SMART talk

Joe Bates looks back at some of the key moments from July’s SMART Airports & Regions Conference and Exhibition in Denver.

Soaring outside temperatures and record visitor numbers that included 720 delegates and 62 exhibitors from across the globe really made July’s SMART Airports & Regions Conference and Exhibition in Denver, Colorado, one of the hot tickets of the summer.

The event – hosted by Denver International Airport (DEN) in partnership with Airport World publisher, Aviation Media – featured the best in airport commercial development, IT innovation, strategic thinking and planning and design.

A key focus throughout being on the smart strategies, opportunities and innovations that development, design, technology and the internet is bringing to environments, communities and cities.

As event moderator Chris LeTourneur, president and CEO of MXD Strategies explained in his opening remarks, the core infrastructure pillars for smart airports comprise of transportation, power, integrated utilities, urban development, resource management and IT based connectivity.

He also reminded delegates of the importance of weaving sustainability throughout the airport ecosystem and touched on the potential development of airports as clean energy hubs to support the decarbonisation of the industry.

In his welcome speech, Phil Washington, CEO of Denver International Airport (DEN), spoke about Vision 100, the airport’s strategic plan to get to 100 million passengers per annum with its guiding principles focused on sustainability and resiliency, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, operational excellence, and enhancing the customer experience.

Talking about the ongoing development of DEN for the next stage of its life, Washington said: “The airport opened in 1995 and was designed and built for 50 million annual passengers. Right now, we are close to 80 million, so we are effectively rebuilding the airport, and it’s not often you get an opportunity like this.”

He continued: “We are in what we call a mega-trend mindset, that is we have been identifying the mega-trends that are coming to the aviation space and working towards solutions to how we can embrace them and enhance the customer experience.

“In Denver, we are planning long and acting fast instead of planning slow and acting slow. With all our current projects it is very important that once the planning is in place, we act fast to accelerate the build out of the airport.”

On the podium immediately afterwards in the first CEO/airport directors panel of the day, Washington explained that DEN published its first ESG report last year and was working on its second. From the environmental perspective, he said electrification and the installation of solar panels were major strategies going forward for the airport.

He told the audience that a new Energy Performance Contract (EPC) was designed to save millions of dollars in terms of lighting and water costs, and revealed that DEN was also looking at SAF and hydrogen as future fuel sources. DEN’s Centre of Equity and Excellence, he said, had a research component that looked at best innovation practices around the world and bringing them to Denver International Airport.

From a social perspective, Washington said that “making sure that there is a seat at the table for historically underutilised, minority-owned businesses” was one of his priorities, feeling that the language used in most airport procurement documents today doesn’t encourage joint ventures with these businesses.

In response to what the top ESG priorities are for his airport, Lance Lyttle, the managing director of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), noted that the airport was on the verge of issuing some new bonds with ESG related conditions even though it wasn’t a requirement of investors.

He also spoke about SEA’s decarbonisation plans, including the adoption of SAF, how technology is helping reduce CO2 emissions and the Port of Seattle’s current policy of employing 120 paid high school interns a year to encourage new recruits to the industry with fresh ideas.

Atif Elkadi, CEO of Ontario International Airport (ONT), told delegates that his airport was working with the State of California and different airport stakeholders to ensure that the gateway has the infrastructure to support the electrification of all ground equipment by 2035/2040
or earlier.

In terms of the bigger innovation picture, he said: “Airports can start to set the tone and lead the way on ESG in North America as we have the innovation and the mindset to really be the leaders in the different ESG categories.”

Also part of the panel were Jamie Abbott, director of airports for the County of San Diego; Elisabeth Le Masson, vice president of the Paris Region Executive Committee; and Jonna McGrath, vice president of United Airlines airport operations.

Given just a few words to respond to the question, ‘what are the opportunities that airports and their adjacent regions should be considering to facilitate innovative smart and sustainable growth?’, Paris Region Executive Committee’s Le Masson said: “Maximise your location and the future is ours to create together”.

In the hot-seat for the second leaders panel of the morning, which essentially covered how airports will act as incubators for innovation and change, were Bryan Benefiel, deputy general manager and chief financial officer of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL); Myron Keehn, president and CEO of Edmonton International Airport (YEG); and Rob Hoxie, chief development officer of the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA).

Benefiel noted that as the world’s busiest airport, building resilience into its future growth and development was probably the best way it could serve Atlanta and the surrounding region. He said enhancing the airport’s infrastructure, much of which was built in the 1980s, technology innovation, and best utilising the airport’s workforce would be vital to ensuring ATL’s future success.

Hoxie described the CDA as “the runway people” due to the 13 runways split across Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports that now meant that “getting planes to Chicago could be done in an unconstrained way for the first time in three plus decades”.

YEG’s Keehn noted how his airport is a key enabler and co-investor in the development of new technologies for many of the region’s sectors including renewable energy, hydrogen, clean technology, aerospace, life sciences, food and agriculture, and advanced manufacturing.

An almost breathless first morning ended with a discussion about innovative commercial land development at and around airports, and how this can enhance the prosperity for the communities, cities and regions that surround them.

Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance’s always engaging CEO, Shannon James, got the session underway by bringing delegates up to speed with the progress of a number of commercial developments across the 22 counties and 15 jurisdictions that surround the world’s busiest international airport.

“Regional master planning is behind our success, the original plan devised in 2016 setting the tone for the idea of a win for one is a win for all mentality,” enthused James. “It outlined the aspirations for our coalition area and gave us a collective vision as opposed to independent visions where we competed amongst ourselves.”

He noted that the Alliance’s partnership with the Atlanta Regional Commission – a regional planning and transit agency for Metro Atlanta covering 10 counties – had also proved pivotal to its success and helped it gain access to grants. This includes federal funding from the US Department of Transportation to extend the Atlanta BeltLine south around the airport.

David Storer, director of business and commercial development at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), had an equally exciting story to tell, particularly in terms of some of the pioneering manufacturing initiatives connected to its state backed Neighborhood 91 campus and how it is harnessing a mixture of geothermal, solar power and natural gas energy sources across the airport site to keep costs down and incentive commercial activity.

DEN, of course, is blessed with land and capable of accommodating multiple commercial developments, although the airport’s senior vice president for real estate development, Ken Cope, started off by talking about innovation in terms of processes and procedures.

He commented: “When I first arrived we were issuing RFPs and RFQs that were 150 page documents you had to be either a brain surgeon to understand or have been working in the public sector for 15 to 20 years to figure out how to respond to them!

“We now have a rolling RFO process that says in layman’s terms that any developer or interested user can come to us at any time with their ideas. We wanted to ensure that we are receptive to good ideas from the private market. It has also opened up opportunities for smaller and disadvantaged businesses, particularly those that were excluded by the costs involved in submitting a bid.”

Giving a more international perspective on things was Amsterdam Airport City director, Patrick Verhulst, who explained how the organisation worked with 60 different business partners in the Amsterdam aerotropolis. He noted that over 700 foreign companies are now established on its greenfield sites, over 30% of which have US investors.

The mix of facilities on the site today ranges from offices – including company headquarters – and cargo and logistics buildings to production and experience centres, but with space now beginning to run out, Verhulst admitted that future growth would have to be smart.

Also on the panel were Basil Bins, deputy director of Miami International Airport (MIA), and John Brookby, vice president for commercial development at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).

One of the traditional highlights of the conference followed, the ‘Chief Information Officer Panel Discussion’, which this year featured airport IT experts in the shape of Maurice Jenkins, Miami Dade Aviation Department’s chief innovation officer; Mike Youngs, DFW’s vice president of information technology services; Chris Crist, ATL’s chief technology officer; Marcus Session, vice president of information technology at Tampa International Airport (TPA); and Juan Lucerno, DEN’s senior vice president for business technology.

Introducing the panel, moderator Samuel Ingalls, noted that it was only 66 years between the Wright brother’s first flight in 1903 and the first Boeing 747 flight in 1969, so it was possible that someone could have witnessed that historic first flight and then later flown across the Atlantic in a Jumbo Jet!

Responding to the question about how ATL is using innovation and new technology to better support the business and enhance operational efficiency, Crist said that his airport in partnership with Delta had been a pioneer in the use of facial technology and now wanted to make it available for all airlines.

He stated that the airport was also looking at facial recognition biometrics to improve access control for staff, while ATL’s end goal remained that one day all passengers will be able to walk through the airport without having to stop.

While MIA’s Jenkins pondered: “It’s 2024 everyone and we’re still conducting business like it’s the 1960s and 70s. We still have to have a boarding pass and you still have to carry your passport. Why?”

Jenkins explained that MIA was looking at technology that would boost efficiency and benefit both passengers and staff across the airport campus. This, he noted, includes autonomous vehicles – one of which is an autonomous lawnmower that can cut several miles of grass in under a hour despite 100oF temperatures that would be hugely demanding on a member of staff – and biometrics.

According to DEN’s Lucerno, the “cool, sexy, technology” at his airport included everything from digital wayfinding to the brand new West Security Checkpoint. He said his job was to ensure that the airport had the right infrastructure “to enable and support the innovation that is coming”.

He added that the airport has two data centres, and that it was currently reviewing its data centre structure and strategy to discover ways that it could be scaled up if required to ensure that the network covers DEN’s huge 53 square mile site and beyond.

DFW’s Youngs told delegates that the airport was enhancing its key infrastructure to cope with rapid passenger growth, which is now set to hit 100mppa by 2027/2028, and new technology will play an increasingly important role in allowing the Texas gateway to meet demand.

Also on the panel, and making valuable contributions to the discussion were ESRI’s global transport director, Terry Bills; and Mott Macdonald principal project manager for aviation & south division, Levent Akdag.

A busy Day One ended with panels called ‘Airport Infrastructure 2.0 – Transforming Airport Infrastructure To Deliver A World Class Experience and Support Sustainable Long-Term Growth’, and ‘The Airport Revenue Business – Innovation in Non-Aeronautical Revenue Development moderated by Alliiance principal, Eric Peterson, and Airport Experience News’ vice president and publisher, Melissa Montes, respectively.

Speaking on the airport infrastructure panel, Louisville Regional Airport Authority’s vice president of operations and customer engagement, Megan Atkins Thoben, explained that enhancing Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport’s facilities and upping its game on sustainability was in line with the city’s wishes, the new competitive spirit of the gateway, the right thing to do, and matched the airport’s new ‘The best of all time” catchphrase.

DEN’s chief construction and infrastructure officer, Jim Starling, noted that “sustainability was embedded into everything we do”; and Philadelphia International Airport’s chief development officer, Api Appulingam, told delegates that upon arriving in Philadelphia she changed the organisational structure so that the sustainability manager reported directly to her and she would update the executive team on different initiatives.

Later, when asked about the biggest roadblocks they have faced in their sustainability journeys, Appulingam admitted that she might have been too ambitious from the outset at PHL as the airport didn’t have the strategic plan, support of consultants or management buy-in at the time.

The other panellists in the session were Michelle Brantley, owner of Hummingbird Advisory & Consulting; Mark Rodrigues, vice president for aviation, at Transoft Solutions; and Renée Azerbegi, national sustainability market leader for architecture, building engineering group, at Mead & Hunt.

Addressing innovation in the non-aeronautical revenue development focused final session of the day, San Antonio International Airport’s chief customer experience office, Karen Ellis, said that communicating with travellers about what to expect at an airport before they set foot in the terminal was a good strategy to potentially ease stress levels, make the airport experience more enjoyable, and ultimately boost commercial revenues.

DEN’s senior vice president for concessions, Pamela DeChant, stressed the importance of building flexibility into concessions programmes to take into account evolving retail/F&B needs, and a customer base that often changes throughout the day depending on flights. While AeroParker’s vice president, Alan Daring, revealed a number of ways that airports could boost their non-aeronautical revenues by expanding their digital car parking offerings.

Forrest Swonsen, associate vice president of airport systems and services at TransCore, and Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority’s interim commercial officer, Aurora Ritter, were also involved in the debate.

The second and final day of the conference began with a plenary session about human resources and essentially the type of training, knowledge and leadership skills needed by today’s airport management teams.

Expertly moderated by Andy Gobeil, director of ATL’s office of communications and public affairs, all five of the participants in the session called ‘A New Altitude: Brainstorming Future Competencies of Airport Executive Teams’ had gained International Airport Professional (IAP) designation in ACI/ICAO’s joint Airport Management Professional Accrediation Program (AMPAP).

They included Susan Warner Dooley, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s aviation chief commercial officer; Oluwasola Olaitan Awe, acting general manager for administration for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria; Stepahnie Morgan, chief of staff/development officer for Jackson Municipal Airport Authority; and Tracey Wright, an ORAT programme manager at Jacobs.

The event then split into two different sessions for much of the last day with Stream A featuring panel discussions on ‘Next Airports – Smart Digital, Connected’; ‘Enhanced Customer Experience’; and ‘Towards the Future – New Technology and Opportunies’.

While Stream B had panels on ‘Smart Airport Design and Development’; ‘A Sustainable Reset for Airports’; and ‘Constructing Airports: What Are The New Challenges’.

In the first of the Stream B sessions, ‘Smart Airport Design and Development’, Alliiance’s Eric Peterson moderated a panel that comprised DEN’s senior vice president of planning and design, Bill Poole; Portland International Airport’s terminal core redevelopment project manager, George Seaman; Kansas City Aviation Department’s deputy director of planning and engineering, Jade Liska; and Salt Lake City International Airport’s director of communication and marketing, Nancy Volmer, who together with artist Gordon Huether basically talked about the incredible array of artwork at the airport (Please see page 20 of this issue).

Portland’s Seaman reminded delegates about the need to factor earthquake resistant elements in to the design of all new facilities at PDX, and Liska enthused that Kansas City International Airport’s impressive new terminal has transformed operations and traveller perceptions of the Missouri gateway.

The sustainable development of the world’s airports was next on the agenda with a diverse group of panelists made up of Mead & Hunt’s Jeff VanVoorhis; Aurrigo’s Tenille Houston; Introba’s Marilyn Specht; Schiphol Area Development Company’s Pieter can der Horst; and DEN’s senior vice president for sustainability, Scott Morrissey.

The conference, for me anyway, ended with the Stream A IT session called ‘Towards the Future – New Technology and Opportunities; in which the host airport’s senior vice president for airport operations, Sarah Marquez, explained how research and innovation with partners from both within and outside the industry will help DEN reach and exceed its 100mppa target in the next few years.