AIRPORT WORLD 2016, ISSUE 04

Editor, Joe Bates, reflects on ACI’s 25th Anniversary and looks forward to the joint ACI-NA/ACI World Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Montréal.

Theme of this issue is Airports Council International’s 25th Anniversary and, as you would expect, that means celebrating all things ACI World.

This, of course, means taking a brief look back at the history of the organisation, but our desire to mark the occasion by looking to the future instead of dwelling too much on the past means that the main focus of our 25th Anniversary special is very much on the here and now and what next for ACI World and airports across the globe.

As a result, the issue contains articles from ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, and most of the current directors and senior members of her management team in Montréal about the latest ACI initiatives and possible future opportunities and challenges facing the organisation and the world’s airports.

In the spotlight are deputy director general, Michael Rossell; director of airport customer experience and technology, Antoine Rostworowski; new economics and programme development director, Stefano Baronci; head of Global Training & Developing Nations Airport Assistance Programme, Kevin Caron; head of security, Nina Brooks; head of ASQ, Dimitri Coll; senior manager, APEX programmes, Danny Boutin; and aviation environmental specialist, Juliana Scavuzzi.

I hope you find what they say interesting, informative and thought provoking and will take the opportunity to continue the conversation with them at the World Assembly, Conference & Exhibition in Montréal.

As for the ACI history lesson, how do you sum up the first 25 years of the organisation in just 1,500 words? The answer is not easy as ACI has achieved so much in its first quarter of a century that it is literally impossible to highlight all its successes and pioneering work on just a few pages. Having said that, as every other article in 25th Anniversary special is looking to the future, it falls to me to do my best to provide you with a brief synopsis of the ACI story so far. So, apologies in advance, if I miss something out!

There is a saying in life that you should never go back, but for a whole host of reasons the decision to return to Montréal this year for ACI World’s Annual General Assembly (WAGA) feels absolutely right.

As was the case in 2001 when it was last in Montréal, the event is being held in conjunction with ACI-NA’s Annual Conference & Exhibition; and, Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) president and CEO, James Cherry, will once again be our genial host.

However, what makes the timing of the event extra special is the fact that it is a milestone year for both ACI and ADM as Montréal-Trudeau International Airport is celebrating its 75th birthday.

And it doesn’t end there as Montréal – arguably the world capital of civil aviation because of the presence of ICAO and global organisations such as IATA, ACI, CANSO and IFALPA – itself is about to celebrate its 375th anniversary.

It will also be the last WAGA in an official capacity for former ACI World and ACI-NA chairman Cherry, who recently announced his decision to retire at the end of 2016 after 15 years in the hot seat at ADM.

As any regular attendee of industry events will tell you, ‘Jim’ is one of ACI’s biggest supporters and nicest guys, and an almost permanent fixture at the organisation’s events across the world over the last 15 years, so it seems only fitting that most of us will say our farewells to him in his hometown of Montréal this September.

As always, the event itself promises to be another superb opportunity for delegates to discover more about some of the key issues facing airports today as well as the chance to learn about topics ranging from creating a ‘sense of place’ at your airport, crisis communication and PPP projects to adding to the bottom line by enhancing the passenger experience.

Other features in this bumper 80-page issue of Airport World include articles on Montréal-Trudeau; car parking; building F&B loyalty; sense of place design; IT innovation; and Zhenghzhou’s aerotropolis.