It's a tempting challenge, and one that many more or less enlightened experts are tackling: imagining the airport of tomorrow, or even the day after tomorrow. CAP Strategic Research has just published its report, "The airport of the future", based on the expertise of 60 airlines, 25 airports and over 5,000 passengers, who were asked to imagine what air travel will be like in fifteen years' time. Based on the premise that the air transport industry will have to cope with an increase in passenger numbers, the authors of the report put saving time and space at the top of the agenda for the future. As a result, check-in counters are likely to disappear, allowing airlines to save space and money. Another victim of the passage of time: hold baggage, for which the report envisages various alternatives, from a baggage area inspired by the rail model to a delivery service guaranteeing transfer from home to the final destination, in return for a hefty fee. "The airport of the future" also extols the virtues of the "trusted traveller": the frequent traveller, supposedly less at risk, for whom security checks would be purely and simply abolished, again for a fee... Conversely, depending on the nationality, frequency of travel or age of the traveller, he or she could be assigned to the "enhanced risk" category, and subjected to more thorough checks than the current procedures. The remainder of passengers - the vast majority - would see no change in procedures, apart from the space left by passengers in the other two categories. The project is also supported by IATA, and is already being studied in a number of countries, notably the United States. Finally, the "Airport of the future" report goes even further, predicting the disappearance of airport shops. Travellers in 2025 will be offered showrooms where they can try on, choose and order their purchases, which will then be delivered directly to their destination, so they can travel light. These are credible forecasts which, while they may not be prophecies, can already provide some clues as to future trends, in the more or less long term.
