world’s best known and most influential airport leaders provide their thoughts on how their gateways have fared over the last 20 years and contemplate what might be next in store for the aviation industry.

On top of the world
OAG senior analyst, John Grant, takes a closer look at the traffic trends at the world’s busiest hubs over the last 20 years.

Green thinking
The addition of ‘green’ areas within airport terminals can help create a sense of place, improve the ambience and have a calming impact on passengers, writes Kenneth Freeman.

The pursuit of happiness
AeroParker’s CEO, Jon Keefe, explains why he believes that using an e-commerce platform to book car parking online can help drive airport revenues and enhance the passenger experience.

Expand and grow
Mike Bernos reports on Juan Santamaria International Airport’s plans to ensure that its key infrastructure is equipped to keep pace with growing demand.

All about access
ASSA ABLOY’s head of technical and marketing, Jonathan Nobbs, discusses how automating entrance and exit doors can help fine-tune security and boost customer satisfaction levels.

Going green
The latest environmental news from across the globe.

Project watch – Europe 1
Private investors unveil ambitious plans for a new €15 billion hub in northern Italy.