By Hermoine Macura-Noble
Special to The Times Kuwait
The Airport Show, the world’s largest annual airport industry platform opens tomorrow focusing on contactless technology to ensure safer travel until 2025.
Running until May 26th at the Dubai World Trade Centre, experts hope to see the industry’s global recovery by June 2021 and the start of the journey to regain the lost pace of growth.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), representing 290 airlines or 82 per cent of total global air traffic, predicts global revenue passenger kilometres improving by 50 per cent and growing to 2.8 billion with the opening of borders across countries by mid-2021.
To be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, the Airport Show-2021 will see the top decision-makers of key airports from across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) making their way to Dubai to search for new products and services for their facilities.
His Highness Sheikh Ahmed said, “Dubai’s aviation sector is considered to be a vital global hub and is a leading source of economic growth for the UAE and the whole world. Its successful recovery will gradually influence the recovery of the entire worldwide network; therefore, it is important that our expertise, infrastructure and technologies facilitate this.”
Meanwhile a Remote Connect Hub will allow global companies unable to travel to the show to showcase their technologies facilitated by pre-booked and onsite meetings. A dedicated Innovation trail feature will facilitate live testing and experiencing new products from exhibitors that will undoubtedly disrupt their sectors.
Biometrics is under the spotlight with 64 per cent of airports due to roll out self-boarding gates using biometric and ID documentation by 2023. As coronavirus is still airborne, airports are spending on touch-less technology to minimise its spread through contactless check-in, security processes, inflight entertainment and food and beverage pre-ordering.
Self-service technology, predictive analysis, artificial intelligence, real-time information and data-sharing are among the digital concepts airports are deploying now to achieve a seamless passenger experience.
The global airport construction market is projected to reach US$1.4 trillion by 2025 and the market for ‘smart’ airports is to reach the US$23 billion mark by 2025.