‘Biometrics’, ‘self-service’ and ‘identity’! These are some key phrases that I’ve heard and been exposed to as the most recent addition to the Airports and Borders team at Valour Consultancy, working alongside Director John Devlin. During this time, I’ve had the opportunity to engage and interact with the dynamic world of airports and borders. Over the past 3 months, I’ve been immersing myself in knowledge and uncovering new trends and developments that are molding the future outlook of the industry. Throughout this blog post, I will be sharing some of the most notable advances and insights; with a specific focus on the construction and development of both new and existing airports. Fasten your seatbelts and join me as we take off into some of the developments that have piqued my interest!
The industry is experiencing the rise of ‘airport megahubs’, they can be defined as major airports that serve as a central point for connecting flights both domestically and internationally; handling large numbers of passengers and cargo annually while hosting large legacy airlines.
Regarding ongoing airport constructions, Noida International Airport (DXN) in India and the Solidarity Transport Hub (STH) in Poland both fit this description. Upon completion, they are both expected to be the largest airports in their respective countries, with Noida expecting 12 million passengers within its first phase, leading to the long-term objective of accommodating 70 million passengers annually with operations set to kick off in the first quarter of 2025. This investment and countless others across India cannot be understated as passenger volumes are expected to balloon to 420 million within the next 4 years. It is imperative that they remain proactive in their approach to the development of existing airports and the systems within while steadily increasing the total number of airports in the country, which is set to increase from 148 to 220 by the end of 2025. In the case of the STH, it is expected to kick off for operations in 2032 and is initially expected to see 40 million passengers yearly. It isn’t just an airport; however, it will be constructed with a multitude of ground transport systems including railway and road transport options, seeing it become a central transportation point within eastern and central Europe. Similarly to Noida, it is set to create a large number of jobs, around 150,000, allowing for the development of local businesses and the economy at large. These are just two examples of megahubs that are currently in the pipeline, which are both set to transform travel in their respective countries.
I believe it’s relevant and noteworthy to highlight the technological and biometric solutions that are being implemented in airports across the world. Airports and airlines alike are taking advantage of the wide variety of smart solutions that are on offer to increase both operational efficiency and passenger satisfaction throughout their journey in the airport. Whether that may be the implementation of e-gates at boarding to allow for speedier boarding, or self-bag drop units that allow passengers to drop-off baggage effortlessly paired with biometric verification and capturing processes to quickly identify passengers, allowing them to have a truly seamless journey while enhancing airport security and decreasing processing and verification times. Some of the most notable installations of these technologies include Airware’s rollout of self-bag drop units in partnership with Ryanair across multiple European airports spanning from 2022 onwards and Vision-Box providing 74 self-boarding e-gates amongst other hardware solutions to Felipe Angeles International Airport (NLU) in Mexico, both of these unique contracts and over 1800 more are logged in the Smart Airports Tracker service. The service offers a truly granular insight into into the adoption of biometric, self-service and automation solutions at airports at every level across countries around the world,
Ultimately, I believe that the space will continue to develop rapidly with the use of smart technologies and biometric capabilities, allowing the delivery of a truly seamless journey for passengers. With these developments, I’m looking forward to seeing concepts like Paravision’s Contactless Corridor 2.0 come to fruition alongside further advances in airport technology. I also look forward to seeing how legacy airlines and airports continue to integrate cloud services into their existing systems to increase efficiency across the passenger journey. While there is much to reflect on, such as the successful completion and delivery of the biannual Smart Airports Tracker report among others, I’m looking forward to my first visit to Passenger Terminal Expo in Madrid this coming April. I’ll have the chance to communicate with vendors directly and gain an even deeper knowledge and understanding of their product base, while also creating and sustaining long term relationships with key stakeholders within the industry. All in all, I believe the industry is firmly positioned to experience strong growth in both its short- and long-term future, and I’m excited to be at the forefront of it all!
Shubh Karbhari
Market Research Analyst
