Until the mid-90s, the choice of hub was relatively easy: a dozen American airports including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Newark and Miami did the trick; in Europe, Roissy was neck and neck with Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London-Heathrow, Madrid and Zurich. Finally, in Asia, the must-see cities were Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong. But like the rest of the airline industry, the world of airports has seen many upheavals. September 2001 precipitated the predicted disappearance or restructuring of many airlines, leading to the collapse of a number of airports. In Europe, Basel-Mulhouse, Brussels and Zurich lost some of their role as hubs; the restructuring of American airlines, for example, forced Delta Air Lines to abandon its Dallas hub. Strict security regulations at Miami airport have forced several carriers, such as Iberia, to transfer their traffic elsewhere.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the emergence of new markets such as China, India, Brazil and Russia, and the stated ambitions of certain airlines, are redrawing the map of passenger flows around the world. In recent years, new hubs have emerged: Milan-Malpensa and Munich in Europe, Toronto and Sao Paulo in the Americas, and Kuala Lumpur and Seoul in Asia. China by air has become one of the world's leading markets. It overtook Japan for the first time in 2004, welcoming 242 million passengers to its 133 airports. Beijing and Shanghai are now among the world's largest airports, handling some 40 million passengers a year. The formidable rise of the Gulf carriers has propelled Dubai and Doha to the status of new global hubs, a role they will soon have to share with Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, which have similar ambitions.<\/p>\n
The phenomenon of low-cost carriers has also reshuffled the deck somewhat. By essentially serving point-to-point markets, these airlines have contributed to the emergence of secondary hubs. With the presence of Germanwings and Hapag Lloyd Express at Cologne-Bonn, this hub has stolen the limelight from its larger neighbour, D\u00fcsseldorf. Airports such as Beauvais, Bratislava, Liverpool and Bergamo, considered to have no great future just a decade ago, are now enjoying a remarkable boom thanks to low-cost airlines, with annual growth rates ranging from 30 % to 100 %.<\/p>\n
All these trends are giving the airport industry cause for optimism. According to figures from ACI, Airports Council International, the number of passengers handled worldwide reached four billion in 2005. By 2020, this figure is set to almost double to 7.4 billion passengers. But this growth has its downside: there is now an urgent need to develop new passenger infrastructure. \"Without an adequate expansion of capacity, we estimate that the shortfall in capacity at our airports will reach one billion passengers by 2020\", declared Robert J. Aaronson, ACI's Director General, at its annual conference in Auckland last year, \"which will result in increasing congestion and a deterioration in the quality of service\".<\/p>\n
The airport has become an object of prestige with bold architecture, but it also has to take account of an environment that has changed significantly in recent years. \"Tighter security regulations mean that passengers have to stay longer in airports. As a result, they perceive the airport experience as one of the most stressful elements of their journey. Platforms that change this perception through the simplicity of their design and their spaces, like Hong Kong, for example, are winning all the votes\", explains Peter Miller, Marketing Director of Skytrax, a company that polls millions of passengers every year about their preferences when it comes to airports.<\/p>\n
It is true that since the attacks in New York in 2001, the airport environment has had to incorporate increasingly strict security instructions, which have led to a complete rethink of passenger routes. \"In Munich, for example, we opted for centralised checks rather than having passengers blocked at various points. We are extending this system to all our terminals\", comments Hans-Joachim Bues, Vice President Communications at the Bavarian hub.<\/p>\n
This security constraint must coexist with the demands of an increasingly experienced air passenger. Not only do they want to complete check-in formalities as quickly as possible or reduce transfer times, they also want more user-friendly spaces, more services and faster baggage delivery. \"A successful airport is one that integrates all these functions from the outset, even planning the location of shops,\" says Niels Boserup, Director of Copenhagen Airport and current President of the ACI.<\/p>\n
More and more airlines, in cooperation with airports, are separating premium passengers from economy class passengers. The system has been in place for several years in Dubai, Zurich and Singapore. Lufthansa has created an exclusive terminal in Frankfurt for its first-class passengers, as has Qatar Airways in Doha.<\/p>\n
In fact, technological solutions have become the only way for airports to integrate time, comfort and security constraints. According to a study conducted jointly by ACI and SITA (Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 d'applications technologiques), 64 % of airports are integrating new technologies into their development, devoting almost 5 % of their turnover to technology, or some 2.5 billion dollars. \"After 11 September 2001, airports invested massively in security, sometimes to the point of exaggeration, which led to a deterioration in the quality of service in the terminals. Airport authorities are now concentrating on ways of facilitating passenger processing and relieving congestion in their facilities\", says Catherine Mayer, Vice President Airport Services at SITA.<\/p>\n
The new technologies include self-service check-in, wi-fi in terminals, the use of biometric techniques at passport control and, finally, the acceleration of baggage delivery systems. Self-service check-in is one of the airports' priorities. From 42 % in 2005, the number of airports equipped with automatic check-in kiosks should reach, according to SITA, 70 % in 2007. Biometrics is another key area for technological investment in the near future. According to the SITA study, 65 % of airports should be using this technology in 2009, compared with 15 % at present.<\/p>\n
In Catherine Mayer's view, airports should encourage the integration of all modes of transport and the various players involved, from airlines and rail companies to public transport operators: \"Being able to travel with a single ticket and transfer luggage seamlessly should be the benchmark for the future\". And a less stressed traveller will be all the more appreciative of the airport's shops and other services...<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"