Tourism & Hospitality | Tuesday 27 January, 2015 12:24 am |

Robust passenger growth at UAE airports, projected at 5.6 per cent annually until 2034 by IATA, higher expectations of travelers about seamless experiences and ceaseless technological advancement are prompting Arabian Gulf airports to turn Smart.
The capacity of the UAE’s airports, which handled about 100 million passengers last year, will increase to 250 million passengers by 2020. The UAE’s airports are investing up to US$50 billion in new and expansion projects with smooth and efficient operations being the key expectation.

“The airport experience has changed at an amazing pace and it will change even more and for better in the next five years. Travelers have growing expectations from airports,” said Mohammed Fouz, CEO of Smartworld, the leading system integrator and Digital ICT service provider in the Middle East.

“Smart technologies are transforming airports for better passenger facilitation as they grapple with a big rise in passengers. In the past five years, smart technology has overrun virtually every part of our private and public lives, and air travel is no exception. Airports can benefit through 25 per cent cut operation costs and enhanced capacity handling by turning to smart technologies.”

Established in 2008, Smartworld is a joint venture between Etisalat, the Middle East's leading telecommunications operator, and Dubai World Central (DWC), a master-planned aerotropolis designed to become the world’s biggest airport.

The company has a strong track record of successful deployments and implementations of state-of-the-art ICT system at the Al Maktoum International Airport at DWC and the installation and implementation of a first-of-its-kind Open and Equal Access Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) at DWC. It also implemented a unique project at Terminal 2 of Dubai International which is now ranked as the world’s top airport for international passengers.

He said the revolutionary technologies are changing the business model of airports which are grappling to provide passengers with seamless and unique travel experiences. Smartworld, he added, has been working with the airport operators in the region to help them in the adoption of smart technology to remain ahead of others across the world.

“The demand for smart technologies integrated into center infrastructures will skyrocket in the next few years. All airports will be transformed into intelligent, adaptive and responsive environments. Changes in the ways we travel are coming at us faster. New technology promises to make travel even easier, more efficient and safer. Some changes are right around the corner and others are decades away,” Mohammed Fouz remarked.

A Markets and Markets study has pointed out that global market for smart airports will reach $13.5 billion by 2020.

IATA wants aviation stakeholders to develop and use Information Technology (IT) to drive improvements in the passenger experience. Most airports are dealing with three business imperatives: improving the passenger experience; optimizing operational processes; and improving the commercial and financial performance.

He said the mushrooming mix of devices, applications, networks and services will open up a whole new world for the systems integration in the airports environment.

The Arabian Gulf airports will welcome more than 450 million passengers by 2020. By 2020, about 100 million passengers will use Dubai International Airport, while Al Maktoum International Airport capacity will increase to 200 million passengers upon its completion. By 2020, aircraft movements in the UAE will be over 1.2 million. ICAO predicts 5.2 per cent annual growth in regional air traffic until 2030.

He remarked: “Technology is the only way ahead to enable all stakeholders to achieve their goals. Governments want to bring in more visitors while enhancing security. Airports want to accelerate travel, generate more revenues while reducing the costs. Airlines want to differentiate themselves and keep their customers happy.”

“Passengers are looking for stress-free journey with diversified options and seamless experiences. All stakeholders want to be efficient, fast, cost effective and secure. Without a strong and modern IT infrastructure all those plans and scenarios will be just a wishful thinking,” he said.