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Crisis over capacity
With airlines finding themselves forced to cancel hundreds of thousands of flights over the summer due to a host of issues, many sought to get ahead of this challenge by implementing passenger capacity limits. These caps were intended to lead to fewer cancellations, shorter wait times and better punctuality, but have drawn criticism from airlines as they reduce the number of daily flights and routes available to travellers. Nicholas Kenny takes a deep dive into this ongoing debate.
Break the ice
With a multitude of factors to take into consideration when preparing aircraft for takeoff, regulation is important. Accidents have occurred due to insufficient anti-icing and deicing before flights. Fortunately, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) De-Icing/ Anti-Icing Quality Control Pool (DAQCP) has been there to help airlines choose the right service providers and to share best practices for the past quarter of a century, with the pool celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Liam Murphy speaks to Dimitri Rybkin, chairman of the DAQCP, and Jessica Dawe, manager, charter of professional auditors at the IATA, to explore the pool’s origins and why its work is more important than ever.
Back to business
With a lack of staff causing chaos across the air travel sector post-Covid, digitalisation could be key to helping airports to get back up and running at full capacity, while also future-proofing against the issues seen this summer. Not that new technology alone can necessarily hope to solve these challenges, of course. Andrea Valentino talks to insiders at Phoenix and Helsinki airports to understand how staffing shortages are impacting their operations, how digitalisation can help and the need for careful planning and better conditions to keep operations running smoothly.
Keen on green
Referred to as the ‘greenest airport in India’, Noida International Airport plans to become the first net-zero energy-rated airport in the country – minimising energy usage through passive design elements that respond to the local climate, and prioritising human comfort and well-being while also boasting a range of on-site renewables. But what will all this look like in practice? And can the advances made at Noida presage a broader shift in how airports are built? Andrea Valentino speaks to Christoph Schnellmann, Noida’s CEO, and Klaus Bode from Urban Design Systems, to learn more.
Come rain or shine
The impacts of climate change are already being felt by the aviation industry and will only become more prevalent in the future – from the rising sea levels and temperatures that threaten infrastructure and disrupt operations, to the extreme weather events that occur with increasing regularity. Brooke Theis speaks with Rachel Burbidge, senior policy officer of environment and climate change at Eurocontrol; Greg White, director of the Airport Pavement Research Program at the University of the Sunshine Coast; and Amit Bhasin, professor and director of the Centre for Transportation Research at the University of Texas, Austin, to learn about how the industry is set to be affected, and what airports can do to adapt and build resilience to climate change.
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