INDUSTRY NEWS

ACI World will today launch its new Policy Agenda 2030 which calls for the modernisation of aviation policies to allow airports to keep pace with rising global demand. The association argues that outdated regulatory frameworks risk constraining growth, capacity, and sustainability, It notes that airports are strategic assets for countries, supporting trade, tourism, and connectivity, […]

ACI World today released its traffic forecast for 2026 and beyond, and it looks good with 10.2 billion passengers expected to pass through the world’s airports this year, and 18.8 billion per annum by 2045. The figures, which form part of the organisation’s World Airport Traffic Forecasts 2025–2054, are impressive with a period of sustained […]

Anticipation is building as we prepare to celebrate the 10th anniversary of SMART Airports & Regions events at the SMART Airports & Regions Conference and Exhibition 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia, next month. Hosted by Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, SMART Airports & Regions Conference and Exhibition 2025 will be held at the […]

Editor, Joe Bates, looks back at some of the many highlights of the recent ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East/ACI World Annual General Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Riyadh. With the worst days of the global pandemic fast becoming a distant memory for airports, and global passenger numbers either already above or set to exceed 2019 […]

Airline leaders gathered at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) 67th Assembly of Presidents held in Singapore this week, welcomed the robust recovery of air travel in the Asia-Pacific region. Reflecting the collective priorities and shared resolve of Asian airline leaders, the Assembly of Presidents today passed a series of resolutions covering sustainability, aviation […]

We provide a snapshot of some of the latest news stories from across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. FEVER PITCH AT AUCKLAND AIRPORT Auckland Airport has unveiled its new-look International Arrivals area with a grandstand and mock football field to welcome visitors ahead of the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 tournament. Chief customer officer, […]

From sharing industry insights at regional events to making significant decisions at its Board Meeting, ACI Asia-Pacific has had a successful quarter. ACI ASIA-PACIFIC APPOINTS THREE NEW MEMBERS TO REGIONAL BOARD ACI Asia-Pacific is pleased to announce that it appointed three new Board members during the recent 34th Board Meeting in Muscat, hosted by Oman […]

BRISBANE AIRPORT CONSIDERS BUILDING A NEW TERMINAL 3 Brisbane Airport is consulting with its airline partners about the possibility of a future Terminal 3 as it looks at the best way of handling a projected 50 million passengers annually through its terminals by 2040. “We are running out of terminal capacity and we’re looking at […]

VINCI AIRPORTS AWARDED CONCESSION FOR FAA’A AIRPORT VINCI Airports will operate Faa’a International Airport in Tahiti for the next 40 years after being awarded the concession to develop it by the French government. The main airport and gateway to French Polynesia, Faa’a International Airport – also known as Tahiti International Airport – welcomed 1.5 million […]

Senior manager for media and communications, Sunil Subbaiah, rounds-up the latest news and developments from ACI Asia-Pacific. GREEN AIRPORTS RECOGNITION WINNERS ACI Asia-Pacific continued to be vocal and active in promoting airport sustainability at different levels. This year, ACI Asia-Pacific recognised twelve airports in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East for their outstanding achievements in carbon […]

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE CHAMPIONS  Thirty two airports from Asia-Pacific and the Middle East have won 2021 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards, which celebrate and showcase the world’s best airports as voiced by travellers. Twenty six awards were shared across eight ‘Best by Size and Region’ categories, and included Indonesia’s Pattimura (AMQ) and Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin (DJB) […]

GROUND-BREAKING CEREMONY HELD FOR DELHI-NOIDA The clock is running down to the opening of Delhi’s new Noida International Airport (NIA) after the foundation stone for the new gateway was put in place in the presence of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. In the picture above, NIA CEO, Christoph Schnellmann, and Daniel Bircher, chairman and managing […]

NEW AIRPORTS OPEN IN MALAYSIA AND CHINA Despite today’s tough operating environment, the number of airports in the Asia-Pacific region continues to grow with the recent opening of the new Mukah Airport (MKM) in Sarawak, Malaysia, and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU) in China. Mukah’s new $70 million gateway replaces the town’s former short take-off […]

GUANGZHOU BAIYUN WAS THE WORLD’S BUSIEST AIRPORT IN 2020 The global impact of COVID-19 meant that 2020’s world traffic rankings had a very different look to normal, with Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) in China replacing Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) as the busiest gateway on the planet. Guangzhou Baiyun took top spot by handling 43.7 million passengers in […]

Autonomous vehicle specialist, Aurrigo, has launched the world’s first automated baggage dolly to the market after a successful trial at London Heathrow two years ago. The company was approached by International Airlines Group (IAG) to use its driverless expertise to develop the world’s first autonomous baggage carrying dolly. The trial (pictured above) started in March […]

News, views and reviews from ACI’s Asia-Pacific and global World Business partners. NEW GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR PLAZA PREMIUM GROUP Plaza Premium Group has taken its Allways meet and assist service offering to another level by forming a strategic partnership with YQ Now, which has a presence at 600 airports in 140 countries across the globe. […]

ACI World has issued a resolution at is World Annual General Assembly declaring that airport slot allocation policies should support the recovery of air transport. Airport connectivity, it notes, is essential for the recovery of air transport, and will be a key driver of the wider global economic recovery, which is why it is urging […]

Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport today inaugurated its new hangar and maintenance complex for aircraft operated by the Aeroflot Group. According to the Russian gateway, construction of the hangar complex was completed in 12 months, a record time for the construction of such “complex technical facilities”. The first facility of this kind in Russia, airport operator, […]

UK pilots union, the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), today called on the government to listen to IAG CEO, Willie Walsh, and use effective Covid testing as an alternative to punitive quarantine measures. BALPA, which freely admits that it is one of Walsh’s biggest critics, supports his call to end  the constantly changing and travel […]

News, views and reviews from ACI’s Asia-Pacific and global World Business Partners. Revamping the retail offerings in Beijing Capital’s Terminal 3 Beijing Capital International Airport has appointed a UK based airport design consultancy to help it redevelop and expand the commercial planning and design of the international departure lounge in Terminal 3. The airport wants […]

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) officially has a new boss today following the appointment of Justin Erbacci as the CEO of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) on a permanent basis. Erbacci, who joined LAWA in 2016 and has served as Interim CEO since predecessor Deborah Flint left for Great Toronto Airports Authority, was nominated for […]

ACI World has today called for urgent government assistance and relief for airports to underpin the operational restart of the aviation industry and sustain their long-term industry recovery. It notes that the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the industry and broader economy has halted the airport industry at global level, potentially losing them 4.6 billion passengers […]

CAA International (CAAi), the technical co-operation arm of the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, has completed the first milestone of a major aviation oversight programme to help Kazakhstan adopt a new aviation oversight framework based on the UK system. Over the past nine months, regulatory experts from CAAi have reviewed Kazakhstan’s Primary Aviation Legislation and recommended […]

Airports across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East are ready for the restart of the sector following the crippling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with the ongoing implementation of a set of common public health measures, according to ACI Asia-Pacific. The association notes that they are ready they implemented measures in full support and alignment with […]

ACI World has welcomed the publication of the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force Report. As airports and the wider aviation industry prepares to restart amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of new measures, processes, and procedures are already being considered or introduced around the world. ICAO, member states, and representatives of the industry – […]

ACI World has today published comprehensive guidance for airports as they prepare to restart operations to assist them in sustaining a business recovery in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The association estimates that the coronavirus crisis will cost airports more than 4.6 billion passengers and around $97 billion in revenue in 2020. The publication […]

Dubai International Airport (DXB) handled 17.8 million passengers in the COVID-19 hit first quarter of 2020, 20% down on the corresponding period a year ago. Compared to other airports, DXB fared quite well, and with Emirates announcing yesterday that it will resume operations to nine major cities on May 21 (Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Melbourne, […]

ACI Europe today warned that the continent’s airports are “on their knees” and facing irreversible consequences unless air travel can restart, in a COVID-19 safe way, this summer. The warning follows a 98.6% drop in passenger numbers in April, when just 2.8 million people passed through Europe’s 500+ airports. “Europe’s airports are on their knees. […]

ACI Europe has today called for full EU co-ordination and alignment on how current restrictions to air travel should be lifted. The call comes as a number of European states have begun to work on the progressive lifting of confinement measures. EU transport Ministers are also due to meet tomorrow to address the challenge of restoring […]

According to a survey by Swiss research agency, M1nd-set, over 60% of international travellers will fly again within the first three months of COVID-19 travel restrictions being lifted. The report, based on feedback from 1,500 consumers in the first half of April, aims to find out how passengers have been affected by COVID-19 and when […]

ACI World has provided a timely reminder about the importance of aviation to the global economy by revealing that the industry generated close to $180 billion in revenue in 2018. The significant sum will, of course, be in stark contrast to this year, with the association predicting that airport revenues could fall by up to […]

Etihad Airways has provided an update on its current and planned operations as COVID-19 travel restrictions remain in place around the world. Subject to UAE government imposed travel restrictions being lifted on passenger travel, Etihad plans to operate a reduced network of scheduled passenger services from May 1 to June 3, with the aim of gradually returning to a fuller schedule as and when the global situation improves.   The […]

Air Navigation Service Providers across Europe will share a £1.1 billion support package to maintain services, as the fall in air traffic has led to a dramatic reduction in their income. The UK, along with other European states, has supported EUROCONTROL, which manages charging for air navigation services across Europe, in securing a loan of […]

Laurent Dubois has been appointed CEO of Intelligent integration solutions provider, ADB SAFEGATE. The company admits that he joins it “at a time of unprecedented challenges for all organisations connected with air travel”. But it adds that the likely impact of the COVID-19 pandemic makes it more important than ever for ADB SAFEGATE to move […]

ACI World has today issued guidance on best practices to airports to help them adapt their airfield operations in response to the effects and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a survey of the members of the ACI World Safety and Technical Standing Committee, around half of respondents had experienced a 90% or greater […]

ACI Asia-Pacific is urging governments across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region to swiftly implement relief measures to safeguard airport employment and connectivity. Revised ACI revenue forecasts show the 2020 impact of the pandemic now stands at $23.9 billion for Asia-Pacific and $5.7 billion for the Middle East, impacting airports of all sizes. A prolonged […]

We pay tribute to the 2018 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) customer experience award winners and talk to some of the CEOs of the successful gateways. It’s official, Beijing Capital, Delhi-Indira Gandhi, Mumbai-Chhatrapati Shivaji, Singapore Changi, Shanghai Pudong and Seoul–Gimpo are some of the best airports in the world for the delivery of customer service. All […]