Finnair Test Facial Recognition System at Helsinki Airport

May 8, 2017
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Finnair Test Facial Recognition System | Airports NewsAs biometric airport security systems soar in popularity around the world’s airports, Finnair announces the introduction of a comprehensive test of facial recognition technology at Helsinki Airport.

The testing of the latest layer to the check-in process for 1,000 passengers, has been running since the beginning of this month, and is expected to last until 23rd May 2017. The test group has been selected from frequent flyers using Helsinki Airport.

“Face recognition technology could simplify and speed up the departure process from the customer’s point of view, and eliminate the need for a boarding pass,” said Sari Nevanlinna, Finnair’s Head of Ground Experience and Ancillary. “This test will give us information on the usability of face recognition technology for our processes, and the impact it has on the customer experience.”

To take part in the ground-breaking testing for Finnair, passengers will be invited to upload an image of their face to the software platform. Then they will use a dedicated check-in desk to confirm that the facial recognition has proved successful.

Prague Airport Introduces Stepped Up Security for Bag Checks

April 29, 2017
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Prague Airport Steps Up Security | Airports NewsThis week, Prague Vaclav Havel Airport announced its intention to introduce enhanced explosive checks for all checked-in baggage. The airport plans to use swab tests for explosive trace elements, and has created a CCTV-monitored area, and a trained team to carry out testing.

The airport promises that passengers will not be affected by the additional checks, which it says is not a new procedure, but used during current security controls at Prague Airport and across the globe.

Milan Spacek, a member of the airports board of Directors, says, ‘To keep up with the safest airports in Europe, it is necessary to continue improving the safety measures and react to situations at hand. The number of serviced passengers at Václav Havel Airport Prague continues to grow and it is thus also necessary to react to these operational changes with the implementation of more efficient safety procedures.’

The team at Prague Airport security will perform the ten-minute checks on baggage by opening the luggage and taking a swab of the contents. Passengers will be informed if their bag is examined, and the entire process will be carried out under CCTV surveillance.

The airport team is also encouraging passengers to use TSA-approved locks, which can be opened using a master key, to avoid damage to padlocks or other luggage fasteners.

Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport Introduces Self-Bag Drop Solution

April 24, 2017
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border-controlPassengers travelling with Ryanair from Bologna Airport this year will see streamlined check-in with the introduction of a self-bag drop solution.

All over the world, airports are recognising the benefits of infrastructure investment in the form of increased check-in speeds, greater passenger experience and better efficiency across the entire passenger processing environment with self-service solutions.

Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport understands that ‘passengers value the convenience of self-service technology from a customer experience point of view,’ and says that the self-bag drop implementation is the latest in a ‘series of options [it] has been developing recently.’

Italy’s Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport is the fastest-growing in the country, on average receiving growth at twice the rate of the other busiest of its airports.

Providers of self-service innovations, such as Rockwell Collins’ ARINC Airports, aim to deliver the greatest enhancements to passenger experience, and bring efficiency to streamline baggage handling. Self-bag drop solutions such as the introduction of the self-service kiosk are further enhanced by Common-Use solutions, which can be quickly integrated into the DCS of multiple airlines, thus offering airports of all sizes the opportunity to make additional, greater use of airport resources.

Find out more about self-bag drop, or watch the video for a demonstration of self-service baggage handling.

Belfast Airport Reports £100,000 Saving During First 10 Months of Solar Power Generation

April 18, 2017
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Belfast Airport Solar Success | Airports NewsBelfast International Airport has announced the success of its dedicated solar power plant, with more than £100,000 worth of savings during the first ten months of operation.

Located just a third of a mile away, and cited as being the largest solar energy connection in the UK and Ireland to an airport, the £5million solar plant, named Crookedstone Solar Farm, is generating over 25% of its yearly electricity requirements.

In addition to the financial rewards, the solar plant, operated by Lightsource, is also contributing to the reduction in carbon emissions. It has been estimated that Crookedstone will save 2,100 tonnes in carbon emissions in each year of operation, improving environmental performance.

Belfast International Airport has a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Lightsource for 25 years.

14 Regional Airports Sale Finalised in Greece

April 13, 2017
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Corfu Amongst 14 regional Airports Sale | Airports NewsIt has been announced that the sale of 14 regional airports in Greece, first agreed in 2015, has now been finalised.

The €1.3 billion deal was agreed in the final quarter of 2015 to Fraport and Slentel Ltd, and was signed yesterday by the Greek ministers for finance, transport and defence. Part of the agreement includes the concession that the Fraport consortium will ‘use, operate and develop the airports over a 40-year period.’

Within the first four years, the consortium will upgrade the airports, which include the sites on the major tourist destination islands of Mykonos, Corfu and Santorini, and will ‘maintain and preserve service levels for the whole duration.’

Greece will retain ownership of the facilities and infrastructure, and the consortium will pay a yearly lease figure of €22.9 million.

The privatisation of the regional airports was originally agreed within the framework of the EU bailout in the summer of 2015. The €86 billion bailout also included the privatisation of ports and other Greek assets.

ARINC cMUSE Cloud CUPPS Solution Launched by Rockwell Collins

March 30, 2017
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Ottawa International Airport Becomes Launch Customer for ARINC cMUSE | Cloud-Based Passenger ProcessingIt has been announced that Rockwell Collins has launched its next-generation, cloud-native Common Use Passenger Processing System (CUPPS).

Christopher Forrest, VP of Airport Systems for Rockwell Collins said, ‘We’ve re-architected our CUPPS platform as cloud-native software to provide airports with a more effective use of resources. Through ARINC cMUSE, airports can now enable innovation by letting airlines develop and deploy latest applications and services. This solution provides significant benefits to airports, regardless of size or existing infrastructure.’

The new offering will provide airports with a simplified, faster and more affordable system approach to passenger processing, which can be deployed either as a cloud or on-premise solution.

Ottawa International Airport has been named as the launch customer for the new offering.

Rockwell Collins’ ARINC Airports solutions offer airports of all sizes, and in all global locations, the opportunity to integrate innovation and the latest technological applications, without the need to make further infrastructure investment.

Find out more about ARINC Airports passenger processing solutions.

Dubai Airports to Deliver World’s Fastest Airport WiFi with WOW-Fi

March 22, 2017
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Dubai Airports Introduce World's Fastest WiFi | Business Aviation NewsDubai International Airport (DXB) and Dubai World Central-Al Makhtoum International Airport (DWC) is to make the fastest WiFi speeds in the world available to its passengers – for free.

Using WOW-Fi, DXB and DWC will deliver up to 100mb connection speeds to support its travellers, following last years’ release of unlimited free WiFi across both airports. The aim, according to Michael Ibbitson, executive VP of Technology and Infrastructure for Dubai Airports, who said, ‘As the biggest international airport in the world, we are at the heart of many journeys across the globe. To support these travellers, late last year we launched unlimited free high-speed Wi-Fi across our airports, but our goal was to offer something they have never experienced at an airport before.’

With speeds of up to 100mb, many of the 89 million travellers that pass-through Dubai airports every year, will be able to quickly download emails, images, videos and interact with family and friends on social media, enjoying superfast, reliable and free connectivity.

As a part of the upgrade project, Dubai Airports has also provided required bandwidth via enhanced internet links of 5Gbps each, and is investing in over 6,000 new WiFi access points to ensure reliability and an upgraded wireless network infrastructure over both airports.

Singapore Changi Airport Named World’s Best by Skytrax

March 15, 2017
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Changi Wins Best Airport Award | Airports Industry NewsIt has been announced at the Passenger Terminal Expo held in Amsterdam this week, that Singapore’s Changi Airport has been named World’s Best Airport for the fifth consecutive year. It is also the eighth time Changi has scooped the award since they began in 2000.

Skytrax World Airport Awards invites air travellers to cast their votes every year for airports around the world, in an annual global customer satisfaction survey, based on the following categories:

  • Leisure amenities
  • Cleanliness
  • Most-improved
  • Airport hotels
  • Airport staff service
  • Airports for dining
  • Regional airports
  • Shopping
  • Passenger numbers

Across the board, Changi Airport demonstrated high scores, and came out victorious at the top of the pile overall.

Individual winners included London’s Heathrow Airport, with an award for the world’s best airport shopping, Tokyo Haneda Airport is hailed as the world’s cleanest, and Hong Kong International has the best airport dining experience.

For full details of the winners, visit the website today.

Southampton Airport Runway Race Needs More Runners

March 5, 2017
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Southampton Airport Runway Run 2016 | Join Them in 2017Every year, the UK’s Southampton Airport hosts its annual runway race in aid of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight County Air Ambulance.

From 5am until 7am, the runway is closed to host the race, in which more than 500 runners are expected to take part this year, on Sunday 25th June.

Dave Lees, managing director at Southampton Airport is looking forward to welcoming the runners to his runway, ‘This year we are hoping to get even more people involved and even more money raised with the goal of hitting the £10,000 mark to celebrate the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance 10th Birthday. This is an incredibly worthwhile cause and we hope to see many people taking part, despite the early start!’

Prizes will be up for grabs this year for the best dressed runner, and of course, the fastest.

To register for the event, which costs £20 to enter, with all proceeds going directly to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight County Air Ambulance, please visit the Southampton Airport website.

Norwegian Air Announces New US Flights from Ireland

February 25, 2017
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Shannon Airport | Norwegian Air US FlightsIreland’s Shannon Airport has welcomed the news from Norwegian Air International this week, as they announced two new US services to be launched this year.

The new flights will be twice-weekly to Stewart International Airport (90 minutes from New York), and Providence Green Airport (New England).

Matthew Thomas, CEO of Shannon Group said, ‘This is a very significant announcement for Shannon, for the wider region we serve and for transatlantic aviation generally. It not only brings another new carrier to Shannon, giving us our largest number of US services in over 17 years, but it’s introduces a new model of low cost flying for transatlantic aviation. Shannon has been at the forefront of so many major global breakthroughs in aviation and this is another. It supports the government’s objectives on balanced regional development. We look forward to working closely with Norwegian Air International in making these services a success.’

Bjorn Kjos, CEO of Norwegian Air is delighted to finally unveil their plans, ‘It has long been our ambition to grow our Irish operation with new transatlantic routes but these plans simply wouldn’t have been possible without the significant support we have received throughout Ireland over the last 3 years. We are hugely grateful for this continued support and are delighted to finally unveil our plans to shake up transatlantic travel with ground-breaking fares and never before seen routes in Ireland. The cost of transatlantic travel has been too high for too long so by connecting Irish cities with smaller US airports, we can offer some truly affordable fares, allowing as many people as possible to fly.’