Digitalisation is key to airport pandemic recovery, says new report

Digitalisation, AI and machine learning will be key enablers in breaking airport operational silos through data access and integration, said the head of the European airport trade association.

Olivier Jankovec (pictured), the Director General of Airports Council International Europe, said that this this will only increase as many airports are already driving transformative agendas through their own innovation labs.

Jankovec, while launching the State of the Industry report in Istanbul, addressed airports’ new normal and key financial and operational challenges ahead. These include continued traffic resilience, structural aviation market changes, geopolitical tensions, and the decarbonisation imperative. He noted that not even half of Europe’s airports (47 percent) have fully recovered their pre‑pandemic volumes.

“There is no question we live in a whole new world,” he said. “Geopolitical tensions, the primacy of leisure and VFR [visiting friends and relatives] demand coupled with Ultra Low-Cost Carriers’ continued expansion and Full-Service Carriers focusing on their hubs and consolidating – all these factors are shaping airports’ fortunes, resulting in heightened competitive pressures.”

Key takeaways from the report include: 

• Traffic data has recovered and surpassed pre‑pandemic (2019) levels yet wide performance gaps amongst national and individual airport markets are part of the industry’s new normal.
• Last year saw Europe’s airports posting a much-needed net profit of €8 billion but this remains below what was achieved in 2019.
• Regulators favour airlines over passengers – highlighting airport charges in Ireland and France.
• And airports too often are not in full control of the way their facilities and capacity are being used. Jankovec pointed to the need for them to become the masters of their own capacity and performance.

Best airports in Europe

During the ACI Europe Annual Conference and General Assembly, Rome Fiumicino Airport won the Digital Transformation Award, for embracing digitalisation, adopting innovative technologies and procedures to improve the safety, capacity, efficiency and environmental footprint of its operations.

Judges noted the scale and ambition of the digital strategy — with one judge saying that Rome had found a sweet spot between ambition and delivery. The Italian airport was also announced joint winner, along with Istanbul, as best airport in the over 40 million passenger category.

Image: LinkedIn/ACI/Olivier Jankovec