Industry news

‘Terminal illness’ for red list

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25 May | Covid-19

Heathrow Airport has opened a terminal dedicated to arrivals from countries that have a high risk of Covid-19.

Terminal 3 is being seconded to just service passengers arriving from red list countries, as air corridors open up for the summer.

The move came after the government and airport authorities faced criticism for making passengers from red list countries queue with other travellers in the arrivals hall.

Passengers arriving from red list countries will transit through Terminal 3, before being bussed to a nearby hotel, where they will be quarantined for ten days.

In a statement, Heathrow said: “Our hope is that it will enable Border Force to carry out its duties more efficiently as passenger volumes increase in line with the green list.

“Red list routes will likely be a feature of UK travel for the foreseeable future, as countries vaccinate their populations at different rates.

“We’re adapting Heathrow to this longer-term reality by initially opening a dedicated arrivals facility in Terminal 3 from 1 June for red-list passengers arriving on direct flights.”

The airport said that the arrival terminal for those landing from countries on the red list would eventually be moved to Terminal 4, as a more permanent arrangement.

As part of the government’s ‘traffic light’ strategy, red list countries have been classified as the countries with a high risk of Covid-19, while the countries with the amber tag are at moderate risk and the countries in the green category are at the least risk.

Officials will be reviewing the list every three weeks and countries can be moved at short notice.

Main image: Heathrow is to open a dedicated red list terminal. Credit: Tom Eversley / Shutterstock

27 May | Weather

Chicago crowned ice king

O’Hare International Airport has modernised its de-icing infrastructure via a centralised facility, set to be the largest in the US.

Canada-based company JCAII, in partnership with American Airlines, United Airlines,and the Chicago Department of Aviation, has provided the centralised de-icing facility at the Chicago airport.

O’Hare is one of the busiest and biggest airports in the world, boasting eight runways that makes it the only commercial facility that can handle four take-offs and landings at the same time.

The new de-icing facility is the largest in the US, and necessary to keep planes taking off safely from the Windy City’s main airport.

It faces heavy snowfall for several months every winter, so the new de-icing facility was designed to be expandable – with enhanced safety protocols that allow large-scale deployment of anti-cold equipment.

JCAII president Jeff Campbell said: “O’Hare had unique and sophisticated requirements, and they really stretched us to meet this challenge. They were extremely competent and knowledgeable and they knew what they wanted.”

JCAII equipped the airport with SmartPad and IceLink technology for digitalising the process of winter airline operations and creating a foundation for an interactive platform.

Its geospatial console offers the precise location of every flight and truck, and it automates the process of progress updates, reporting and truck assignments through real-time applications, minimising manual entries for dispatchers, pilots and de-icers.

26 May | Technology

Cologne to get private network

Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany has partnered with IT service provider NTT to develop a wholly private 5G mobile phone network across its 1,000ha premises.

Under this joint research and cooperation project, the organisations will work on technological innovations, including border control and intelligent luggage checking, with the aim of enhancing the airport’s operational efficiency.

The network, once completed, is set to become one of Europe’s largest private 5G mobile phone networks.

This will enable the future monitoring of the precise location of people and devices, as well as the transportation of luggage on self-driving vehicles.

It will also offer intelligent services for the logistics hubs and facilitate the usage of autonomous robots for security.

For this project, the airport has been awarded a licence by the Federal Network Agency from the industry spectrum, with frequencies ranging from 3.7GHz to 3.8GHz.

The airport stated that a private network will provide stabilisation in the processes with low levels of downtime, allowing customisable operational and security strategy.

Cologne Bonn Airport president and CEO Johan Vanneste said: “We see the decision to set up our own 5G network covering the entire premises of the airport as an important strategic step.

“Having continuous connectivity and our own high-speed mobile network will open up a range of completely new possibilities for our processes and services, which will not only be of benefit to our airport operations but also to the businesses that are based here and to our passengers.”

25 May | Security

Breezing through security

The new US airline Breeze Airways has joined the TSA’s expedited security screening programme, to speed up procedures for trusted passengers.

The TSA has added Breeze Airways under its TSA PreCheck expedited screening programme.

Current members will now be able to book flights immediately on Breeze Airways via their Known Traveller Number, and will face reduced waits at security.

As an expedited screening programme, TSA PreCheck provides a screening experience to low-risk passengers at over 200 US airports.

This screening programme eliminates the need to remove shoes, food items, belts, liquids, laptops and light jackets, but is only available to qualifying passengers.

Under a five-year membership, US citizens, US nationals and US lawful permanent residents can apply for this service at a cost of $85.

More than 80 airlines are currently enrolled under the programme, and the TSA stated that about 98% of travellers in the system-specific lanes waited less than five minutes to get through security.

26 May | Construction

Milking it

San Francisco International Airport has opened part of its $2.4bn (£1.69bn) expansion, just in time for summer.

Seven new departure gates, for domestic and international flights, have been opened at Harvey Milk Terminal 1 in the Californian airport.

The next phase in the hefty project also features a new post-security connector to the international terminal, which will enable passengers to access domestic flights between the two without the need to go through a security checkpoint again.

In addition to a children’s area adjacent to the new departure gates, the new phase of Harvey Milk Terminal 1 features a museum gallery with rotating exhibitions by SFO Museum.

The phase also includes a new display of exhibit content honouring the life and legacy of Harvey Milk.

Additionally, the terminal features an expanded Recompose Area, which is located post-security check, providing passengers with a relaxing space to gather items after security screening.

SFO Airport Director Ivar C Satero said: “We are excited to complete the latest phase of Harvey Milk Terminal 1 on schedule and in time for this summer travel season.

“With this newest addition, we’re taking the airport experience at SFO to a whole new level, using this facility to share the story of Harvey Milk to an even broader audience of global travellers. My thanks go out to the entire project team for this achievement.”

The final phase, which was originally expected to be completed by spring 2023, has been pushed back until at least early 2024.

26 May | Domestic

Bags to riches

London Stansted Airport has concluded a £70m ($99m) upgrade to its baggage system beneath the airport’s terminal.

The airport authorities said that it is the largest baggage network upgrade since the terminal’s launch in 1991 – and contains more than 2.4km of conveyer belts.

The baggage system revamp, which took four years to complete, involved the replacement of the ageing set-up of conveyor belts and chutes, and adding 180 automated carts.

London Stansted Airport Hold Baggage System Programme lead Steve Radford said: “We’re delighted to reach this very important milestone in the hold baggage system project.

“While passengers simply hand their baggage in at check-in for their journey, below the terminal is a highly automated and complex system that seamlessly and safely ensures the right bag reaches the right flight.

“The Beumer autover system uses the latest digital technology, which will future-proof London Stansted’s baggage operation for years to come, improving performance for both our passengers and airlines.”

Beumer Group designed the state-of-the-art baggage system, the longest of its type in the world, which has been designed to transfer luggage from check-in point to be ready to load onto an aircraft in less than six minutes.

Group UK CEO Klaus Schäfer added: “This now means the airport has a future proof system and a great deal of built-in flexibility for years to come.”

19 May | LA

Fighting LA clippers

LAX has been selected to test automatic drone detection systems that could prevent aviation disasters.

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has selected Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to test drone detection technology for tracking drones that enter restricted airspace.

LAX was selected because it has diverse aviation operations, high passenger volume and is frequently buzzed by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), due to its inner-city location.

Drones could be a potential threat to transportation security when they move closer to certain aviation, surface or related transportation venues.

TSA federal security director for LAX Boyd K Jeffries said: “We are confident that data and information collected here will ultimately benefit and help secure the entire transportation network from the threats that UAS in unauthorised areas present.”

During the trials, the project will make use of security and surveillance technologies including radar, thermal imaging and artificial intelligence.

The equipment will be tested and the test data shared with interagency and industry stakeholders for further evaluation.

TSA expects the test to help find solutions to mitigate the risks, which can be caused by unauthorised UAS operations.

20 May | Covid-19

Robocough

Kansai International Airport in Japan has announced plans to automate Covid-19 testing with a state-of-the-art PCR robotic system.

The Covid-testing robot is capable of processing 2,500 samples from international departure travellers over the course of just 16 hours – with an 80-minute turnaround time for individual tests.

Developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the new system is planned to be put in service later this year.

In a statement, Kansai Airports said: “The rapid testing service at the airport is expected to contribute to delivering a safe and healthy travel experience and, consequently, boosting recovery in future aviation demand.”

By using the real-time RT-PCR testing method, this system will be able to complete the rapid testing within 80 minutes.

Through automated and unmanned operations, the shipping container-sized robot is expected to provide precise and constant mass testing, and will allow off-site monitoring for secure and simple operations.

Kansai Airports stated that the mass testing will be carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Health Ministry and the medical association.

In brief

Sky high air fares

New York's governor has announced a $250m (£176m) grant to overhaul airports in the state in a bid to support regional economic development.

Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed the fund as part of a post-Covid stimulus package to boost tourism and business in the state, which suffered more than most during the pandemic due to their heavy reliance on visitors.

Green air

Phnom Penh Airport has installed environmentally friendly equipment to provide services to parked airplanes at the Cambodian airport.

These new units will offer electricity and air conditioning to the aircraft directly from the airport facilities.

The only delay is Essex

Stansted Airport has won a massive legal battle that paves the way for the Essex airport to expand annual passenger capacity to 43 million.

London Stansted Airport won the planning appeal for the massive expansion project, which was opposed by its local Uttlesford District Council last year.

dnata agreement

Air services provider dnata has forged a partnership with aircraft maintenance company Global Jet Technic (GJT) to offer line maintenance support to carriers in Dubai.

Under the framework of this partnership, dnata will promote GJT’s services to provide ground handling, cargo and technical services to its 150 clients at Dubai International and Dubai World Central airports.

Loot on airport grounds

Luton Airport has selected Veovo’s Revenue Management solution to help improve revenue management.

The tech company’s system is expected to reduce errors, expand the cash cycle time, minimise the cost to invoice and save time at the Bedfordshire airport.