Techno of the future: SITA imagines what the airport of the next decade will be like

The impact of technologies should considerably change the current image that we have of airports, which are destined to evolve rapidly in the coming years.

The International Aeronautical Telecommunications Company (SITA) unveiled its forecasts on Thursday, December 12, intended to show the public what the airport should look like in the next decade. The one that is coming to an end will have been marked by the arrival of biometric security, check-in on a flight from your smartphone or baggage tracking. And the phenomenon should not slow down. The idea, for the international organization created in 1949, is to imagine the impact that technologies will have on the journeys and movements of millions of passengers at the airport of tomorrow.

” More passengers » can rhyme with « better fluidity »

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) affirms that the number of passengers is expected to double in airports over the next twenty years, and airports are not infinitely expandable, technologies will be in great demand to keep a certain fluidity within them. Let’s see how.

In the airport of the near future, it will no longer be necessary to get rid of your belt, coat or shoes. Passengers and their baggage will be recognized automatically as they pass through the automated checkpoint, which will be transformed into a hallway packed with sensors. In the same vein, 3D scanners are already being tested in some airports.

The sovereign digital identity, coupled with the systems of token biometrics will allow passengers to decide which aspects of their identity they wish to reveal, and for what purpose. Airlines will no longer be responsible for traveler data and its processing. Governments will be.

The airport of the future will make it possible to decentralize all stages of the journey, such as dropping off luggage at a station for example, and the possibility of tracking it. Ditto in the airport, thanks to complementary techniques to RFID such as the 0G network, which we have extensively presented on Clubic recently.

Autonomous baggage vehicles are at the experimental stage and are already satisfactory (© Air France)

5G and very high speed will contribute to the development of the connected and optimized airport

In addition to 5G, which is expected to flood airports in the coming years, artificial intelligence will be at the heart of airport efficiency. For example, technology Digital Twin will be used so that each party involved in the trip can have real-time access to the various operations, in order to optimize the traveler experience. The predictive data collected can then be used for operational purposes. ” Due to a delay, two A380s will land at the same time, make sure there are enough people at the immigration offices to welcome passengers ” Where ” We received negative messages about the cleanliness of the toilets on the second floor, send the cleaning company », takes SITA as an example.
Other very high-speed technologies, such as fiber, will gradually allow widespread automation of the airport, such as the transfer of luggage on autonomous shuttles which will go directly in front of the departing aircraft.

Blockchain is also one of the technologies that will improve the efficiency of airports by collecting all the data created during each of the stages (10 at least) of a trip. They will allow the airport, companies, government agencies, stopover assistance, restaurants and even stores to collaborate better, all under the seal of security, thanks to the blockchain.

For Benoit Verbaere, Business Development Director of SITA, “ the only way to keep airports running smoothly is to develop and implement new technologies that will impact efficiency while improving the passenger experience “. There is no more.

Source: Press release