World in motion: ACI News

The latest news stories from ACI World, ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East, and ACI Latin America and Caribbean show that the focus is clearly on the sustainable growth and development of the world’s airports.

Working to support aviation’s decarbonisation efforts

ACI World and Airbus have signed a co-operation agreement to support the industry’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of aviation.

The alliance will address key areas including Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), hydrogen technologies, advanced air mobility, operations efficiency, and aircraft noise management practices.

ACI World says that it will also foster the exchange of information and perspectives on low carbon operations, communicate industry progress, jointly develop guidance materials, and potentially formulate unified positions on policies and standards to achieve the industry targets.

“ACI World and Airbus’ groundbreaking co-operation agreement marks a pivotal step in our journey towards a net-zero carbon aviation industry,” enthused ACI World director general and CEO, Luis Felipe de Oliveira.

“The strategic alliance underscores the unwavering commitment of airports worldwide to sustainable aviation, ensuring that we not only reduce our environmental impact but also maximise the socio-economic benefits of air travel.”

While Airbus’ chief sustainability officer, Julie Kitcher, noted: “This partnership marks a significant step in our collective efforts to reduce aviation’s environmental impact.

“By combining our technological expertise with ACI World’s vast network and operational insights, we aim to influence policies and standards that support sustainable aviation and drive industry-wide innovation. Together, we can create a cohesive and aligned approach to achieving our decarbonisation targets and enhancing the sustainability of the global aviation sector.”

This collaboration builds on the successful partnership between Airbus and ACI EUROPE, which began two years ago, and which has significantly strengthened the relationship by working together on the deployment of alternative energies including hydrogen and SAF within European alliances, sharing technical data with European airports and communicating progress at key industry events.

ACI World believes that the expansion of this collaboration to a global scale underscores the importance of integrated efforts between aircraft manufacturers and airport operators on a global scale.”

World Committee Forum marks new milestone for ACI World

ACI World welcomed top airport experts from around the world to Montreal this summer for the inaugural ACI World Committee Forum focused on strengthening global aviation collaboration.

The event brought together over 300 committee members from all six ACI World Standing Committees and their sub-groups to engage in meaningful dialogue, share best practices, and develop innovative solutions to the challenges facing the aviation industry today.

During the keynote addresses, ACI World’s director general and CEO, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, said: “This forum marks a significant milestone for ACI World and the aviation industry, as well as the city of Montreal as the World Capital of Civil Aviation.

“It presents an unparalleled opportunity for our committee experts to collaborate, exchange best practices, and drive innovations that are actively shaping airports and the wider aviation ecosystem.

“In addition, it fosters heightened interaction between the committee experts and ICAO, underscoring the importance of airports in international civil aviation’s development. We extend our gratitude to our member experts for their invaluable contributions.

“Together with ACI World staff and collaboration with aviation partners, we develop timely resources and advance airport interests during key phases of policy development. Our committees are truly championing change behind the scenes for travellers and communities worldwide.

ACI APAC & MID’s Green Airports Recognition winners

ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East took the opportunity to celebrate the winners of its Green Airports Recognition (GAR) 2024 during the recent ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East/ACI World Annual General Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The awards recognised 12 airports in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East for their outstanding accomplishments in sustainability projects.

Biodiversity and nature-based solutions was the theme for the awards, with airports encouraged to submit their best practices in preserving ‘biodiversity’ and utilising ‘nature-based solutions’ on their respective campuses.

As a result, ACI APAC & MID received submissions on a wide range of topics that included plantation for carbon reduction and social benefits; marine life conservation by airports; wetland/ ecological rejuvenation; in-house airport horticulture and nurseries; and wildlife management for safe operations.

There are three categories of recognition for the awards (‘Platinum’, ‘Gold’, and ‘Silver’) which are based on four different airport size categories – Over 35mppa, Between 15-35mppa, Between 8-15mppa, and Less than 8mppa.

ACI-LAC signs sustainable development MoU in Brazil

ACI Latin America and Caribbean (ACI-LAC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brazil’s National Aviation Agency (ANAC) and ABR Aeroportos do Brasil to promote the exchange of technical knowledge, experiences, data and information for the sustainable development of the civil aviation sector.

The agreement provides for the direct exchange of data and information between the entities for the implementation of initiatives related to environmental sustainability, implemented by Brazilian airports certified by ACI-LAC in Brazil.

The objective is to jointly develop actions and support and training materials aimed at airports to encourage the adoption of best practices in management and environmental sustainability, such as the implementation of clean technologies, which will help achieve the sector’s goal of reducing net carbon emissions produced directly by airports to zero by 2050.

The MoU was signed by Filipe Reis, ACI-LAC senior consultant for airport issues, Tiago Pereira, CEO of ANAC, and Fábio Carvalho, CEO of ABR Aeroportos do Brasil.

“It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to work together with ANAC and ABR in the decarbonisation process of Brazilian airports and to see that these partners, as well as our members, are clearly committed to the goal of achieving Net Zero,” noted Reis.

“We know that this is a major challenge and that ACI-LAC has a lot to contribute based on the knowledge and experience it has accumulated over the years.”