Category: Security

Airports Gobble Up More of the National GDP

Posted on | by aci_na_wpadmin

 

Every year, Thanksgiving brings an opportunity for American’s to celebrate and give thanks for what is most valuable to them. ACI-NA has always maintained that airports are valuable economic engines for their local communities and the nation. I’m thankful that still stands true today.

Our latest economic impact study finds that the 493 commercial airports in the U.S. have a collective national output of $1.4 trillion. That equates to a contribution of more than 7 percent to the GDP. What’s more, airports support a total of 11.5 million jobs and create a total payroll of $428 billion.

It’s clear airports are an important piece of the pie when it comes to our economy. But, these numbers also highlight the challenges facing our airports to meet the growing demands of the future.

Last year, more than 1.8 billion passengers arrived at and departed from U.S. airports.  So far, our airports are on pace to surpass last year’s numbers even as we embark on the busy holiday travel season.

Last week, TSA estimated 25 million passengers will travel through airports during the Thanksgiving travel period this year. That’s an increase of 5 percent from 2017.

With the number of passengers on the rise, our airports are at risk at falling. Airports have nearly $100 billion in significant infrastructure needs that threaten their ability to serve their passengers, grow their local economies, and create good paying jobs.

This economic impact study will serve as a staunch reminder to policymakers in local communities and Washington, DC that airports are valuable assets. In fact, it only helps us make our case that we must provide airports with the tools they need to make local infrastructure investment decisions.

I encourage you to join us in sharing the impact of your airport in your community with your policymakers and local partners.  As a collective voice, we can amplify the message that America’s airports need additional infrastructure investments to remain the powerful engines of economic growth they are.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Kevin M. Burke

President and CEO

Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA)

 

Will Technology Solve the Capacity Crisis?

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

Passenger numbers are expected to double by 2035.
IoT queue measurement technology enables airports to keep waiting times from growing.

By Marc Rauch, Xovis

The airport industry stays on the rise, while a capacity crisis is on the horizon. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects 7.2 billion passengers to travel in 2035, almost twice as much as today.

As many airports are landlocked and can’t just go bigger, the climbing passenger numbers further complicate the fight against long queues and waiting times. Already today, passengers at major US airports sometimes have to slog through a queue for over an hour. As a result, passengers spend less: according to an industry survey, an extra 10 minutes spent in a queue at security reduces a passenger’s spending on retail by 30 percent. How can airports prevent queues and waiting times from growing along with passenger numbers? Is there a way to streamline passenger flows within existing capacities to increase both passenger satisfaction and revenues?

REAL-TIME DATA AGAINST WAITING TIMES

There is good news: queue and passenger flow measurement technologies pave the way for preventing queues from building up and frustrating passengers. Not surprisingly, RFPs for queue measurement systems have been sprouting lately. More and more North-American airports count on robust real-time data from an IoT system with 3D sensors and software solutions: Ceiling-mounted 3D sensors count and track all passengers anonymously. The software receives data streams from the sensors and calculates the KPIs such as queue lengths, waiting times, process times and passenger throughput. The real-time data can be accessed by airport staff members and shared with passengers.

MSP: SMOOTH OPERATIONS AFTER SUPER BOWL LII

As the host airport for Super Bowl LII, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) pleasantly surprised passengers with shorter than expected waiting times the Monday after the Super Bowl. The airport broke its single-day record up to that time for the number of passengers screened, with 60,455 passengers going through its security checkpoints. This was nearly double the airport’s average day and well above the 40,000-plus that are screened daily during the busy spring break period.

3D sensors at security checkpoints helped smooth operations, measuring queue length, waiting time, and process time per security lane as well as other KPIs. “We aim to create a seamless passenger experience, using passenger flow technology to link together every touchpoint of the departure lobby area, the checkpoint locations, and all the way to the gate,”  said Eduardo Valencia, Vice President, Chief Information Officer at Metropolitan Airports Commission, which operates MSP and six general aviation airports.

“The real-time data the sensors provide is shared with all of the stakeholders and helps the Transportation Security Administration manage its security lines more efficiently,” said Phil Burke, Director of MSP Operations for the Metropolitan Airports Commission. “The system is also useful to passengers, who can choose the shortest lines based on wait times displayed on digital signs in the departure lobbies.”

MSP is one of four US airports that process more than 38 million passengers per year and count on a combination of 3D sensors and software solutions. Many more US airports and authorities are currently conducting trials to find the right queue and passenger flow measurement system.

THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF PASSENGER FLOWS AND QUEUES

Some airports are using tracking systems to help with passenger flows and queues. IoT systems in particular, combined with 3D sensors and software solutions measure KPIs such as waiting times, process times and passenger throughput. For example, Swissbased Xovis has equipped 352 sites (from check-in to gates, and from gates to taxi ranks) at 66 international airports with the Xovis Passenger Tracking System (PTS). Airport operators around the globe also use this system to monitor the fulfilment of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and to compare standard and new processes at security checkpoints (e.g. automated vs. conventional screening).

At landlocked Dubai International Airport (DXB), the third largest airport in the world, over 5,000 staff members use the data on their mobile phones and tablets to react upon identified bottlenecks. If the waiting time in a certain area exceeds a defined threshold, the team is alerted and can send more staff members and open more counters. DXB has reduced waiting times by a remarkable 10 per cent during the first three months of 2017. “This automated system provides us with timelier and more accurate data more quickly than the manual system that was used previously. As a result, the operations team and other organizations that work across the airport now have a bird’s eye view of bottlenecks, allowing them to better manage staffing levels and lanes, and improve the overall customer experience. We have more work to do in this area, but we are pleased with progress to date,” said Frank McCrorie, Senior Vice President of Operations at DXB.

BENEFITS FOR ALL AIRPORT STAKEHOLDERS

Smaller airports also aim at streamlining processes with a combination of 3D sensors and software solutions. Helsinki Airport (HEL) is an important hub for air traffic between Europe and Asia and serves as a good example to visualize the positive impact a reliable queue measurement system can have. Currently, HEL increases its annual passenger throughput from 19 million to 30 million. Antti Tikkanen, Business Analyst within the Digitalization Program at Finavia, the operator of HEL, describes how the airport benefits from the system: “Our 900 million Euro ($1.05 billion USD) Development Program includes both the optimized utilization of existing facilities and the adding of new sections. Having a technology in place to move the increasing number of passengers efficiently is key to improving the passenger experience. We now have the required real-time data to communicate effectively with all stakeholders and to keep queue lengths and waiting times as short as possible.”

A.I. FOR A SEAMLESS TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

With the right IoT queue measurement system up and running, airports can actively tackle the capacity crisis and shape the digital transformation on their premises. A.I.-powered 3D sensors will further perfect the accuracy of the gathered real-time data and enable new applications, in particular where anonymous passenger tracking over long distances leads to new insights. In the end, passengers will benefit the most from a seamless travel experience. As they save time from shorter queues, they are likely to spend more money in other areas of the airport.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marc Rauch is Managing Director for Xovis USA in Boston, MA. Prior to joining Xovis, Marc worked for more than 10 years in various capacities for Xovis’ first customer, Zurich Airport. Founded in 2008, Swiss home-based Xovis has evolved from a three-man start-up to a high-tech company with more than 80 employees. Since its opening in September 2017, Xovis’ US office has grown from a one-man show to a team of five highly motivated and skilled employees.

BNA Is Ever-Expanding

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

By Douglas E. Kreulen, A.A.E., President and CEO, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority

Nashville is on fire – there really is no other way to describe it. Always a great place to live, the city is now receiving an unprecedented level of attention from all across the country and beyond. National Geographic Traveller U.K. included Nashville on its “Cool List,” Business Insider named Nashville as one of the “33 Trips Everyone Should Take in the U.S. in 2018,” Forbes “The 20 Happiest Cities to Work in Right Now” list included Nashville, and the lists and accolades just go on and on. The word is out, and the world is coming here to see for themselves. In fact, according to recent U.S. Census estimates, 94 people are moving to Nashville every single day.

As aviation industry professionals, you know how this type of popularity and growth can put major demands on transportation facilities. The challenge is to anticipate and address those demands so as to best serve the aviation needs of the community.

The story of passenger growth at Nashville International Airport (BNA) has followed an irregular path. Nashville’s current terminal opened in 1987, built to accommodate the hub then-operated by American Airlines. Driven by that hub activity, BNA grew to serve more than 10 million passengers by 1992, though only 15 percent of which were origin and destination travelers. In the next year, however, American began reducing operations at BNA and ultimately “de-hubbed” from our airport, causing a steady decline in overall passenger traffic. As it turned out, the high water mark of 1992 would remain the passenger record at BNA for the next 21 years.

But the city and region continued to prosper, solid and steady, and passenger traffic grew likewise. With the end of the recession in 2009, Nashville boomed and growth surged, along with steep increases in air travel. Since then, we’ve been on a tear. By 2013, BNA finally surpassed that 1992 passenger record, and we would add an additional million passengers or more in each of the following five years, reflecting annual growth rates as high as 11 percent. Most recently, in our Fiscal Year 2018, BNA surpassed 14.9 million passengers, a ten percent increase, with nearly 90 percent origin and destination traffic.

This torrid growth required a response. Today’s passenger numbers are years ahead of the forecast found in our last master plan. It was clear to our Board of Commissioners and executive team that expansion plans needed to be finalized – and accelerated – to accommodate the region’s aviation needs.

So in 2016, after additional passenger analysis and forecasting, research and planning, we launched BNA Vision, our dynamic growth and expansion plan for Nashville International Airport. Upon its completion in 2023, BNA Vision will include a parking and transportation center, a new Concourse D, an expanded central terminal, an airport administration building, a possible hotel and transit connection, and a state-of-the-art International Arrivals Facility, among other features.

This billion-dollar project will be completed in phases, as to limit inconvenience and allow the airport to continue all operations. Current projects under construction include a terminal garage and transportation center; a second garage with an airport administrative office complex on top; Concourse D and ticketing wing expansion; and a terminal apron and taxilane expansion to accommodate the construction of our future International Arrivals Facility.

Our focus is on expanding and renovating BNA, and we’re working at a swift pace to add more than 500,000 square feet to our terminal. But the cranes and construction only tell half the story. Expansion for us also means adding air service to make certain we are taking Nashvillians to as many places as we can in the world while also bringing the world to Nashville.

In May of this year, transatlantic service returned to BNA after a 20-year hiatus. The long sought-after and highly anticipated service to London’s Heathrow Airport via British Airways was largely made possible thanks to the support from our community, business leaders, state and city officials and our Board of Commissioners. This new services truly opens Nashville up to the world with Heathrow serving as a gateway to so much of Europe and Asia. As our airport grows, and as Music City expands its increasingly recognized brand, we anticipate adding more international service to meet local demands and that of travelers worldwide.

And while we bring these dramatic changes to our airport facilities, it is vital that we maintain the sense of place and top-notch customer service our travelers expect. Nashville is truly a unique city – from the extraordinary food scene to the live music day and night for which we’re known. It is important to us that the moment you step foot off that plane you know you’re in Music City. This is top-of-mind with every decision we make during construction – the warm and welcoming vibe, the concession offerings, and especially the music. Our live music in the terminal program recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and touts more than 700 performances a year in six performance areas throughout the terminal, and we plan to add more. Nashville is southern hospitality at its best, and we want to make sure those values remain embodied in our approach to customer service.

So we’ve taken on a big challenge – expand the airport while maintaining that “Nashville feel.” We’re confident we will accomplish our goals thanks to the thousands of our hardworking colleagues and partners from all over Middle Tennessee. These are the people who make the aviation industry go. The people who show up every day, arriving before the sun rises and working until long after it sets, to open our storefronts and music stages, provide passenger safety and make sure our baggage systems are running while tackling so many other tasks necessary to make a modern airport function. Because of their commitment and dedication, we know the best days at BNA are in front of us.

And in this fashion, we’ll provide our world-class city with the world-class airport it deserves.

Airports Seek New Efficiencies to Go with the Flow

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

By Sandra Arnoult

Anyone who frequents an airport doesn’t need to be told they are usually a work in progress. Airports, their airline and tenant partners, and their terminal designers and architects are constantly on the hunt for new and better ways ways to serve customers and streamline the passenger processing experience.

A tall order, indeed, as any and all of these changes must be carried out at the same time thousands of passengers and employees use these busy terminals. Nonetheless, airports have shown they are up to that and more as they continue to pursue better, more creative ways of conducting business.

“To play on the world stage and continue to accelerate the growth we are experiencing, it’s critical that we work with agencies and business partners to ensure our processes are competitive on a worldwide scale,” said Howard Eng, President and CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. Toronto Pearson, which served 47 million passengers in 2017, estimates that by the mid-2030s, the airport may serve as many as 85 million passengers.

Eng has a straightforward approach to customer satisfaction: Remove factors that make the experience stressful and provide the help and information they need to enable them to enjoy the airport amenities.

As with all airports, safety and security are top priorities. Eng said the airport is working with the Canadian Air Transport Security Agency (CATSA) to roll out the latest CATSA Plus technology.

“These modern new security screening lines feature parallel divest stations, a bin tracking system, continuous X-ray belts, remote X-ray image review, motorized and improved repack areas,” Eng explained. “These improvements can as much as double passenger throughput, enhance security and contribute to a more relaxed passenger experience through this critical process.”

Over the past five years, Pearson’s redevelopment program spanned two terminals. New restaurants were integrated into gate lounges, branches of well-known Toronto brands have been added and outdated waiting and concessions spaces have been “reconceived” to make them more passenger friendly, he pointed out.

“We know the airport is never the final destination,” Eng said. “We need to connect people on the ground with the same success we’ve had at connecting them in the air.”

A proposed Regional Transit and Passenger Processing Centre would serve to connect passengers to a variety of ground transportation options. GTAA announced it is working with Metrolinx, the agency that oversees public transit, to study ways to integrate the airport with existing transit operations. This would include connections with local high speed rail, Toronto light rail transit (LRT) and various local bus services.

Toronto Pearson is on the right path, Eng believes, supported by their recent recognition by the Airport Service Quality program as the best large airport (over 40 million passengers) in North America. “Passenger feedback tells us that people like the feeling they get when they’re at the airport,” he said. “We’re hearing that passengers understand that the temporary pain of construction has led to a real benefit in the ambiance in areas where redevelopment has taken place.”

MAKING THE CONNECTION AT LAX

Los Angeles International Airport is on the threshold of a multi-billion dollar Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP) that will include upgraded and expanded facilities, a new automated people mover (APM) and the construction of three terminal cores with staircases, escalators, elevators and walkways.

“LAX has been researching ways to improve access to and from the terminals for many years. We looked at the evolution of transportation and travel and how it continues to affect the airport and its neighbors,” said Mark Waier, Director of Communications for LAMP. “We have visited numerous airports to learn about the various systems in use and looked closely at our imprint and what was possible in our available space.”

Project components include a consolidated rental car facility, public parking and the Metro regional rail system as well as planned roadway improvements at multiple locations.

On the new APM, guests will be carried to and from the terminals every two minutes, with a total ride time end-to-end of 10 minutes, Waier pointed out. At peak times, it can take a car 30-45 minutes to drive through the terminal loop area. The APM will be capable of handling up to 87.7 million passengers per year.

“Mitigation of traffic is a key component of the LAMP project and a key focus of LAX as we move through our modernization efforts,” said Waier. “We work closely with the contractors and builders on a daily basis to ensure coordination of construction efforts and create targeted messages to communicate the scope of work and its impacts.”

In April, the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) Board of Commissioners approved a $4.9 billion, 30-year contract with LINX, an integrated team able to provide design, engineering, construction, maintenance and operating systems for the APM.

Key to the project is the ability to keep everyone informed, including airport workers, police and security personnel as well as passengers, Waier said. “As guests arrive at LAX they will find clear signage to help them get to where they need to be quickly and efficiently.”

In 2017, LAX served more than 84.6 million passengers, a 4.6 percent increase over the previous year. It is the fourth busiest airport in the world, second in the United States. LAX offers 737 daily nonstop flights to 100 cities in the U.S. and 1,386 weekly nonstop flights to 88 cities in 44 countries on 73 commercial air carriers.

IMPROVING THE PATHWAY

Memphis International Airport is in the midst of a renaissance of sorts with an ambitious modernization project of its Terminal B, which will feature moving sidewalks, wider corridors, larger boarding areas, higher ceilings and natural lighting. The project will also include a children’s play area, a stage for live music in the rotunda area, additional lounge areas with charging stations and more retail and restaurant options. All four baggage carousels at the airport will be replaced.

While the work is being done, two of the carousels at a time will remain open. The airport was able to shift traffic to gates in terminals A and C to accommodate the renovation work.

“Having gates available on A and C enabled us to close B for construction rather than keep part of it operational while it’s actively under construction,” said MEM President and CEO Scott Brockman. “We estimate that will save a year in construction time.”

Five years ago, Delta Airlines shut down its hub operation at MEM, dropping about three dozen flights and 230 airline jobs. MEM is just 370 miles east of Delta’s main hub in Atlanta.

“Our modernization project reflects our airport’s reinvention from hub operations to origin and destination,” said Brockman. “It’s been nearly five years since Delta removed the hub, and we have already transitioned to nearly 100 percent O&D passenger traffic. We need an airport that, from an operations standpoint, serves the O&D base.”  <

BUILDING FLEXIBILITY INTO YOUR FUTURE

Any airport improvement project faces high hurdles. There’s the multi-million dollar cost, the requisite regulatory approval process and the ability to balance the needs of the passengers, the airport and the airlines all at the same time. That’s the challenge that airports face as they seek a pathfinder, a master planning organization – a wizard of sorts – who can bring all the elements of design, technology, construction and IT planning together.

For more than 50 years, Arup has partnered with airports and airlines to help with their projects – from the planning process and design through engineering to the operations phase. “We come from different places but are all seeking similar objectives – creating an experience that makes customers want to come back and use that airport over and over,” said Regine Weston, Airport Planning Leader at Arup. “One size doesn’t fit all in a single airport. It is important to understand that airports consist of different kinds of passengers. You have to think of it as various market segments.” Passengers have different needs and expectations, said Weston. “Some of it is demographics and some of it is econometrics.

Arup worked with JetBlue to map out the carrier’s Terminal 5 project at New York’s JFK International Airport. They needed to accommodate the existing passenger base but be flexible enough to accommodate future growth.

The initial Terminal 5 opened in 2008, but since that time Arup continued to work with JetBlue and the airport to upgrade the space. The design successfully melded the old with the new to accommodate international existing flights and JetBlue partners. A new U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection facility, 40 automated passport control kiosks along with 10 Global Entry kiosks were added, as well.

Arup also worked with Toronto Pearson International Airport to provide master planning for a $4.4 billion airport development project. It provided consultation for engineering services for a new Terminal 1, which consolidated two older and dated existing terminals. Arup continues to work with the airport on planning for future expansion.

“There’s no question that there’s a healthy tension between airports and airlines around some issues,” said Weston. “Those tend to be about money. But customer experience is something they all stand behind.”

FINDING THE RIGHT FIT

There’s good news and bad news for airports. The strength of the global economy has bolstered an increase in the demand for more air travel. The challenge for airports is to find a way to keep up with that growth.

“In many cases, this growth is happening far more rapidly than facilities can be expanded, when there is room and the financial resources to do so,” said Jim Jarvis, a Senior Vice President at Ricondo, an aviation consulting firm that provides airport master planning, as well as airfield and airspace analyses.

Extensive reconstruction or redevelopment is not always feasible in terms of time and money, so it may be more effective to consider the augmentation of existing systems and less extensive physical improvements.

Ricondo uses micro simulation modeling to test how potential changes or modifications in one area could impact flow and congestion in another area.

“Micro simulation modeling is, however, only a tool and cannot supplant effective planning,” said Doug Trezise, PE, a Senior Vice President at Ricondo. There must be a “holistic approach to planning” that recognizes the interconnection of the airport to planes to terminals to curbs and roads.

He admitted that it can be a challenge to reach consensus given the different interests of the various stakeholders in an airport. Early agreement on constraint and goals and relying on data and analysis to drive decision-making are key to the planning process, said Trezise.

The road to reconciliation is not always easy. Currently, Ricondo is working on a terminal and landside project that is not balanced with airfield capacity.

“To make matters worse, the airport is landlocked with no ability to expand,” said Jarvis, who is familiar with the project. He explained that everything must fit within the existing footprint and supporting landside facilities. “In this case we are developing capacity enhancement alternatives that rely solely on operations, technological and demand management solutions.”

This may mean repurposing certain facilities such as parking garages to serve as auxiliary terminal hubs, developing strategies to influence passenger arrivals and departures from the airport and reallocating underutilized space to another use that is space constrained.

“There is no silver bullet, rather a series of programmatic and small capacity and efficiency improvements that will culminate in improved airport operations and customer service,” said Jarvis. “The reward for a project like this is satisfaction of being engaged by a client willing to work collaboratively between departments to develop solutions. It takes strong leadership and willingness to compromise to find the best solution – not just the solution that best meets the objective of a single operating unit.”

Crowd listening to a speaker at ACI-NA’s 2017 Annual Conference

Cheers to 70 Years: The Best Is Yet to Come

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

By: Kevin M. Burke, President and CEO, ACI-NA

2018 represents a great milestone for Airports Council International-North America as we celebrate our seventieth anniversary as the Voice of Airports in North America. Anniversaries like this provide a great opportunity to reflect on our past, celebrate our present and look ahead to the future.

As you know, air travel – and the world – has transformed immensely over the last seventy years. And our industry’s evolution along with it hasn’t always been easy or certain. That’s one of the chief reasons ACI-NA exists.

Then in a post-war world with a growing economy, air travel was increasingly accessible to the masses. As we entered the golden age of travel, airports faced many of the same challenges we see today, including burdensome government regulation, infrastructure and investment needs, and airline decision making.

Realizing that there was power in the collective, nineteen founding members convened in New York in 1948 to establish a body that would bring airports together in addressing the challenges and issues of an evolving aviation industry.  From there, our journey took off as the Airport Operators Council.

Looking back, this industry has overcome significant hardships and setbacks. From economic ebbs and flows to airline industry deregulation and airline consolidation to the September 11, 2001 attacks, this industry has always had to be nimble and responsive to the challenge of the day.

Your association has had to be nimble too. In the past seventy years, our name has changed from Airport Operators Council to Airport Operators Council International, and now to Airports Council International-North America in an effort to make room for our ever growing U.S. and Canadian membership and global connections.

While the issues of the past may sound familiar today, so much has changed. Today, airports operate more as businesses than they ever have before.  They are becoming cities unto themselves.

The current landscape presents many unique challenges that require solutions. Today’s airports are not your father or grandfather’s airport. We are seeing a change in the way technology affects air transportation across the world.

Meeting the demands of passenger and cargo growth has never been more important. Our airports must have the ability to modernize as they seek to accommodate rapid growth in passenger and cargo traffic. In the United States alone, airports need nearly $100 billion in infrastructure upgrades and maintenance in order to remain competitive with airports across the globe.

Solving today’s challenges are essential in order to lay the foundation for the future. As such, airports around the world are actively working to enhance competition, create efficiencies through technology, and improve the passenger experience.

There used to be more than thirty airlines that no longer exist because of airline consolidation. The future of the airport industry is at stake without an economic climate that fosters airline competition and choice.

Competition has many benefits in our industry, which can be enhanced through more air service routes and more airline choices. In order to ensure communities in North America remain connected to the global marketplace, we are actively working to make certain our industry – airports and airlines – are as competitive as they can be. Our work in this important area will only grow in the years ahead.

Technology will also be a large part of an overall improved and seamless passenger experience. Today, easiness is synonymous with technology. What new technologies can we use to our benefit? Biometrics is speeding up the boarding process for certain flights, and in a just a few years, all flights may be boarded with the scan of a face.

It’s clear that we must focus on enhancing the passenger experience for a successful future. But these challenges are too big for anyone to handle alone. And that’s where your association comes in.

Members always tell me the real value of ACI-NA comes through our ability to advance airport priorities in Washington and Ottawa, provide essential industry intelligence by keeping the pulse of the issues impacting airport operations, and foster industry collaboration by creating a forum to develop and exchange best practices.  The rich history of advocating for policies and services that strengthen airports will continue as we reflect on our accomplishments and look beyond the horizon.

ACI-NA is only as strong as its members and their active engagement. Our team is proud of the members we serve because of the profound and positive impact they have on local communities across North America. Thank you for your leadership.

Today, as we celebrate our seventieth year with a strong membership and transnational – even global with the establishment of ACI World in 1992 – reach, we recognize that there are obstacles still to overcome. We’re not done yet. We’re just getting started.

Here’s to the next seventy years.

Meet the Member: Rep. Jeff Denham

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke recently caught up with Rep. Jeff Denham, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, to talk about prospects for an infrastructure bill in Congress.

ACI-NA Celebrates 2018 Infrastructure Week at TPA

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

Infrastructure Week, a week-long celebration of the vast network that supports – and moves – the U.S. economy, is taking place this week. ACI-NA’s Airport Infrastructure Needs Study details that U.S. airports have nearly $100 billion in infrastructure needs through 2021 to accommodate growth in passenger and cargo activity, rehabilitate existing facilities and support aircraft innovation.

For Infrastructure Week 2018, Tampa International Airport hosted ACI-NA and Building America’s Future (BAF) along with members of the Tampa Congressional delegation for an event focused on the need for airport infrastructure investment. This video highlights the lawmakers and industry leaders who called for robust infrastructure investment during the event.

IDENT

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

The CBP has determined that facial recognition biometric exit technology is a viable solution to managing the entrance and exit of travelers coming through U.S. airports. The technology is provided by the Department of Homeland Security through its office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM). The system, dubbed IDENT, currently processes some 300,000 biometric transactions each day. The pilot programs launched at some airports over the past year will allow the CBP to determine how well it works with various flights, airports, lighting conditions and internal IT configurations and whether it is flexible, reliable and easy for travelers to use.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport

The technology is being used for unspecified select flights from Chicago since July 2017.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Testing on facial recognition technology started in June 2017 on a single daily flight between the United States and Tokyo.

Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Initial airport testing of facial biometrics began in Atlanta in June 2016 to determine how well the technology would work with existing IT systems.

William P. Hobby Airport

The technology was unveiled in August 2017 for use on select flights from the airport.

John F. Kennedy International Airport

A 30-day testing program began in October 2017 using the technology at an unspecified TSA security checkpoint.

Los Angeles World Airports

Three self-service biometric boarding gates use facial recognition technology to get passengers on board international British Airways flights at LAX.

McCarran International Airport

The technology was deployed in August 2017 for a single daily flight from the US to Guadalajara, Mex.

Miami International Airport

The technology started being tested on an unspecified flight from Miami in October 2017.

Washington Dulles International Airport

In June 2017, the airport introduced facial recognition biometric exit technology for a daily flight from the United States to Dubai.

IATA Eyes a Future with One ID

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

Imagine a day when a passenger could present a single form of ID that would ensure a smooth path through the airport at the very start of his or her journey through the boarding process.

That’s exactly what International Air Transport Association (IATA) has in mind with its concept, ONE ID that would enable a secure, seamless and “frictionless” process allowing them to walk through the airport “without breaking stride.”

IATA confirmed through its 2017 Global Passenger survey that passengers want more automation of airport processes. They would like a single identity token that would be used through all processes, real time information sent to the personal devices and more efficient security without removing or unpacking personal items. Some 82 percent said they would like to be able to use a digital passport on their smart phones for as many travel activities as possible. To meet such a goal, there will have to be close collaboration between various industry and government stakeholders for a solution that applies horizontally across the end to end passenger experience, according to IATA’s Guido Peetermans, Head of Passenger Security. “All stakeholders will benefit from a coordinated approach through improved productivity, increased capacity and cost savings as well as improvements in border, aviation and airport infrastructure security.”

Peetersmans noted that ONE ID does not favor one particular form of biometrics. “While facial recognition may be the most pragmatic choice in many environments, other jurisdictions or stakeholders may prefer other biometrics such as fingerprint or iris for technical, operational or cultural reasons.”

A major barrier to implementing a collaborative identity management solution is to establish trust and collaboration between stakeholders, Peetermans said. “Today, individual stakeholders take steps to ensure their own obligations are met, but with little or no coordination between them. We will need to break these silos and get stakeholders to collaborate towards a solution that would apply horizontally across the whole process.”

Peetermans said that an upfront investment in the new technology required for biometric recognition is required but it is increasingly mature and moving forward at a rapid pace.

“We don’t believe that the installation and integration of the technology components are going to be the bottleneck as is evidenced by various pilot projects that are underway at leading airports around the globe.”