All articles by
Battle for control
Even in a year where air traffic has fallen to levels not seen in decades, air traffic control (ATC) still plays a vital role in regulating the flow of aircraft. But what happens when an ATC team comes down with coronavirus and how have airports been handling such setbacks? Nicholas Kenny speaks to Juliet Kennedy, operations director at NATS, and Teri L Bristol, COO of air traffic organization at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to find out.
Here comes the sun
Aviation has never been a bastion of environmental sustainability. But with rising temperatures, combined with greater social and political pressure, airports the world over are increasingly showing just how sustainable they can be. Andrea Valentino talks to Myron Keehn, vice-president of air service and business development at Edmonton International Airport, and Vincent Harrison, managing director at Dublin Airport, about why their organisations are choosing to go green, how new initiatives can both boost the planet and bank accounts, and how partnership with regulators might push even more sustainability going forward.
Up in the air
Air traffic around the world has crumbled in the wake of Covid-19. With an estimated 7,000 routes across Europe having been lost over the past year, Lynette Eyb speaks with ACI EUROPE director general Olivier Jankovec, Airport Operators Association CEO Karen Dee, and Andrew Charlton, an analyst at Aviation Advocacy, about the road to recovery.
Make a pass
It’s long been clear that the only way to maintain safe travel during the pandemic is by prioritising testing and making results easily available to travel authorities. While the focus has shifted to vaccinations in recent months, the need for a secure system to manage Covid-19-related health data is as urgent as ever. Lynette Eyb looks at what role International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) digital Travel Pass and other so-called ‘vaccination passports’ may play in getting people flying again.
Proud first prize winners of the TSA Power of Passengers Challenge!
Point FWD and SecureInsights are honored and delighted to have been awarded First Place in Transportation Security Administration and TechConnectVentures “Power of Passengers Challenge”.
Touch-free travel
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced airports to consider how the virus could be transmitted in the terminal space – and, from there, into new locations all around the world. Preventing unnecessary contact between passengers and surfaces, however, could go a long way towards mitigating its spread. Andrea Valentino talks to Brede Nielsen, group chief information officer at Avinor, and Antoine Rostworowski, deputy director-general of Airports Council International, about the new technologies and processes making touchless travel a reality.
Transatlantic tribulations
Air traffic across the Atlantic was devastated during the pandemic thanks to US travel restrictions and pervasive national lockdowns across Europe. Now, airlines are urging governments on both sides of the pond to adopt new measures to protect this valuable flight path, while they tighten in-house hygiene measures to boost passengers’ confidence. Kerry Taylor-Smith talks to John Grant, executive vice-president of the Official Aviation Guide; Juha Jarvinen, CEO of Virgin Atlantic; and American Airlines spokesperson Nichelle Barrett, about what it will take to trigger a recovery in the transatlantic market.
Gateway to tomorrow
For decades one of the most celebrated airports in the US, Salt Lake City International has recently struggled with rising demand and creaking infrastructure. Though the original plan was simply to renovate the existing airport, in 2013 officials decided to start from scratch – with remarkable ambitions. Andrea Valentino talks to Matt Needham, the regional leader for aviation and transportation at architectural practice HOK, and Gordon Huether, a distinguished artist who worked on the new airport, about what’s in store for passengers flying into the Crossroads of the West.
On the right track
The Covid-19 pandemic led to a rapid decrease in the volume of air traffic throughout the world. How should air navigation service providers best manage a return to normality? And what could that return look like, especially if there’s an upsurge in demand for flights following the discovery of a viable vaccine? Abi Millar talks to Simon Hocquard, director-general of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, and Razvan Bucuroiu, head of network strategy and development at Eurocontrol, to learn more.
Beating the chill
As Climate change accelerator, the number of challenges faced by airport operators in winter is increasing dramatically. This is especially true in a weather-obsessed country like the UK – so it’s no surprise that it’s fallen to London Heathrow to figure out a solution. Andrea Valentino chats to James Shapland, transport operations manager at the Met Office, to learn how his colleagues help the airport to predict bad weather, what it is doing to mitigate disruption and how new technology might make winters less miserable for passengers going forward.