Inter Airport Europe: Top Takeaways
With over 600 exhibitors from 43 countries filling a lively exhibition space of 31,800 square metres, this year’s Inter Airport Europe drew some 13,854 trade visitors from 110 countries to the Munich Trade Fair Centre for a hugely successful event.
Among the key themes that emerged were the following:
Connectivity
With myriad professional connections being made, it was appropriate that one of the key topics in every discussion was airport connectivity: a wealth of technologies – both in use, in production and in R&D – mean that the future airport is going to be more connected than ever: picture apps that tell you (based on your location) how long you have until you board and even self-service bag drops featuring biometric technology.
Integration
Connectivity requires integrated solutions and across the exhibition hall these could be seen in abundance: the event’s interconnected award was a case in point; showcasing everything from the use of ‘swarm intelligence’ in logistics handling to real-time tracking and predictive analytics service dedicated to aeronautical tools. Tomorrow’s airport will be more integrated than ever – allowing for a seismic leap forward in automation.
Automation
Multilingual robo-advisors and AI-powered systems that leverage semi-structured and structured data to power predictive maintenance are just some of the ways in which airports are set to become automated in future – vital amid predictions by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that global annual airline passenger figures will reach 7.3 billion by 2034 – more than double the 3.3 billion reported just 36 months ago.
Digitalisation
These rising numbers will generate ever more data allowing airports to improve their digitalisation – and in Munich it was clear how close the fully digitalised airport is, with predictive analytics and remote monitoring anchored by integrated real-time reporting dashboards set to prove a boon both to airport operators and flyers, with their integration across the airport making for significantly more straightforward and personalised journeys.
These are exciting times for the industry and while all of the technologies on show may not make it into every airport, they certainly give a flavour of things to come – with safer, smoother and more efficient airport operation certainly looking to be in reach.