AIRPORT WORLD 2023, ISSUE 01

VIEW THE ISSUE HERE

Focus on: Africa
Airport profile: Dallas/Fort Worth
Special report: Small airports
Plus: Green concessions & China traffic analysis

Back in business

Airport World editor, Joe Bates, looks forward to a more positive year for aviation, introduces some exciting changes to the magazine, and reflects on the ‘Africa’ theme of this issue.

Despite the World Health Organization’s recent reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is still a global health emergency, its once paralysing impact on the planet is effectively over, and the aviation industry can look forward to the year ahead with growing confidence.

Across the globe airports are growing their workforces, hiring new staff and replacing those that left the industry during the pandemic to better equip themselves to cope with current demand and the expected upturn in traffic in 2023.

Indeed, ACI World forecasts that global passenger numbers will return to and possibly surpass pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023, so international travel is 100% back on the agenda.

And with overseas journeys now largely being free of travel restrictions and the threat of enforced periods of quarantine, international aviation conferences we can all attend are back in force this year with the 2023 events calendar including the most in-person ACI World events since 2019.

They include this summer’s joint ACI EUROPE/WORLD Annual General Assembly, Conference & Exhibition (WAGA) in the beautiful city of Barcelona (June 26-28); the ACI Customer Experience Global Summit in Incheon (September 4-7); and new Airports Innovate conference in Muscat (November 21-23).

You can see exactly what’s in store, and when, on our events map in the newly restored ACI news pages of this issue. The section (pages 10-12) now leads with news from ACI World and includes input from the ACI regions, this issue including updates from ACI EUROPE and ACI Asia-Pacific.

This year will also see the introduction of a new ‘hospitality’ column, which will focus on customer service innovation and the news and views of hospitality providers ranging from airport lounges, hotels and meet & greet teams to retail and F&B concessionaires.

Another way we will be doing things slightly differently in 2023 is that we have decided to produce a mix of print and digital only issues this year to better serve our readers who prefer to view stories online and receive a PDF of the magazine, and lessen our impact on the environment by printing and globally mailing significantly fewer copies.

As a result, this issue along with the March/April, July/August and November/December editions will be 100% digital and this year’s only print issues of Airport World will be the ones we produce for WAGA in Barcelona (May/June) and Airports Innovate (September/October).

We have decided to make ‘Africa’ the theme of our first issue of 2023 to coincide with the 69th ACI Africa Board & Committee Meetings, Regional Conference & Exhibition being held in Kigali, Rwanda, between February 25 and March 3.

ACI Africa’s secretary general, Ali Tounsi, introduces the Africa section of the magazine by telling us more about some of the main challenges and opportunities facing Africa’s aviation industry and outlining the goals and ambitions of ACI Africa for the year ahead.

The themed section also shines the spotlight on TAV Airports’ investment strategy in Africa; the African airport portfolio of Egis; and the potential for commercial/real estate developments at and around African airports.

Elsewhere in the issue, we are reminded about the economic challenges facing small airports and how enhancing customer service can boost revenues; consider why airports should implement ‘green concessions’ programmes; and analyse the impact of China’s re-opening to international travel.

Our main airport feature is on Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), where executive vice president of global strategy and development, John Ackerman, updates us on the growth and development plans of the Texas gateway.

We round out the issue with the thoughts of ACI World director general, Luis Felipe de Oliveira; ‘hospitality’ and ‘people matters’ columns; and a bumper four page review of the latest World Business Partner (WBP) news. All make for a cracking start to 2023, I hope you agree!