The Covid pandemic has impacted on world travel. Meanwhile, in the UK, data shows that tens of thousands of passengers continue to use assistance services at airports. This is against a background of furloughed staff, the introduction of new passenger processes due to health regulations and fluctuating demand for assistance services. The experience in the UK has been of an industry rising to the challenge despite these unique challenges, and ensuring that fair access to air travel remains available for those who need it.

What the audience will learn

• How the UK aviation industry is supporting disabled and less mobile people during the crisis
• How the UK CAA is supporting the industry during the crisis
• How the UK CAA is getting ready for the accessibility and aviation ‘restart’ next year

This presentation will focus on the European Commission's evaluation of Regulation (EC) 1107/2006 on the rights of passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility when traveling by air. It will also discuss measures taken by the Commission to protect passengers’ rights during the Covid pandemic.

What the audience will learn

• The findings of European Commission's evaluation of Regulation (EC) 1107/2006
• The main focus of the study is the period between 2011 and 2019, however it also examines some more recent challenges caused by the COVID pandemics this year.
• Commission measures to protect the rights of passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility following the outbreak of the COVID pandemics

The second edition of the IATA Accessibility Symposium expanded the focus on ensuring that policy and processes related to accessibility are consistent and in line with the IATA principles on accessible air travel. The current environment amid Covid-19 was also addressed, including guidance developed to help support and inform policy as airlines welcome passengers with disabilities back to the skies. The IGAS gave voice to frequent travelers who told their stories from their perspective. Let's review what happened after the symposium and what is forecast for 2021 in terms of global access in air travel.

What the audience will learn

• Global accessibility in air travel

Covid-19 has impacted the decisions of two-thirds of PRMs to book future air travel. Furthermore, airlines and airports have stripped back their accessibility services and paused funding into accessibility innovation. With PRM volume growing, there is real concern that if not invested in, the growth of innovation will be much slower than required. WCHCs in particular are being undervalued, and their financial importance will be shared here. A top-down pan-disability invested approach is critical to ensure the future success of accessibility in aviation. Questions should be asked about whether PRM remains an appropriate inclusive description of passengers who receive such support.

What the audience will learn

• Impact Covid-19 has had on PRMs
• Importance of the growing PRS volume for the future
• Why WCHCs are being undervalued
• The importance of continuing to invest in accessibility
• Why PRS could be seen as a more appropriate term instead of PRM

While the aviation industry gets ready to ensure safer travel with pre-boarding testing schemes, travel retail has been lagging behind, driven by uncertainty about future passenger behavior. Once the rebound starts, who will be the industry's customers? The brave, experimental, seasoned world travelers first? Or those who need to fly on business or to visit friends and family, but prefer to keep their distance? Will airports be able to give passengers the feeling of safety and excitement that has been typical for this industry that has recovered relatively quickly after security scares in the past? And what will be the impact of tomorrow’s passenger behavior on commercial masterplanning, retail mix and assortment both medium and long term?

What the audience will learn

• Recent trends in airport retail as a direct result of the pandemic
• Impact of lessons and restrictions caused by Covid-19 on passenger behavior and psychology
• Implications for retail design and mix

The presentation will look ahead at the changing nature of travel, and discuss the resultant change in the passenger mix. It will also cover the psychology of travel and travelers, in terms of new expectations for shopping and dining propositions in airports and, consequently, how the commercial offer will evolve.

What the audience will learn

• Our view of passenger evolution as travel begins to recover
• How the travel retail/F&B offering has changed, as well as what’s remained the same
• New passenger behaviors as a result of the pandemic
• New passenger behaviours as a result of the pandemic

Since the beginning of the pandemic, travel has changed. Although air travel will recover, consumer behavior has shifted entirely and will continue to evolve. Airport hospitality is even more fundamental during this recovery period as travelers require more support and reassurance. It is crucial for service providers to be observant, agile and innovative in service offerings to shape the new age of travel as it becomes more complex. With the emergence of new customer segments, industry players must consider key factors in travel and be ready for business transformation such as digitization and partnerships to revive the industry.

What the audience will learn

• Phases of travel recovery: catering to new travel demands and customer segments
• Considering key factors in travel and changing psychology in travelers: approaches to revolutionize airport experiences
• Reviving consumer and business confidence post-pandemic
• Digitization to enhance passenger experience: understanding consumer behavior, building an online community and promoting seamlessness
• Re-engineering the airport journey with integrated experiences and partnerships to support industry players and evolving consumer needs

The presentation will discuss the main trends in terms of the changing nature of travel, the mix of travelers and their new mindset that has been noticed at Paris Airports. Then we will discuss the challenges that we have to overcome to keep offering the passengers a unique hospitality and retail experience in this new context.

What the audience will learn

• Challenges to overcome in this new travel era

Our aim is to make time valuable for passengers at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Our customers are the central focus of everything we do. Understanding, acknowledging and responding to their ever-changing demands and adding value along the entire passenger journey are absolutely essential. The challenge is to effectively predict their behavior and offer the right products, services and information at the right time. During this session, we will give you an insight into the way Covid affects passenger behavior and how we adapt in our aim to deliver a valuable customer journey. We will address our way forward and our latest and future innovations.

What the audience will learn

• How we innovate the customer journey by trial and error

This presentation draws from a pilot study we conducted in January 2021 exploring expectations for travel over the next 12 months among five key nationalities for global travel: Chinese, British, German, American and South Korean. We have been tracking the profile and shopping behavior of traveling consumers for a decade now, with the Travel Retail Catalyst Study (TRACS). Our TRACS data acts as an important benchmark. The travel expectations identified in the pilot study can be compared against ‘normal’ pre-Covid-19 travel behavior and preferences in our TRACS data.

What the audience will learn

• The changing nature of travel, at least for the next few years
• Will the mix of travelers change? For example, will VFR travel rebound first, then leisure, then business?
• The changing psychology of travelers – will new segments emerge with a different approach to shopping?
• Taking into account the changing landscape, how should the shape and size of the commercial offer evolve?

This short presentation introduces the new Delhi Noida greenfield airport for the National Capital Region of India and shares the benefits of a design competition that was completed during this pandemic. If you are in a lockdown state, with limited time and a need to keep up the pace of your projects and find a variety of solutions and development approaches, a design competition is the right choice. This presentation discusses additional benefits offered by design competitions where you can test collaboration with potential master architects. It will show how, with clear assignment and defined expectations, a design competition can deliver more in constrained times.

What the audience will learn

• The complexity of building up an airport organization and project organization simultaneously in a pandemic situation
• A design competition completed in lockdown that elevates the process quality, saves time and provides solid development solutions
• Design competition vs. tight timelines
• A variety of solutions and why a feasibility study to define the competition brief is a must

During this pandemic, airports have been forced to reconsider their normal business and operational processes for the safe movement of passengers. The need of the hour is for the deployment of innovative planning, technologies and solutions for self and autonomous operations. Airports, in cooperation with health ministries, are implementing preventive measures throughout terminals to deal with the outbreak – such as temperature checks, health screening, installing extra hand-sanitizing stations, stepping up scheduled cleaning and enhanced sanitization efforts. Although the airports have become operational, the challenges involved are many, to make the airport processes as contactless as possible, maintaining social distancing. Technology will help the airports implement passenger processing that will enable higher throughput of passengers in existing capacity, better passenger experience, a reduction in operational costs and fewer opportunities for further spread of the virus.

What the audience will learn

• Airports to reconsider their normal business and operational processes
• Adjustments that can be made for the post-Covid-19 environment that will be beneficial in the near to long term
• Preventive measures in the terminals to deal with this outbreak
• How the airports in India are trying to overcome this challenge

Never before has the aviation industry suffered from such a setback. Travel restrictions and the general insecurity of the population led to a significant drop in traffic movements. How have the pandemic and the associated regulations affected airport transition projects, and which additional challenges have to be taken into consideration? MAI has successfully completed various projects throughout the year, despite the difficult circumstances, and is happy to share some insights.

What the audience will learn

• ORAT and airport transition projects in the time of Corona
• Maintaining a high level of passenger experience during a pandemic
• Best-practice solutions for efficient project management despite Covid-19

Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB or BLR Airport), has been working on developing contactless and biometric boarding solutions as part of its digital transformation efforts. As part of these developments, the team at BIAL worked extensively on building passenger confidence in flying again in the post-Covid world through the extensive adoption of digital/contactless travel solutions.

What the audience will learn

• Digital transformation strategy
• Enhanced passenger experience
• Biometric and contactless travel

This presentation will cover a trajectory of progress that follows where O’Hare started 2020, how its ambitious capital program has progressed, and the innovations that are in development as a result of the pandemic. This presentation will share how flexibility and resilience have helped fuel recent developments across O’Hare and the balance that exists between sustaining progress and managing the challenges of an airborne virus. The audience will get a glimpse into the strategies that designers are applying to new terminal facilities and the proactive approach that O’Hare is taking for its future facilities.

What the audience will learn

• ORD21 capital program: major features of ORD21 and its path forward
• In construction – O’Hare Terminal 5: where it started, where it is and where it will be
• Concessions: the rethinking of the goods delivery pipeline from concessionaire to passenger
• Design reevaluation: building mechanical reconfigurations to accommodate new needs amid a global pandemic
• Biometrics: implementing technological and electronic advancements that allow for a more touchless passenger processing experience

The impact of Covid on aviation is an ever-changing new normal to which airports and airlines are adapting. YVR has embraced these changes on multiple fronts, which will be highlighted in this talk. How did YVR incorporate Covid safety/social distancing in the terminal and within construction sites? How has YVR worked with government agencies and business partners to collaborate on ensuring successful passenger experiences. There are also new questions to answer: how do we future-proof existing facilities for another pandemic, can we pivot to alternative revenue opportunities, should there be global standards for the passenger experience?

What the audience will learn

• Collaboration to quickly pivot to a new way of managing the airport
• Establish clear messaging to passengers and the general community to explain Covid protocols
• Ensure that workers on expansion project construction sites have the same Covid safety measures as the terminal
• Collaboration with business partners and government agencies to evaluate options for long-term initiatives to ensure safe travel
• Corporate planning for the short term and long term across all departments

This presentation will highlight a proactive planning effort undertaken by LAX to develop a series of best practices specifically aimed at making the Tom Bradley International Terminal a healthy terminal. A variety of operational, physical and technological concepts were explored to develop a range of potential initiatives. Initial ideas were considered for immediate application in a reduced passenger traffic environment where little or no infrastructure changes would be required. Initiatives requiring greater investment were studied at a conceptual level. A throughput optimization analysis was conducted to identify triggers for when additional measures might be considered.

What the audience will learn

• Near-term interventions that provided required physical distancing and barriers
• Longer-term solutions that could impact the future design and operation of passenger terminals
• Taking a risk-based approach based on flight origins and destinations
• Available technology solutions that could be employed for a safer passenger journey

This presentation will offer a success story in which leadership and risk management efforts rescued a project as it entered a pandemic.

What the audience will learn

• Changing the landscape during Covid.
• Timelines and impacts
• Hurdles that had to be overcome
• Risk management efforts

From a currently reactive response to the pandemic situation we see a move toward proactive design measures. Some address the mind, body and human well-being, others the spaces we inhabit. Overlaying six pandemic design ideas with the work of the WELL Airport Advisory, we can create tools moving to a more resilient and prepared environment. How to enable free passage, anti-anxiety entries, breathable buildings and improved urban mobility are only a few of the topics related to airport architecture that we will discuss.

What the audience will learn

• How architectural design can be a catalyst to move post-pandemic
• The benefits of collaborating across sectors and learning from each other
• How WELL certification can help airports to invest in healthy spaces

Clean and healthy airports are always important, but especially during a pandemic. Airports have installed plexiglass barriers, increased the frequency of cleaning throughout terminals, and placed signs reminding passengers to distance themselves and wear masks. Some airports increased fresh air delivery and air filtration, and installed sanitizing robots, all at a time when revenues from travel have plummeted. Which measures reduce health risks, and which are a ‘hygiene theater’?

What the audience will learn

• The background of microbes in our world and typical daily exposures
• The additional risk posed by the SARS-CoV2 virus
• The best methods of reducing risks from SARS-CoV2

By supporting awareness of health and wellness programs and policies, organizations can promote health literacy and encourage engagement with health resources, leading to individual benefits such as increased participation in healthy behaviors and use of health services, and also employer benefits, providing an estimated 4:1 return on investment. Establishing a health-centered mission and orienting stakeholders as to how the organization will adhere to that mission and WELL features through design and operations, helps individuals remain engaged in the space and empowers them to utilize all available health and wellness programs and policies.

What the audience will learn

• How educational materials and communications can help promote health literacy and increase positive health outcomes
• How to cultivate a culture of health by reinforcing programs, amenities and policies available to support health and safety, including regular communications, occupant education and health risk assessments
• Support healthy behavior through signage that communicates important health safety actions and information

As an airport operator, how can you fundamentally improve the health and well-being of staff, and what are the current efforts and evolving challenges?

What the audience will learn

• As an airport operator, how can you fundamentally improve the health and well-being of staff, and what are the current efforts and evolving challenges?
• The whole airport as a place where daily life has to be facilitated and animated
• Covid crisis as an accelerator of sanitary solutions implementation at a global level

The airport can play a supporting role in a healthier and happier society. For instance, changing dwell time to swell time. For passengers to have a more joyful airport experience, basic human needs must come first. Transforming the dreaded, discretionary spending-focused dwell time into swell time should be at the forefront of any airport’s post-pandemic transformation moving forward. Dwell time is about making money, not passenger happiness. Happy passengers are willing to spend more of their time and money in airports.

What the audience will learn

• Current examples of global airport wellness touchpoints employed
• How integrating wellness touchpoints will directly increase non-aeronautical revenues and improve human mood
• Adopting a holistic airport well-being mindset in the age of Covid-19

Whether it's due to airline mergers, economic downturns, technology innovations or public health concerns, the airport industry is ever-changing. Only those leaders and airports that are adaptable and embrace those changes will survive – and perhaps even thrive.

What the audience will learn

• Identifying and exploiting the positive attributes of your business is essential
• Diversification of revenue streams will ‘recession proof’ your business
• Cargo is king in the e-commerce world

The presentation will discuss the collaboration between the city of Austin and Austin Bergstrom International Airport during Covid, including the impact on staffing, concessionaires and the capital program. It will also discuss financial status, short-term relief and budget planning to match declining numbers, plus understanding the new norm for the airline business, the effects it will have on the economy of City of Austin, and the changes in airport management.

What the audience will learn

• Budget review and management
• Concession relief and operations
• Non-aeronautical revenue generation
• Capital program strategized to balance demand, cost and growth

A critical moment in a passenger’s confidence occurs before they even walk through the revolving door. At airport entry points, travelers want to see smart procedures to limit the spread of Covid-19. These need to be faster, touchless and designed to maintain physical distancing. Redesigning layouts and queuing strategies, combined with leveraging new touchless technologies, can speed up processing, minimize the wait and keep everyone at safe distances. Finally, once passengers get through security, they need to be able to move freely and with confidence. Passengers want to return to their comfortable shopping, dining and waiting habits in a safe environment.

What the audience will learn

• The pandemic effect: aviation decline
• Airport revival: getting back into action
• Restoring passenger confidence through airport design
• Adopting many travel policies and practices simply because people expect them
• Airport strengths and challenges that are amplified by the pandemic

The presentation will offer a unique perspective on Covid coping and recovery strategies.

What the audience will learn

• Air service growth during Covid
• Relationship strategy
• Partnerships with local economic development agency

Travel restrictions and local lockdowns have led to an immediate decrease in passenger mobility. This has affected not only aviation but also road traffic. A study has been done to look at the effects of reduced air traffic on the local air quality at the airport in the closer vicinity of Zurich Airport and to assess the contribution of air traffic to the overall ambient air quality situation.

What the audience will learn

• Effect of Covid-19 lockdowns on air and road traffic and their emissions
• Ambient air quality situation at local monitoring stations before and during lockdown
• The significance of meteorological anomalies
• The effect of aviation on local concentrations

Covid-19 has elevated the importance of mission-critical facilities like airports to support the movement of passengers, goods, and services. DFW Airport is implementing a set of aspirational goals (Sustainability North Star initiatives) that will allow us to strategically focus our efforts for maximum impact (driving economic, social and environmental value). Highlighted by our Net Zero 2030 commitment to climate action, these goals will support our recovery while making the world a better place for future generations.

What the audience will learn

• DFW Airport’s approach to sustainability
• Overview of DFW’s Net Zero 2030 roadmap
• How we are using data science to understand our complex airport ecosystem and drive our progress

Continued and meaningful climate action as part of aviation and airport recovery strategies is essential to restore our passengers' confidence, gain access to public and private funds, and reduce current and future costs related to infrastructure and operations. Airports must reinforce the 'green recovery' of the aeronautical sector and build a path toward recovery that is compatible with the achievement of zero net CO2 emissions, working in collaboration with all stakeholders, promoting and reinforcing actions, adapting to the new scenario in which we are immersed, and thus guaranteeing the future of our activity, not only in the short term, but also in the medium/long term. For all the above, Aena has prepared a Strategic Plan for Sustainability and Innovation, which details the objectives to be achieved, as well as the specific initiatives and programs that make it possible to make the objectives a reality, and the corresponding indicators to assess the level of achievement of these objectives.

What the audience will learn

• The Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences represent a major challenge for the survival of many sectors, with air transport and the tourism sector being two of the most affected. However, at Aena we have faith in the sector's recovery plan
• With this objective, we have updated our objectives in terms of decarbonization and protection of the environment, reinforcing our strategy against climate change, designed to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement
• We are in no doubt that this trend is going to take hold in business because of the significance of environmental sustainability
• Technological progress makes sustainability initiatives profitable. It is a win-win for everyone because there is no trade-off between profitability and environmental protection
• We provide our customers with the infrastructure they need to enhance their environmental requirements

San Francisco International Airport continues to advance its ambitions of becoming the world’s first net-zero energy, net-zero carbon and zero-waste airport campus as a key tenet of its pandemic and economic recovery to resilience pathway. Explore SFO’s priority 'zero' initiatives and the resulting triple bottom-line benefits achieved for the airport, its workers and the surrounding community.

What the audience will learn

• SFO and industry’s definitions of 'zero' – net energy, net carbon, waste
• Which measures and enhancements SFO is cost- and resource-effectively pursing
• Tools SFO uses to quantify and prioritize the triple bottom-line cost benefits of its investments
• Third-party rating systems that legitimize and offer a guide path to 'zero'

This presentation will focus on global best practices related to Covid-19 at airport facilities, and a case study of how the Seattle airport is managing facilities during this pandemic. A major focus will be a discussion of practical and proven implementation issues for Covid-19 compared with theoretical sales pitches. Topics will include touchless technologies, HVAC, UVC light cleaning, sanitation stations, cleaning frequencies for restrooms and other terminal areas, Covid cleaning certification, signage, concessions, social distancing, Covid-19 testing at the airport, restoring passenger confidence, and risk-based decision making with limited financial resources.

What the audience will learn

• Discussion of practical and proven implementation issues for Covid-19 compared with theoretical sales pitches
• Risk-based decision making for airports with limited financial resources
• ASHRAE recommendations for HVAC mechanical systems and high-efficiency filtration
• Exciting trends for touchless travel and social distancing through queue management
• Strategies for restoring passenger confidence and airports as a model for best practices in health safety

Having ISO 55001 in place better prepares you to make knowledge-driven decisions that meet health needs and resiliency efforts, and drive staffing during uncertain times. Atlanta Airlines Terminal Corporation’s vice president of facilities will provide an overview of the company's ISO journey and demonstrate how its tools drove a quicker staffing response to the pandemic. Critical system response strategies saved millions of dollars in the first six months by leveraging in-depth knowledge of HVAC and vertical transportation, and helped provide executive leadership with energy optimization strategies. Ongoing efforts will make H-JAIA a safer and more efficient operating airport as the recovery continues.

What the audience will learn

• Overview of ISO 55001 tools to help manage risks
• How tools drove AATC staffing levels on-site, preventing the spread of Covid-19 while maintaining a high service level
• HVAC and energy optimization strategies – saving US$6.3m on energy in six months
• System upgrade recommendations: HVAC to vertical transportation – providing capital planning numbers and language for now and the future

Steve will discuss the crippling impacts of Covid-19 on Edmonton International Airport (EIA) and the entire aviation industry. Safety will always be EIA's top priority for passengers and employees, and in this presentation Steve will detail safety measures put in place while also remaining flexible and adjusting in real time. With every challenge comes opportunity, and EIA has continued along its innovative path, pivoting its approach to address the impacts of Covid-19 through rapid testing solutions and touchless technologies.

What the audience will learn

• Passenger confidence is crucial. Understanding passengers' needs and concerns related to health safety helps to restore air service
• Implementing health measures such as mandatory face masks and physical distance floor markers helps to create a safe airport experience
• The ability to pivot and remain flexible in airport operations is key
• Alignment with stakeholders and partners creates a consistent experience for passengers
• We all want travel to get back to normal – a rapid testing solution will help us get there safely

This presentation will focus on management of operations during Covid-19. Key issues will include operating on the airport with closed terminals and gates, designated access routes to parked aircraft for required maintenance, transitioning back to 'normal' operations, maintaining FAA certification during Covid-19 for airfield checks and required maintenance, traffic updates and safety measures inside the terminal. The presentation will also highlight exciting plans for a new 39-gate terminal and 6,300-space parking garage that will replace existing Terminals A, B and C.

What the audience will learn

• Safety measures inside the terminal
• Passenger traffic update
• Transitioning back to “normal” operations during COVID-19
• Maintaining FAA certification during COVID-19 for certification and inspection
• Plans for a new 39-gate terminal that will replace existing Terminals A, B, and C

The significant rise in domestic air-travel numbers in the US and China signifies passenger confidence is returning and airlines are now working toward zero cash-burn. But there is a dog fight on the horizon: with business travel affected long-term and international restrictions still in force for the foreseeable future, legacy carriers are shifting their focus to get a piece of the domestic leisure market. With half the business and twice the players, there’s not enough business to go round – so who will survive? Will there be a race to the bottom on ticket prices, or will airlines innovate to win the fight for passenger preference?

What the audience will learn

• Forecast market recovery insights that highlight macro industry trends on the horizon
• Airline route, service and cabin innovations that highlight seismic shifts by airlines in a bid to survive
• Key consumer trends and parallel industry innovations that we are seeing cross-industry
• How forward-thinking airlines will use design as a tool in the fight for passenger preference and brand differentiation

Covid-19 is driving changes to the way the world travels that we are only beginning to comprehend, accelerating trends and upending established thinking. As our industry grapples with these shifts in technology, economics and culture, we explore how the passenger experiences of the future can grasp these new opportunities to reposition the premium travel experience for a new generation, and deliver a dynamic and engaging return to sustainable growth.

What the audience will learn

• What are the key factors re-shaping the on board experience
• What industry experts believe are the changes we can expect in the future
• How design can be used to anticipate change, mitigate risk and attract the next generation of premium passengers

Airports are always working to improve the passenger experience and to meet new and evolving customer needs like seamless travel and increased sustainability. The Covid pandemic has had a large impact on passenger needs regarding safe travel. Innovation and new ideas are key to meet all these different needs and move toward the next-generation passenger experience.

What the audience will learn

• Current measures put in place at Swedavia’s airports in response to the Covid pandemic
• Insights on important aspects to create a safer passenger experience
• How innovation and new ideas can create a more safe, seamless and sustainable passenger experience in the future

While the industry puts new safety measures in place, it needs to keep passengers feeling good along the way. Can this be achieved through innovative safety measures that improve passenger experience today? And can they be flexible enough to meet any new requirements to come? Many passengers are faced with an impersonal service, and they long for familiar comforts and safe spaces. Introducing organic shapes, living materials and natural textures to waiting areas can transform these places into relaxing oases. Plantlife can be used to provide social-distancing barriers and also direct passenger flow. When we find ways of taking passengers beyond the new normal, their journeys will remind them of happier times.

What the audience will learn

• There’s a strong correlation between passenger satisfaction and concession revenues, because both need relaxing environments to thrive
• How to identify agile, innovative, short-term solutions that easily adapt to post-Covid-19 requirements
• Terminal interiors can be safe and sensory, using design inspired by nature and natural surfaces to make passenger areas more relaxing
• Thanks to their powerful anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, natural materials are becoming game-changers today

The presentation will offer a summary of the steps taken by Oman Airports during the Covid-19 pandemic and highlight steps taken for the airports' closure, dealing with repatriation flights and preparing for reopening to scheduled air traffic.

What the audience will learn

• Operational interfaces
• Stakeholder engagement and communication
• Managing staff and passenger concerns
• Providing confidence in the aviation community
• Preparation and delivery of PCR test on arrival

The presentation focuses on smart measures for regional airports at summer leisure destinations, mainly characterized by high seasonality and very high traffic peaks during their busy periods. The measures aim to achieve a higher passenger throughput in the Covid era, and also to find ways to welcome passengers back in the summer 2021 season. We must not forget that even during the most difficult era for aviation, airport passenger experience remains relevant and of paramount importance. Passenger experience does not require opex, but leadership, operational ideas and team creativity.

What the audience will learn

• Solutions to mitigate increased operational needs originating from restrictive Covid measures
• Practical ways for leading teams to the new operational reality where safety and passenger experience remain important
• Ideas for welcoming passengers back to Europe in the summer 2021 vacation season

This presentation will discuss how airports are preparing for the return to (new) normal operation. The dynamic resilience is complex to manage and requires new ideas.

What the audience will learn

• Key problem areas
• Managing the traffic demand
• Adapting the organization
• Challenges

Thinking of the times before Covid-19 and feeling like it was heaven? Wanting to go back there once the crisis is over? Hold on – be honest with yourself. We were in fact hanging on in the middle of rising delays and overcrowded terminals, with little idea how we would actually manage our way out of it all. We do not want to go back there. The future is what we make of it using the opportunities the current crisis presents.

What the audience will learn

• Get a realistic picture of the past
• Recognize that the current crisis presents lots of opportunities to improve things
• Instead of wanting to go back to pre-Covid times, look forward
• Agree that whoever uses these opportunities best will own the future

This unprecedented crisis in the aviation industry has taught us, in a hard way, how critical it is to have a more harmonized, coordinated approach among the EU, EEA and UK states if the sector is to recover. Airlines, airports, ANSPs, businesses and passengers are suffering the impact of the crisis, and only if each one of us does our part, and we work in a coordinated way, will we be able to recover in an efficient and sustainable way.

What the audience will learn

• How the aviation industry has not stopped looking for solutions to this crisis
• How collaboration and harmonization have helped to ease the impact of the crisis
• How building the industry back up is going to be a real challenge

The presentation will provide an outline of the scenarios of recovery and their impact on the Airspace Network of Europe, coupled with the partnerships for recovery

What the audience will learn

• Forecast scenarios for recovery
• How the network responded in 2020
• How the network is preparing for recovery

In the current context of Covid-19, aviation faces a new reality that will change the route development process in the long term. There has been a significant reduction in flights and passenger volumes. To manage this crisis, a well-prepared action plan, with fast and non-traditional decisions followed by strong cooperation with airline partners, is vital to make the situation an opportunity rather than an obstacle. This presentation shares how Lithuanian Airports is coping with this crisis and what actions are relevant for the recovery.

What the audience will learn

• How Covid-19 will change route development
• Relevant actions in managing this crisis
• How to make it an opportunity rather than an obstacle
• Lessons learned from this crisis

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, airports are under pressure to minimize capital investments, reduce operating costs and use their infrastructure and resources more efficiently. Additionally, this crisis has made the traditional planning approach – which relies on historical data – no longer relevant. Airport managers have to increasingly rely on new data sources, break down organizational silos, and develop strategic partnerships with airlines, government agencies and other stakeholders. This presentation outlines an agile planning and operating framework to address short- to medium-term challenges where the focus is on scenario testing, new data sources, efficiency and flexibility, and sustainable financial performance.

What the audience will learn

• This crisis has completely changed our industry, but how can we take advantage of it?
• What should airport managers focus on in the short to medium term?
• Practical and concrete examples of what to do next

Throughout 2020, urgent new customer needs have emerged overnight. At KLM Digital we needed to put all our agility into practice to respond to these needs. In this short video, we will clearly define several phases and categories in these customer needs. Furthermore, we will share examples of how digital products still help KLM to manage this situation. Agility, communication, collaboration, data analysis and customer feedback play the main part. What did we learn? What will be in store for us in 2021?

What the audience will learn

• How Covid-19 changed passengers' online and offline behavior
• New opportunities: digital products and services in managing Covid-19
• Perspectives on standardization and international collaboration for documentation

Helsinki Airport, a leading airport in northern Europe, has been a leader in Covid-19 actions. We've followed all the aviation recommendations during the crisis, and also introduced innovative new solutions such as Covid-19 dogs, new technology and service models to ensure excellent customer experience for airlines and passengers. Together with highly skilled teams, we have enabled the airport facilities operations of Finland's authorities.

What the audience will learn

• Leading all airport processes during the Covid-19 crisis
• Covid-19 dogs – the first in Europe
• New service models during changing global travel restrictions

Now that Covid-19 has dramatically altered the travel industry landscape, it has become clearer than ever that biometrics will play a vital role in getting the world moving again. How can we work to ensure a seamless and safe end-to-end experience for passengers? How to reinstill passenger confidence in regard to health and safety when using an airport?

What the audience will learn

• To what extent Covid-19 is affecting the passenger expectations of the future
• The challenges behind implementing a touchless passenger experience
• Is ‘seamless travel’ still the end goal for airports?

Cork Airport has seen a significant impact on passenger numbers and flights due to Covid-19, which has decimated aviation across the globe. As head of communications at Cork Airport in Ireland, Kevin Cullinane has witnessed first hand the serious reduction in passenger numbers, as well as flight cancellations and disruptions. Despite the current crisis, he believes passionately that communications objectives still need to follow business objectives without being tone-deaf to the unfolding crisis. In this presentation, he shares how Cork Airport has stayed close to its customers digitally and emotionally throughout the pandemic by staying relevant.

What the audience will learn

• Leaders need to think differently in a crisis
• Communications objectives still need to follow business objectives
• Companies with communications issues probably aren't communicating effectively
• Adapting social media strategy is a key pillar
• Stay true to your brand promise

The presentation will describe the various actions that DOH undertook to remain operational despite the pandemic, ensuring that the well-being of passengers remained at the heart of its strategy. Passenger and staff safety and security remain the top priority while deploying an operation recovery plan in line with multiple stakeholder requirements. New hygiene measures were introduced across the terminal to ensure passengers' confidence in safe travel is restored.

What the audience will learn

• How the airport showed incredible nimbleness in adapting to the changed circumstances
• How the airport co-created the ‘pandemic’ passenger experience with the national airline Qatar Airways
• Lessons in effective passenger communication and community engagement
• Unlocking the power of technology to rebuild travel trust with innovative travel experiences

Aviation is facing a paradigm shift, from decades-long continuous growth to a post-pandemic restart and recovery. Aviation security and facilitation were preparing to cope with a demand for high throughput to prevent congestion, but have now to operate in a very different environment where sanitary measures apply. The presentation will address the challenges associated with this paradigm shift and how threats have evolved. It will also explain the key role of ICAO, as a global organization, to help mitigate the risks and keep our industry safe and secure, by mobilizing innovation and promoting an effective and sustainable security culture.

What the audience will learn

• The new threat picture
• The challenges associated with Covid-19 and how they are handled
• Innovation in aviation security and facilitation
• ICAO initiatives in the Year of Security Culture 2021

Sars-Cov2 is, without contest, the most efficient terrorist ever. Nothing else has ever been capable of forcing authorities to ground aircraft and close significant portions of the economy for months or lock down a large part of humanity for weeks. The usual threat and risk models – from assessment to risk avoidance, risk mitigation, risk transfer and risk tolerance – seem to have been replaced by a new zero-tolerance or principle of precaution model. How will aviation survive without safety and security risks? How can aviation security principles and pillars even adopt a zero-tolerance model? Is aviation security even needed after Covid-19?

What the audience will learn

• The need to perform a 'Great Reset' on 40 years of aviation security provisions
• The need to capitalize on new information collected from passengers and staff to perform risk-based differentiated and targeted screening
• The need to create new 'trusted networks' with advanced equipment, data and information-sharing criteria to promote 'human-free' operations

Covid-19 has significantly impacted security operations, including how security is delivered and the resources available to deliver it. As we start to emerge from the pandemic, airports and security authorities will need to continue to adapt to provide a future-proof, resilient regime that continues to deliver an efficient, safe and secure set of security measures, through new processes, smart technologies and flexible regulation.

What the audience will learn

• Challenges faced by airports during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Airport measures implemented
• Near term solutions and challenges
• Long term future vision

Recent progress in biometrics performance, interoperability, standards and enrollment data quality are all essential to improve the robustness of the security tokens secured in current eMRTDs and their future generations. In particular, contactless biometrics technologies may thrive due to the Covid situation. Responding to recurrent ID theft, and specifically preventing biometrics attacks ('spoofing') is still a challenge that will require strong coordination between all security stakeholders, in AVSEC and beyond. The EU has recognized the need for sustained R&D biometrics efforts, along with an evolution of current privacy impact assessments to protect citizens against excessive biometrics mass usage.

What the audience will learn

• What were the main breakthroughs and what are today's biometrics challenges?
• Why are biometric standards, metrics, data quality and stakeholder alignment so important?
• How will biometrics continue to sustain ID security in the transportation industry?
• Are contactless biometrics innovations in line with current health transportation constraints?
• Will biometrics in mobility become a benefit for the public?

The challenges Covid has brought to the sector in 2020 are unprecedented and many entities have undergone a significant reduction in operations and associated restructuring this year, while facing an uncertain future. In the new world of Covid, one challenge is not to underestimate the impact on our workforce and their capability, from both internal and external pressures. The presentation will consider the impact of skill fade on security staff, the risk of losing experienced staff from the sector, as well as the link between training, human factors and security culture.

What the audience will learn

• The importance of not disregarding human factors in aviation security during times of crisis
• What is skill fade and how to mitigate its impact
• Why a robust security culture is more critical now than ever

The presentation will outline the Covid-19 measures at Copenhagen Airport and the impact of the pandemic on the airport’s operations. This will include the security and safety operation, from lockdown to resuming operations, and adjusting for the future: a smaller airport.

What the audience will learn

• Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020
• Resuming operations after lockdown
• Safe passenger journey measures at Copenhagen Airport
• Security challenges in view of the Covid-19 pandemic
• How to motivate staff – both managers and employees – in a time of uncertainty

Covid-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to the aviation industry as a whole and has driven a reimagining of the role of airline security departments. This session will discuss how aviation security teams had to pivot in their approach to managing risk and supporting operations in light of the changes brought about by the pandemic.

What the audience will learn

• How airports and airlines are dealing with the impact of the pandemic
• Sustainable security, safety and training
• Lessons being learned and where the industry may be heading

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed many challenges for the health and safety of the public and our members of service. Decisive action and the ability to make swift changes have allowed us to maintain a high level of readiness in keeping the public and our facilities safe.

What the audience will learn

• Gain an understanding of the procedural implementations/modifications made throughout the Port Authority Police Department
• Port Authority Police Covid-19 Task Force initiative and tasks performed
• Receive an overview of the interagency law enforcement collaboration during the Covid-19 pandemic
• Maintaining counterterrorism presence during the Covid-19 pandemic

To help set the scene, the panel will start with some key highlights and charts from the just-released 2020 Airport and Airline IT Trends Surveys, including the industry's response to touchless processing, the areas where this is being implemented, and the technologies being leveraged to ensure a safe and healthy industry.

American is focused on creating touchless solutions that give customers the confidence to travel during the pandemic, while also focusing on long-term capabilities that deliver a frictionless customer experience. We're working with government and technology partners to develop technology that will make the day of travel experience feel less transactional and more reflective of the digitally enabled world we live in.

What the audience will learn

• Developing a touchless solution with a focus on data security
• Creating a better experience for customers and team members
• Partnering with airports to develop touchless solutions

The presentation will highlight the specific programs that Miami International Airport has implemented or enhanced in response to Covid-19. This will include a brief overview of new technologies being tested to help with day-to-day operations for passengers and staff.

What the audience will learn

• The importance and impact of touchless/low-contact solutions at Miami International Airport

The combination of a digital, touchless and personal hospitality experience has always been at the center of Lufthansa Group's passenger experience and has become even more relevant in recent months. The aim is to design a passenger-determined experience that is personalized and provides efficiency and hospitality. To achieve this, Lufthansa applies innovative service designs and technologies.

What the audience will learn

• Service and experience design
• Technology
• Innovation

The presentation will cover a number of ideas that are being trialed or implemented at Gatwick to reduce the Covid risk for passengers and staff. This will cover a UV tunnel for tray disinfection, touchless biometric journey, automatic baggage belt allocation, a restaurant booking solution and bingo boarding.

What the audience will learn

• Ways to reduce the Covid transmission risk
• Cost-reduction opportunities for future operations
• New ways of improving the passenger experience

The presentation will explain how biometrics can have positive direct and indirect effects on passenger experience, where some revenue streams could be increased in a normal non-Covid world. It will also look at how investing in transforming the airport into a digital one enables rapid adaptation, reducing the risk of virus contagion, plus speeding processes to avoid queues and almost any future challenge that could require a change in airport procedures.

What the audience will learn

• How biometrics benefits and contributes to the airport ecosystem
• Possible ROI from biometrics and touchless procedures

What are the various lessons learned from the Covid pandemic and how can they be leveraged to become drivers of change? How can the industry absorb the related significant investments required? Are there opportunities to help answer these challenging questions? This presentation will look at the role of airports, collaboration with all other industry players, the opportunities and ways to drive for change while discussing funding solutions.

What the audience will learn

• The way airports have adapted and coped with the pandemic
• Global figures related to the economic impact of the pandemic on airports worldwide
• Initiatives taken by airports in collaboration with other industry stakeholders
• Opportunities to accelerate change, for innovation, upgrades in technologies and accelerated changes in country regulations
• What can be expected in the medium and longer terms

The transformation of the travel experience into a contactless journey had already begun, but could Covid be an unexpected catalyst for the acceleration of a healthier travel vision? Given the unprecedented financial impact on the industry, the investment required by stakeholders will be a huge challenge in the short run, so can the industry take this opportunity to recover in a strategic way even though there might not be a short-term ROI, or will the reaction be to go back to what we know because it is safer, and miss out on the opportunity to change. Also, does this require a new approach between the key stakeholders?

What the audience will learn

• How can we rebuild customer confidence in traveling?
• Who benefits the most from a seamless and contactless travel experience? Is this for passengers only?
• How are short-term investments in new technology performing?
• Given the financial shape of the industry, how do stakeholders make the decision to invest in this transformation? Does the industry need a new approach to investment between stakeholders?
• Are we behind when it comes to standards? How do we achieve standardization globally and who should lead this?

Contactless is a trend we experience in everyday life, including within the aviation industry. But does it actually provide any benefits to airports, airlines and passengers, and what challenges must be overcome to implement it? What opportunities exist to encourage ‘totally touchless’, that will enhance airline and airport products, improve the passenger experience and attract positive ROIs?

What the audience will learn

• The benefits and challenges of contactless journeys
• Opportunities for innovation
• What’s it in for me – does contactless actually provide higher ROIs?

City, regional and airport planners play a critical role in enabling urban air mobility (UAM) services. Traditionally, aviation planning has not been a principal consideration in urban and regional transportation planning processes. As electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and other emerging aviation technologies will enable new forms of mobility, it is essential that planning processes and municipal zoning codes address the integration of new types of aviation infrastructure and low-altitude operations. This presentation will consider a broad range of planning issues associated with UAM, from airspace integration to infrastructure planning and permitting, and related community engagement.

What the audience will learn

• Some of the key areas for city, regional and airport planners to be thinking about as they consider UAM
• The role of the federal/national aviation regulators in informing local and regional planning
• Policy frameworks in development across the globe

Advanced aerial mobility is getting closer. Without vertiports, there will be limited applications for this new technology. This presentation looks at how to navigate the timing and revenue uncertainties of a new industry with the large capital expenditure required for airport infrastructure.

What the audience will learn

• Infrastructure is vital for the success of the AAM industry
• Lack of defined revenue streams and large capex requirements are hard to reconcile

The presentation will discuss the many areas of consideration for airports. Should the vertiport be landside or airside? Accommodating multiple types of aircraft with varying performance capabilities. Do we model it along with existing helicopter operations or a completely new ConOps? Infrastructure requirements – common use or exclusive use? Do we allow for multiple landing sites on one airport? Does the PA invest in the development or do we leave that to the operators? Ensuring UAM operation has no impact on the existing airport flows. What safety and electrical power infrastructures are required?

What the audience will learn

• Airport infrastructure considerations: placement of vertiport on the airport
• Airspace considerations: how will these aircraft be accommodated, especially in complex airspace. A-CDM is critical for successful implementation
• Common use of exclusive-use vertiports
• Terminal access for passengers. Do we utilize airside or landside portions of the airports?
• Varying aircraft performance capabilities: range, vertical climb and speed

In the current context of environmental transition in air transport and economic recovery, the Paris region, Groupe ADP and RATP Group are developing a unique urban air mobility initiative with a focus on electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL). The partners have decided to bring together all the conditions to make the emergence of this new mode of transport possible. The prospect of the 2024 Olympic Games provides an exceptional opportunity to involve an entire industry in order to make the Paris region a leader in the global urban air mobility market.

What the audience will learn

• How to create/animate an ecosystem of stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of this new mobility service
• The five key challenges to orchestrate and develop the urban air mobility (UAM) roadmap
• Why a UAM living lab is fundamental and what should be tested
• What this new service will look like from a passenger perspective
• Key insights into the future business model of a vertiport

Crisis management is dealing with those incidents or events that you either have no plan for or where existing plans are inadequate. The August 2018 theft of an Alaskan Airlines jet from the Seattle Tacoma International Airport is an example of such a crisis. The lessons from that brief, isolated incident demonstrate the challenges that have later been experienced in grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic. Those lessons may also provide a path forward for the current situation. Focusing on the desired future end state, modernizing policies and procedures, and strengthening communications are critical parts of crisis management.

What the audience will learn

• The difficulty in sometimes understanding when the crisis is upon you
• The importance of communication internally and externally
• The need to look forward at the big picture when the crisis overtakes you
• The need for constant review and assessment of existing policies and practices to reduce the likelihood a crisis will overwhelm you

The experience of the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) offers an example of the complexity of addressing a crisis in the context of a complex environment. The initial measures taken as the understanding of the Covid-19 threat increased demonstrate the tension between response, regulatory requirements and restrictions, and the need to maintain public confidence. The CDA crisis management must also be understood in the context of a crisis response simultaneously being conducted for a major urban area. The importance of a coordinated response with the city’s airports as an integrated part of response were hallmarks of Chicago’s early efforts.

What the audience will learn

• The importance of leadership focused on holistic resiliency in the face of crisis, from operations to financials to customer trust
• The importance of developing an internal structure to address critical issues in response planning
• The need for well-defined communication channels and the continuous exercise of those channels
• The need to understand that airport response is only a small part of larger concerns in a widespread threat to community health and safety

In an aviation environment where threats abound, airlines must be prepared for crisis. Particular attention must be paid to maintaining operations as crises are identified and addressed. This presentation will outline the basic guidelines for handling a crisis. It will also offer an examination of the anatomy of a crisis, looking at the phases that individuals pass through as situations develop. As crises are met and handled, some common features for successful resolution become apparent. Lessons from prior events will be shared and offer a basis for discussion of the essential actions required for favorable outcomes to crisis situations.

What the audience will learn

• The importance of balancing focus between the crisis and routine operations
• The basic guidelines for handling a crisis
• The effects of crisis on individuals
• Tips from successful crisis resolutions

If there is one thing that many organizations have experienced since the start of Covid-19, it is that the frameworks they have used to model, prepare for and engage with crisis scenarios have proved to be fundamentally unsound. This presentation will look at some of the fundamental issues that are critical to any crisis management program, and that can be used to audit and benchmark current practices as well as identify realistic and achievable steps that can be taken within any organization's crisis management network.

What the audience will learn

• Understand the nature of emergent crisis events
• Recognize the predictable fail points in classical risk and crisis management programs
• Understand the process for developing effective enterprise-level crisis management capabilities
• The issues within the organization that can be used to develop more effective crisis management capabilities
• Create risk-sensitive, crisis-ready organizations