AIRPORTS RISK POOR TECH RETURNS WITHOUT OUTCOME-LINKED RFPS, SAYS FORMER ACI CHIEF

Airports risk spending money on technology that delivers only marginal improvements to passenger services and revenue if they fail to define clear requirements before approaching suppliers, former Airports Council International (ACI) World Director General Luis Felipe Oliveira has warned. Oliveira, now Executive Director and CEO of Exactly Consulting and Services Sarl, made the comments during a World Aviation Festival webinar titled “From passengers to guests: A new ethos for airport development”, ahead of the event’s return to Lisbon from 13 to 15 October. “In the end, you get what you ask for. Without clear requirements, airports risk investing money in things that won’t provide a great improvement for the airport and for its guests,” he said.

JUDGE TECHNOLOGY BY OUTCOMES, NOT SOPHISTICATION

Oliveira argued that how airports define requests for proposals remains one of the biggest weaknesses in technology adoption, and that investments should be linked to clear operational, passenger or commercial outcomes rather than judged solely on technical sophistication. “The idea to link every investment with the value of the outcome is something that airports need to start thinking about more. Not simply sophistication in technology, but what they can get out of the technology to improve passenger services and, of course, to improve revenues,” he said. Airports are accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence, biometrics, facial recognition, robotics, digital identity and automated passenger-processing systems, but Oliveira said the right investment depends on factors as varied as an airport’s size, traffic, route mix, number of terminals and operational complexity: top-tier systems may not pay off for small and mid-sized airports, while specifying only basic capabilities can leave an airport with a system that fails to move the needle. “When you specify only the basics, you receive only the basics, and the basics sometimes won’t help improve the customer experience. To articulate the expected level of performance and the impact on passenger experience, the technology needs to align with the operational reality of this specific airport,” he said.

A ROADMAP BEFORE THE SHOPPING LIST, AND A LIMIT ON AUTOMATION

He urged airports to set a technology roadmap covering the complete passenger journey before selecting individual systems, given how many separate parties, airlines, ground handlers, government agencies, border authorities and technology providers, need their systems to work together. “That’s why airports need to define a clear roadmap for technology that will help them identify the right partners. They need solutions that are not linked to only one provider, but provide opportunities to be interoperable,” he said. With global air travel demand forecast to more than double by 2050, Oliveira said technology should support rather than displace the human service passengers value today, particularly as airports serve ageing populations and travellers with varying comfort with digital systems. “Despite all the advantages of technology, it cannot replace the human services, the courtesy, the empathy, and the problem-solving skills that remain essential in lounges, food and beverage, the customer service desk, and every other point where passengers need support beyond what automation can provide,” he said. The same logic, he argued, applies to the fast-growing “airport city” model: major hubs such as Singapore Changi and Hong Kong International are building extensive commercial and leisure offerings, while smaller airports such as Brazil’s Florianópolis use restaurants and events to engage local communities and generate non-aeronautical revenue. “Each airport, in the end, needs to discover its own vocation in terms of what kind of services it can provide for its customers,” he said. Oliveira will moderate the Airport Keynote and Airport/Airline Collaboration Track sessions at World Aviation Festival, including on-stage interviews with Lars Redeligx, CEO of Düsseldorf Airport, and Arun Bansal, CEO of Adani Airports.