PASSENGER FACILITATION

Plaza Premium Group (PPG) has announced the opening of a new lounge in international departures at Adelaide Airport (ADL). The airport’s first and only international lounge, it spans 532sqm and can accommodate up to 137 guests. According to PPG, its bespoke design “incorporates beautiful features of natural stone, marble, granite and travertine, timber, a raked render […]

The latest 2022 Airport IT Insights Survey reveals that airports are ramping up their investment in technology to digitalise their operations and streamline the passenger journey through more self-service options. The report – produced annually by ACI World and SITA – notes that with the quicker than expected recovery of air travel demand, chief information […]

VPorts has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Airport to build and operate a first vertiport in RAK designed to establish the UAE as a world-class global AAM hub. ‘‘With the support of the Department of Civil Aviation of Ras Al Khaimah, we are excited to build […]

Hamad International Airport (HIA) continues to host a number of exciting activations and events for passengers travelling through the airport and beyond during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The events at Doha’s gateway to the world include match day themed performances, a mosaic photo wall, a number of kids’ zones, fan zones and viewing […]

In collaboration with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA), Emirates airline is now offering international travellers the opportunity to speed up their airport experience by consenting to the use of biometric data. The first agreement of its kind globally, the strategic partnership between GDRFA and Emirates is a co-operative effort […]

Despite being less than a decade old, Hamad International Airport today officially unveiled its airport expansion project to the world. The Qatari gateway believes the expansion, which includes what it calls a “masterpiece garden at the centre of the airport”, will enrich the passenger experience and transform the airport into an “extraordinary destination where any […]

Hong Kong International Airport’s impressive Sky Bridge opened today, allowing passengers to conveniently travel between Terminal 1 and its Satellite Concourse (T1S). The latest addition to the airport’s infrastructure is 200-metres long and 28-metres high and equipped with escalators and automated walkways. Spanning a taxiway at the airport, Sky Bridge is the world’s longest airside […]

Kansai International Airport, operated since 2016 by VINCI Airports with its partner ORIX, has inaugurated a new domestic area in Terminal 1. According to the airport, the first completed stage of planned remodelling work is designed to improve the passenger experience due to the “introduction of more functional commercial spaces redesigned around new shops and […]

Christchurch Airport has become the latest gateway to embrace the Sunflower Lanyard scheme, a programme for people who would like a little more assistance without having to ask for it. The lanyards are used by people with a non-visible disability to indicate the wearer would like additional support, assistance or a little more time. Those […]

Doha’s Hamad International Airport has opened a second airport hotel inside its terminal. The airport says that the Oryx Garden Hotel, which is located in the North Plaza, is “one of many new experiences” that are part of an airport expansion project due for completion ahead of Qatar hosting the FIFA World Cup later this […]

Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) welcomed 401,000 passengers in July, 2022, a colossal 259.3% increase over the same period last year, although passenger volumes remain significantly down on pre-pandemic levels. Cargo throughput and air traffic movements recorded 17% and 3.1% year-on-year drops to 348,000 tonnes and 11,485 movements, respectively. The relaxation of inbound travel and […]

As borders begin to re-open, is it time for APAC airports to reconsider how they will look and digitally interact with passengers in the future? Amadeus’ senior vice president of airport and airline operations for the region, Sarah Samuel, investigates. When the pandemic emerged in 2019, Asia-Pacific was the first to feel its impact. And […]

Dato’ Iskandar Mizal Mahmood, managing director of Malaysia Airports, talks to Joe Bates about his company’s customer service strategy, ASQ successes and recovering from the global pandemic. Anyone who has ever visited Malaysia, particularly those lucky enough to have been on holiday there, will know that they can expect a warm welcome and, more often […]

Singapore’s gateway to the world has stepped up the promotion of its Changi Precinct, which it hopes will prove a big hit with passengers wishing to explore and have fun as traffic numbers begin to rise again after the global pandemic. The new ‘Hello, Changi Precinct’ gallery in Terminal 3 is essentially designed to drive […]

Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) has welcomed today’s announcement by Minister for Health Y’vette D’Ath that Queensland will end requirements for face masks to be worn within airports at all times. The decision comes after moves by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee to end the mandatory requirement. “The Queensland government’s decision to end the mask […]

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport has introduced a new first for India, AI-driven, assistance robots designed enhance passenger experience. Currently at the trial stage, 10 robots have been deployed to help guide passengers through the airport and answer basic queries. It notes that the robot count will be increased in a “calibrated manner” and will be […]

Changi Airport Group today announced that operations in Terminal 2 will resume on 29 May 2022, the first phase of the terminal’s re-opening as the gateway prepares to meet the expected increase in passenger traffic in the months ahead. Closed for an upgrade since May 2020, T2’s phased re-opening will augment Changi’s capacity. When completed […]

Perth Airport says that returning passengers will notice ‘some changes’ in its International terminal that it believes will further enhance the passenger experience. “To streamline passenger check-in, an exciting new addition is the conversion of 16 check-in counters at T1 International into automated bag drops and 36 new self-check-in kiosks in what was the queuing […]

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has announced a Harmonising Air Travel policy, which it says will make international travel to the Kingdom “simpler, easier and more enjoyable by removing the confusion over travel requirements currently discouraging millions of people from booking flights”. Designed in co-operation with the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation […]

Plaza Premium Group (PPG) has entered into a joint venture agreement with fellow airport hospitality brand, marhaba, to expand their international offering. The partnership brings together two major hospitality brands to combine knowledge and resources, which according to the partners, “will take airport hospitality to the next level through excellent and innovative airport concierge and […]

Malaysia Airports (MAHB) has revealed that its international airports are “getting ready to receive the influx of international passengers into the country” once its borders reopen on April 1, 2022. It notes that it has been continuously working with the Malaysian authorities, including the Ministry of Health (MOH), to improve the process flow at its […]

For the second year in a row, Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport has been recognised in ACI Worlds ‘Voice of the Customer’ initiative. The initiative acknowledges airports that continued to prioritise passengers and remained committed to ensuring their voice was heard throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. To qualify for this recognition, which is separate […]

Plaza Premium Group (PPG) is anticipating a major travel surge during the Lunar New Year festive period, as families travel to reunite for the Spring Festival. To bring luck to travellers in the Year of the Tiger, the Group is presenting Lunar New Year offers across Plaza Premium Lounges, Aerotels and the Smart Traveller loyalty […]

Almaty Airport, which was closed to flights for security reasons on the evening of January 5 during the events in Kazakhstan, reopened for flights today. The gateway is part of TAV Airports’ global airport network. TAV Airports president and CEO, Sani Şener, said: “Kazakhstan has a special importance for us due to our historical and […]

Dubai International Airport (DXB) is 100% operational again with all terminals, concourses, lounges, restaurants and retail outlets open for business following the reopening of the final phase of Terminal 3’s Concourse A. Terminal 3 is expected to serve more than 1.6 million passengers in the second half of December during the month’s peak seasonal travel […]

Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport has renewed its Level 2 Airport Customer Experience Accreditation (ACEA) issued by ACI World until November 2022. The Jordanian gateway, operated by the Airport International Group (AIG), initially obtained this accreditation in 2020 in acknowledgement of its efforts to promote service excellence and customer satisfaction, becoming one of only five […]

Dubai Airports today revealed that passenger traffic through Dubai International Airport (DXB) has grown by almost 20% in the last four weeks to reach 20.7 million in the year to date to October. It notes that the upturn in traffic is down to the changes in travel restrictions in key global markets in recent months […]

Brisbane Airport operator, Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), today issued the following statement in response to the announcement of a roadmap to easing travel restrictions in Queensland. The statement, in full, reads: “We’re pleased to see a roadmap to the reopening of Queensland. However, there are elements of it that are of great concern in relation […]

Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) has welcomed the announcement of the framework to safely re-open Australia to the world in the coming months. “This is the best news we’ve had in more than a year,” enthused BAC CEO, Gert-Jan de Graaff. “We stand ready to work with Commonwealth agencies and the Queensland Government to facilitate the […]

Dufry has extended its duty-free concession at Cambodia’s three international airports in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville or five and a half years. The airports handled a total of 11.6 million international travellers in 2019, although these kind of figures are not expected to return for a while as COVID continues to restrict global […]

Clark International Airport (CRK) in the Philippines has selected a suite of Collins Aerospace ARINC airport solutions to help provide a seamless passenger experience for the increased number of travellers expected to pass through the airport following its 2021 expansion. The gateway has selected ARINC’s passenger processing and airport operation solutions to move passenger flow […]

Accredify, a Singapore-based firm that creates and issues verifiable documents, today announced that it has signed an agreement with the IATA to issue COVID-19 Test Credentials that will be accepted for IATA Travel Pass. This collaboration will make Accredify one of the first lab and clinic aggregators in the Asia-Pacific region to participate in the […]

A new study by ACI World shows that Asia-Pacific and Middle East airports will have to develop new greenfield airports and invest in modernising and expanding their existing airport infrastructure to meed demand over the next 20 years. According to The Global Outlook of Airport Capital Expenditure,at least $1.3 trillion needs to be invested on […]

Emirates and flydubai expect to serve 168 destinations from Dubai by the end of May, a route network that they believe delivers on their customer promise to reintroduce more convenience, choice and seamless connectivity for travellers. Since the revival of their strategic codeshare partnership in early September 2020, close to 500,000 passengers have flown on […]

Qatar’s Hamad International Airport continues to be recognised for its sustainability efforts, this week having its Asset Management System (AMS) ISO 55001:2014 certification from the British Standards Institution (BSI) renewed for another three years. The Doha gateway believes that the recertification endorses its approach to delivering efficient and effective asset management across the airport’s infrastructure. […]

Airports in Australia and New Zealand have been celebrating the reopening of quarantine free trans-Tasman travel for the first time in 12 months. In Brisbane, Brisbane Airport opened 16 ‘Green Lane’ services yesterday to accommodate Air New Zealand and Qantas flights between BNE and Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. The airport reports that all eight arrivals […]

Dubai-based marhaba, dnata’s airport hospitality brand, has unveiled a brand-new design and experience at one of its flagship Dubai International Airport (DXB) lounges after an extensive renovation. As a result, it boasts that travellers can expect an entirely new lounge experience at Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3. A highly-anticipated, bespoke feature for the Dubai market […]

The Plaza Premium Group has opened its newly refurbished lounge in the Domestic departures area at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. The new and improved facility is spread over an area of 773 square metres, can accommodate over 200 passengers and boasts facilities ranging from work stations, a dining area and private seating zone for […]

Bahrain International Airport today announced that its long awaited new $1.1 billion terminal will open for business on January 28. According to Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), moving operations to the new state-of-the-art facility is a major step towards achieving the Kingdom’s ambitious Economic Vision 2030. The vision is based on diversification and sustainability goals and […]

Plaza Premium Group and marbaba have formed a strategic partnership to enhance their offering of airport lounges and meet and greet services around the world. The partnership will see both companies expand market presence by consolidating service distribution and customer engagement through integrated cross-selling capabilities. It will initially cover major airports in strategic markets across […]

AIG has announced that Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) has received ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation in recognition of its efforts to deliver a safe airport experience to passengers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As both QAIA and the aviation industry at large remain considerably impacted by the unprecedented global health crisis, the […]

Hyderabad-Rajiv Gandhi International Airport’s duty free operator, Hyderabad Duty Free (HDF), has launched a WhatsApp Virtual Assistant Chat-bot service that allows it communicate with passengers on international flights and answer any queries. Leveraging the massive global WhatsApp user base of over 2.7 billion users, the airport believes that the new Chat-bot service is a “convenient […]

The Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association’s call for governments to implement standardised COVID-19 testing on passengers is beginning gain some traction, with 10 states across the region responding “positively” to the campaign. Across the aviation, travel and tourism industries, a wide range of stakeholders are increasingly aligned in calling for increased testing as a key […]

Muscat International Airport in Oman has become the first airport in the Middle East to be accredited under ACIs Airport Health Accreditation programme. “We spared no initiative to ensure our passengers feel secure going through our airports,” said Oman Airports CEO, Sheikh Aimen bin Ahmed Al Hosni. “Planning and implementing the highest international standards of […]

Hamad International Airport has become the first gateway in the world to achieve independent verification from BSI (British Standards Institution) for its implementation of ICAO’s COVID-19 Aviation Health Safety Protocols. The verification for Hamad International Airport (HIA) was conducted following its successful audit for compliance of measures outlined by the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce […]

Emirates has introduced self check-in and bag drop kiosks for what it hopes will ensure a “more seamless airport experience” in Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport. The service is now available to customers travelling to all destinations except to the US, Canada, China, India and Hong Kong due to additional requirements from these destinations. […]

Operator, GHIAL, has announced that Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has achieved Airport Health Accreditation (AHA). The accreditation recognises the airport’s efforts to make it a safe environment for passengers and staff in line with ACI’s Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines and ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) Recommendations along with industry best […]

ACI Asia-Pacific today announced that Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, has become the first airport in the region to be accredited under the ACI Airport Health Accreditation programme. ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation programme assists airports by assessing new health measures and procedures introduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with ICAO Council […]

ACI Asia-Pacific is urging governments to replace quarantine requirements with testing and contact tracing protocols to ensure the sector’s survival amid a worsening situation for airports in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. The latest preliminary forecast figures show that Asia-Pacific and Middle East airports will lose 55% and 60% passenger volume by the end of […]

Cameron Mann considers the impact COVID-19 is likely to have on passenger facilitation at airports as the industry strives to provide a safe and secure aviation ecosystem. Aviation continues to advocate for a risk-based approach to security, which effectively involves concentrating on and understanding individuals, and spending the most time dealing with those you know […]

Airports are leaders in the use of new technology, which will make touchless travel possible and hasten aviation’s recovery from COVID-19, writes Collins Aerospace’s Tony Chapman. There was a time not long ago when commercial airline passengers arrived early at airports to shop at high-end boutiques, eat at nice restaurants and enjoy a cocktail before […]

Collaboration and co-operation will prove key to overcoming COVID-19, although aviation potentially faces a long road to recovery, writes Inderjit Singh. Aviation is one of the most important pillars of the global economy as the sector provides millions of jobs across the world and contributes heavily to its GDP.  It is also a survivor, as […]

Joe Bates provides a snapshot of how the region’s airports have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and are planning for a brighter future. The region’s airports have turned to technology and new processes and procedures to ensure that they are equipped, ready and able to handle passengers when government’s finally lift travel restrictions and commercial […]

Today marked another milestone day in Dubai International Airport’s recovery from the COVID-19 as the UAE gateway welcomed the resumption of scheduled operations by foreign carriers. A total of 13 international airlines resumed scheduled flights this week as Dubai, and Dubai International Airport (DXB), effectively opened for business to overseas tourists from July 7. Airlines […]

Singapore Changi claims that it has begun “transforming the passenger experience with new contactless and cleaning innovations for a safer, but yet seamless, airport journey”. It notes that the measures, which include touchless technology and autonomous cleaning robots, will be rolled out airport-wide in preparation for when air travel into and out of Singapore gradually […]

Airports across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East are ready for the restart of the sector following the crippling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with the ongoing implementation of a set of common public health measures, according to ACI Asia-Pacific. The association notes that they are ready they implemented measures in full support and alignment with […]

Cambodia’s Sihanouk International Airport has unveiled a new master plan to accommodate its projected traffic growth for the next 20 years. Construction of a second passenger terminal between now and 2030, extending the airport’s runway by 800 metres to 3,300 metres, a new taxiway and additional aircraft stands are the key projects of Phase 1 […]

Hong Kong International Airport has announced that it will commence “the gradual resumption of transfer/transit services” from Monday. Operator, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), says that a host of enhanced health measures at the airport have made the June 1 date possible. In tandem with the gradual resumption of transfer/transit services, all passengers, including departing, arriving […]

What next for Hamad International Airport? Joe Bates reviews the gateway’s newly unveiled development plans. Qatar’s Hamad International Airport, one of the world’s newest hubs having only opened in 2014, is to expand its concourses to raise its capacity to 60 million passengers per annum. The expansion project will feature a spectacular 10,000sqm indoor tropical […]

Singapore Changi retained its title as the world’s most sleep friendly gateway in Sleeping in Airports’ annual passenger poll, writes Joe Bates. Airports located in ACI’s Asia-Pacific region have once again dominated Sleeping in Airports’ annual survey for the best gateways to use, and take a nap in, in 2019, with Singapore Changi and Incheon […]

News, views and reviews from ACI’s regional and global World Business Partners. MELBOURNE’S NEW CT SECURITY SCREENING TECHNOLOGY Melbourne (MEL) has become the first major Australian airport to permanently adopt Computed Tomography (CT) X-ray screening technology following the installation of new state-of-the-art Smiths Detection equipment at the security checkpoints in Terminal 4. The technology allows […]

Auckland Airport is enhancing the experience for international travellers with the launch of new automated pre-security gates. From today, travellers will pass through 12 new e-Gates that will scan boarding passes and grant them access to security areas. Developed in partnership with Vision-Box, the e-Gates mark the first phase of a new technology application that […]

Huawei rotating chairman, Guo Ping, today told the China Civil Aviation Development Forum in Beijing how he believes that 5G and artificial intelligence will enable ‘smart civil aviation’. Over 400 delegates from around the world were in attendance at the event which covered the topic of ‘Intelligent Aviation — High Quality Development in a New Scientific, […]

Joe Bates looks back at some of the highlights of ACI Asia-Pacific’s Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Doha. Qatar’s famed hospitality proved as warm as the temperatures outside throughout a memorable 12th ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Doha. For 400 delegates representing 175 organisations from 54 countries across the globe, the conference […]