REGIONAL UPDATE

From making recommendations at the ICAO DGCA Conference and meeting regulators in India to engaging with the Japanese government, ACI Asia-Pacific has been busy engaging with stakeholders and policymakers across the region.

MAKING AN IMPRESSION AT ICAO DGCA CONFERENCE
Participating at the ICAO DGCA Conference in Incheon, Republic of Korea, ACI Asia-Pacific made a strong impression, making several recommendations related to the decarbonisation of airports; the need for a responsive and flexible regulatory framework; the adoption of One-Stop Security; addressing the manpower crisis at airports; and aviation’s smooth operational recovery from the pandemic, among others.  

We are pleased that ICAO Member States have, to a large extent, favourably considered our recommendations, which are designed to further enhance the role of airports as engines of economic and social progress in a safe and sustainable manner. 

The road to recovery in Asia-Pacific is still long and challenging, but States have unequivocally committed to strengthen regional co-operation, including in the areas of reviving air travel,
enhancing manpower, improving operations to ensure a smooth traveller experience, aviation safety and sustainability.

SPEAKING AT ICAO HIGH-LEVEL PANEL
At the DGCA Conference, our director general, Stefano Baronci, had the privilege to participate in a high-level panel that addressed the theme of ‘Strengthening Regional Cooperation for the Restoration of Air Network with No Country Left Behind’.

ADVOCACY WITH GOVERNMENTS
As an important voice of the aviation industry, we have been continuously working to facilitate the smooth recovery of the industry.

Our dialogue with national authorities has finally paid off. ACI Asia-Pacific and its 617 airports welcome the decisions by the Government of Japan and the Government of Hong Kong for taking significant steps in relaxing COVID-related restrictions on international travel.

We engaged with the Government of Japan, urging them to take necessary actions to bolster the recovery of the industry. ACI Asia-Pacific wrote a letter, co-signed by ACI World and World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), addressed to the Prime Minister of Japan urging the government to remove all restrictions and restore travel privileges to enable the smooth recovery of the industry in the region.  

SHARING INSIGHTS AT CIAT 2022
On the side lines of the 57th ICAO, DGCA Conference, our director general, Stefano Baronci, participated at the CIAT 2022 on ‘Air Transport – Restarting Global Aviation’.

Speaking on the topic ‘Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste – The Airports’ Perspective’, he talked about how the industry can better equip itself during a crisis.

ACI ASIA-PACIFIC RELEASES TENDERING GUIDELINES FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE PLANNING
ACI Asia-Pacific has released the Tendering Guidelines for Climate Resilience Planning to build on airport operators’ understanding of the climate risk assessment. It is designed to help identify an airport’s sensitivity to adverse impacts and adaptive capacity to climate hazards.

The assessment can be used for the development and possible adoption of actions to improve resilience and manage the impacts of a changing climate at an airport. This guideline provides sample contract clauses which can be used in the tendering process to commission a climate resilience study.

Airports bear a significant risk from a changing climate which are likely to become more severe and dangerous in the future. The negative impacts caused by climate change are disruptive and have serious potential consequences for airport safety, asset management and operational resilience.

Conducting a climate risk assessment could be highly technical and resource-intensive, and it is likely that airport operators may require collaboration with external experts or consultants to perform the task unless the airport is well-resourced with sufficient in-house technical expertise and capacity. 

While the focus of the guidelines is to provide tendering guidance to support airports to commission their own climate risk assessment for climate resilience planning, further information has been provided in each section to educate airport sustainability managers on the climate risk assessment process. This will help airport sustainability managers to become more informed as they commence the process.

STRENGTHENING CO-OPERATION WITH SOUTH KOREA’S AIRPORTS
As part of our efforts to enhance regional co-operation, during his time in South Korea, Stefano Baronci took the time to meet with Kyung Wook Kim, president and CEO of Incheon International Airport Corporation (above left), and Hyung Jung Yoon, president and CEO of Korea Airports Corporation (above right).

During their time together, the airport leaders were able to exchange their views on a number of issues as well as explore potential opportunities to strengthen their ties in the future. 

Incheon International Airport has already agreed to kindly host next year’s ACI Global Customer Experience Global Summit.

ACI ASIA-PACIFIC MEETS AVIATION REGULATORS IN INDIA
ACI Asia-Pacific recently had the opportunity to meet key aviation regulators in India to discuss several aspects of the aviation industry in India. 

We also discussed about how ACI Asia-Pacific can continue to collaborate with Government of India to create a conducive environment for aviation industry.

Also in India, Stefano Baronci met with AERA officials in New Delhi on June 23, 2022, to discuss various economic aspects of aviation. ACI Asia-Pacific provided AERA with a snapshot of the industry’s recovery, challenges, and the region’s focus on sustainability and quality standards. ACI Asia-Pacific also provided AERA (pictured below) with the global practices on airport charges.

CHINA AIRPORT SERVICES CONFERENCE
ACI Asia-Pacific director general, Stefano Baronci, had the honour to virtually participate in the 7th China Airport Services Conference on ‘Boosting the industry’s confidence starting from the trends in the global aviation market in the post-epidemic era’.

He took the opportunity to speak about the state of the aviation industry and how airports have reinvented themselves post-pandemic by adopting innovative technologies to continuously provide superior passenger experience. He said: “Having learnt enormously from science on how to handle a risk like COVID, it is essential for States to fully reopen their borders, and lift or ease travel restrictions.

“Our industry is based on connecting people. Our industry believes in shaping a new economy, based not just on profits but on wellbeing of the communities that it serves.”

NEED FOR DIGITAL INNOVATIONS
Speaking on the MAVCOM panel ‘Defining the Future of Travel: Elevating Travel Experiences Vis-à Vis Accelerated Pace of Digitalisation’ in Malaysia, Stefano Baronci deliberated the challenges faced by the aviation industry during COVID-19, and the need for digital innovations to enhance passenger experiences.

He is pictured (immediate left) at the event, where the panel was moderated by the ACI World Governing Board’s Asia-Pacific regional advisor, Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad (far left).

TECHNOLOGY TO ACCELERATE TOURISM
Stefano Baronci spoke at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Ministerial Roundtable on Tourism Resilience through Innovation and Digitalisation in Asia and the Pacific, on the occasion of the 34th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific. 

At the Roundtable, held in the Maldives, he shared his views on how to use technology to accelerate the recovery of tourism in Asia.

ASIA-PACIFIC SET TO LOSE LARGEST AIR MARKET STATUS
China’s tougher border measures and Japan’s cautious approach towards the relaxation of inbound travel restrictions could displace Asia-Pacific as the world’s largest air passenger market in 2022.

Asia-Pacific, which has dominated the civil aviation market for several years prior to the pandemic, is estimated to finish second, behind Europe in terms of passenger share, and at a comparable level with North America.

The latest ACI Asia-Pacific forecast indicates that by the end of 2022, passenger traffic will only recover by about 55% as compared to pre-pandemic levels. This is in stark contrast to Europe and North America where the recovery is substantially higher, and indeed estimated to be between 70% and 80%, respectively.

In 2019, 3.38 billion passengers travelled by air in Asia-Pacific, representing 37% of the global volume of 9.16 billion.

ADVOCACY IN AVIATION SUSTAINABILITY
Organised by South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Airports Corporation and Incheon International Airport Corporation, the recently held 2022 International Forum for Airport Innovation invited industry stakeholders to share insights about aircraft noise management. 

Ken Lau, ACI Asia-Pacific’s senior manager for the environment and airport information technology, represented the association at the event (pictured above) and spoke about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) best practices in relation to the sustainable development of airports and aircraft noise management.

In another green initaitive, ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Environment Committee members and environmental sustainability experts joined forces to share insights at a webinar on Green Airport Building and its Benefits to Decarbonisation.

The webinar was designed to promote environmental best practices to airports across the region as ACI Asia-Pacific, airports stakeholders and our industry partners strive to find new ways of minimising aviation’s impact on the environment as well as providing insight on how to build the resilient and sustainable airports of tomorrow.

YOUNG EXECUTIVE AWARD 2023 IS NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIES
Introduced in 2009, the Young Executive Award is an annual research paper competition which honours the young airport executives who demonstrate strong passion for the aviation industry and propose innovative ideas to address the most pressing issues that the industry is facing today. 

The winner will receive a cash award of $1,000 and a scholarship for the Airport Operations Diploma Programme (online self-study). 

As an incentive for nominating a candidate, we are offering the airport of the winning candidate an additional scholarship to any one ACI Global Training Leadership and Management Professional Certificate Course, virtual or classroom (excluding travel fees).

The deadline for entries is on or before noon Hong Kong time on Friday, December 16, 2022.

ACI ASIA-PACIFIC LAUNCHES SECURITY GUIDANCE DOCUMENT
ACI Asia-Pacific has released a Security Guidance Document to help airports strengthen security in order ensure adequate protection to passengers. 

Airport security personnel are normally required to perform multiple tasks, including screening, access control, vehicle examination, patrolling, behaviour detection and more. 

Airports are therefore required to ensure their security workforce is competent enough to perform the tasks. 

However, the requirements of some of these functions are, in many cases, not clearly stipulated in the respective national regulations, therefore causing differences in expectation and interpretation from country to country. 

The ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Aviation Security Committee (RASC) has developed this guidance document to consolidate competency and training requirements of airport security functions. Given the different circumstances across the region, this document may not be universally applicable, but rather it aims to provide supplementary references for airports in understanding the requirements of the various job functions, and thus being able to make better decisions on recruitment and human resources deployment.