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Monthly Archives: April 2018

Budapest Airport Achieves Carbon Neutral Status

April 30, 2018
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Budapest Airport Achieves Carbon Neutral Status | Airports NewsBudapest Airport has happily flexed its green muscles this week, by achieving the coveted Carbon Neutral status in ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation program.

Hungary’s major airport worked hard to meet the criteria, implementing a range of energy-saving features throughout the terminals and making changes to critical services over the last ten years – and they’re still not done with the carbon-saving initiatives!

Budapest Airport’s environmental director, Gabor Szarvas, is delighted to receive this accreditation, particularly as they are the first airport in the Central-Eastern European region to qualify. ‘In Europe, only thirty airports are in the elite club of carbon-neutral operations, and in Central-Eastern Europe we are the first to receive this accreditation,’ he said.

The airport has reduced the CO2 emission per passenger by as much as 44% over the last five years, and is determined to go even further. Szarvas continued, ‘Since passenger traffic has been increasing significantly, we are continuously working on making the airport operation greener, in the framework of our Greenairport programme.’

The Greenairport program was launched just three years ago, and its aim was to make the operation of the gateway airport ‘sustainable via joint environmental actions.’

Still in the pipeline of improvements yet to come at Budapest Airport include:

  • Increase the number of electric vehicles at the airport
  • Commission charging stations
  • Completion of heating and cooling technologies in Terminal 2B

The installation of LED-based lighting systems, and the refurbishment of district heating pipes and water supply pumps has all contributed to the milestone achievement for the airport and it continues to work towards even greater carbon reductions.

In addition to achieving this coveted status, Budapest airport is also working to encourage its partners to adopt similar sustainable practices, and is promoting its success to show other organisations and authorities what can be achieved with determination, investment, commitment and a firm strategy in place.

Yotel to Build 451-Room Hotel at Istanbul New Airport

April 19, 2018
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Istanbul New Airport | Airport NewsIt has been announced that Yotel, the London-based hotel group, have been commissioned to build one of the largest airport hotels in the world at the almost-completed Istanbul New Airport.

The 451-roomed hotel will be located within the main airport terminal building and will have access from both air-and land-side, which will make it ideal for travellers and airline crew.

The airport operator, iGA, hopes that the new airport will ‘accelerate the growth of Turkish Airlines’, and has a focus to ‘bring an unprecedented passenger experience’ with the implementation of passenger technologies.

Kadri Samsunlu, CEO of iGA said, ‘Over the past 16 years, Turkey has visibly undergone a significant growth, development and reforms in its economy, tourism, infrastructure and standards of living and INA is a crucial part of this vision aimed at setting the bar higher and improving the quality of life for our citizens and visitors alike, l feel fortunate and privileged to be a part of this monumental project.’

Yotel’s CEO, Hubert Viriot is delighted to be a part of the Istanbul New Airport project and believes that the ambitious vision to make INA the largest transit hub in the world is a great aspiration for success. He said, ‘Istanbul New Airport will only further increase Istanbul’s ever-expanding popularity and economy and YOTEL is delighted to be a part of it. The prevailing ambitious vision to make Istanbul New Airport the largest transit hub in the world made it very attractive for us to be there, and we are extremely honoured to be chosen for this exciting project. This city aspires to high growth success, just like YOTEL, so we are a perfect match.’

Yotel operates four hotels in Europe at Gatwick Airport, London Heathrow, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport. This new development will be the largest. INA is expected to be able to handle up to 200 million passengers per year when it opens in the autumn of this year and will have three terminals and six runways.

Frankfurt Airport Roof Terrace Opens for the Summer

April 12, 2018
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Frankfurt Airport Roof Terrace Opens T1 | Airport Industry NewsPassengers will get a different view of Frankfurt Airport this summer, as the German operator opens a new roof terrace in Terminal 1’s transit zone.

The roof terrace, or Open Air Deck, as the largest airport in Germany has called it, overlooks the busy airside of Terminal 1, giving passengers a great view of the ‘back-end’ workings of the airport, such as the ground handling aspects, in addition to the take-offs and landings.

There is a weather monitor on the 1382-meter deck, in addition to comfortable seating and a free-to-use telescope if travellers want a closer look at their aircraft. Open between 5am and 11pm, the €1.5 million open air deck can be accessed by all passengers in the non-Schengen zone.

There has been a terrace for airport visitors at the airport for some time, accessible from Terminal 2 on Level 4, but this new addition is already garnering positive attention from flight passengers, who feel that some fresh air and a fresh view of the airport is a welcome change from waiting inside to board or arriving at the terminal after a long flight.

LAX Opens Automated Passenger Screening to Reduce Processing Times

April 5, 2018
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LAX Automated Passenger Screening | Airport Security News

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has almost reached its goal of opening 14 Automated Passenger Screening lines with just two units to go in the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT).

The new automated screening lines (ASLs), installed as part of a program with Los Angeles World Airports and the TSA, are expected to increase passenger screening by up to 30% compared to the previous systems, and will help to improve passenger experience.

According to Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the new ASLs will provide ‘the foundation for future security enhancements’ and deliver faster, more efficient passenger security and screening. The new system gives greater flexibility and decreases passenger waiting times with the opportunity for up to five travellers being able to deposit their items in trays simultaneously without waiting for the previous passenger to pass through first.

The project to replace the current system began in summer last year, and has, according to LAWA, been completed ahead of the planned schedule and under budget.

Keith Jeffries, federal security director for the TSA at LAX said, ‘The completion of the Automated Screening Lane project at TBIT is indeed a milestone that was reached because of the outstanding partnership between TSA and LAWA. TSA pledges to continue its focus on security operations while embracing innovative technologies.’

Another benefit of the ASLs is that they are large enough to hold an onboard bag and 25% larger than a standard screening tray. In addition, the trays have RFID tagging in place, to ensure traveller-baggage accountability through the screening process.

This latest project takes LAX’s total number of ASLs to 27, including those located in Terminals 2, 4 and 7.

International travellers from around the world are recognising the benefits of automation across the airport environment. The latest technology in airport automation is reducing waiting times and ground delays and improving operational productivity across every critical process, including passenger check-in, baggage handling and security screening.