Airports investing billions in IT to accelerate industry recovery

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  • Airports spent 5.46% of revenues in 2020 on IT, representing about US$3.5 billion in absolute spend
  • 55% of airports estimate that their IT budgets will either stay the same or increase in 2021 
  • Biometric technology is the key focus for airport investment with 64% of airports aiming to roll out self-boarding gates by 2023, three times as many as in 2020
  • Other major IT investments include touchless self-service offerings and business intelligence tools

Airports have accelerated investments in technology to improve customer journey and aid in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from Airports Council International (ACI) World.

In the annual Airport IT Trends Survey, a collaboration between ACI World and air transport IT service provider SITA, airports were found to have been agile in adapting to the changing health and safety requirements, focusing on automated and touchless solutions for both customers and staff.

The report said airports were spending 5.46% of revenues in 2020 on IT—which represents about US$3.5 billion in absolute spend—and that 55% of the responding airports estimate that their IT budgets for 2021 will either stay the same or increase, ACI said in a March 11 release.

The survey revealed that 87% of airports confirmed that programs to address passenger health and safety protocols have either been implemented or are planned. These include sensors, video monitoring, and robots to automatically monitor passenger social distancing, temperature checks, sanitization, and other health criteria.

Business intelligence tools, which can be linked to these technologies to help staff maintain a safe airport environment, ranked third among airport’s top investments.

Touchless self-service offerings at airports have been another major investment, with an increasing number of airports having implemented solutions during the pandemic.

Biometric technology is the key focus for airport investment with 64% of airports aiming to roll out self-boarding gates using biometric and ID documentation by 2023, three times as many as in 2020.

About 180 IT decision makers in 41 countries responded to the survey held in the last quarter of 2020.

Other notable findings include:

  • 89% of airports confirmed they offered self-service check in options
  • 64% said they have implemented biometric-enabled immigration border gates
  • 79% of respondents said they provided bag tags capability at kiosks
  • 77% of airports will implement the infrastructure, or have already done so, to support biometric touchpoints across the airport
  • 67% of airports will implement or have implemented self-service boarding gates
  • 52% of airports have or plan to implement ACRIS standards for data sharing, and
  • 83% of airports are implementing a major cyber security program with 11% looking into a pilot program

ACI World director general Luis Felipe de Oliveira said: “These findings are encouraging. There is no doubt that the health and well-being of customers, and their experience, remains airports’ top priority. This is not just an investment to meet the demand of the pandemic, but in line with a longer-term trend and a solid investment in the future.”

David Lavorel, CEO of SITA at Airports and Borders, noted: “In the face of a severe slowdown in 2020, the air transport industry was forced to focus on driving new cost efficiencies. Adding to the pressure, airlines and airports had to rapidly incorporate new health measures such as touchless passenger processing and the handling of new health information and protocols including PCR testing in many destinations.”

He added: “To solve these challenges the industry has turned to technology such as biometric technology (83% of airports), offering more mobile apps for passengers and staff, and focusing on remote and virtual IT services.”

Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash