How pandemic has changed airports: What will flying be like in 2021?
The lockdown has dealt a massive blow to the airline industry, decimating both its scale of operations and revenue. However, from the strategic perspective, the effects may not be completely negative. In fact, there are many long-overdue improvements set in motion, some of which can already be observed. Below is an overview of positive changes that will outlive the current health crisis and benefit both airports and passengers in the long run.
Smarter Operations
Smart technologies have been spearheading the transformation of numerous sectors for some time now, including the airline industry. Nevertheless, it is with the onset of the pandemic that the shift has come into full swing. The most apparent example is the introduction of touchless technology. While it may seem like a temporary measure prompted by COVID-19, in all fairness touch-based procedures have overstayed their welcome. With the abundance of facial recognition methods as alternatives to identity verification, there is no reason to hold on to legacy solutions. So, we’ll probably see zero-touch terminals deployed at increasing rates far beyond the pandemic.
The same can be said about phone-based features. Airports around the world already implement automated services that allow passengers to check-in or manage their luggage from phones. Not only does this approach eliminate unnecessary contacts with high-touch surfaces, but it also offers a higher degree of control and improves customer experience. With the introduction of digital identity, the boarding process will be streamlined even more, as was already demonstrated in Athens International Airport, where the entire verification procedure takes less than half a minute.
Security Updates
Another area where improvements are long overdue is airport security. Security checks are notorious for the amount of time they take, not to mention the massive risks associated with crowding. Some airports have already found effective ways to address these issues, such as the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport, where passengers are encouraged to book the security screening as a part of the enhanced screening measures.
At the same time, some progress is being made in the luggage screening area. Advanced image recognition algorithms have already reached a level where they can analyze x-ray and tomography imagery. So, it’s only logical to apply these techniques to security checks, which are still often done manually.
This approach would be beneficial to both passengers and airports. The former can enjoy faster clearance times and plan their travels with higher precision, which is particularly valuable for business trips. The latter can use this information to allocate their resources more efficiently while at the same time reducing the crowding in highly trafficked areas. Thus, it is reasonable to expect more such changes to be implemented in the future across the airline industry even after the coronavirus outbreak subsides.
Cleaning and Disinfection Overhaul
For airports, the global crackdown on COVID-19 was particularly hard-felt. There is a reason for that: the transportation industry is actually a major vector for the spread of contagious diseases like SARS-CoV-2. The three main factors lie behind it:
- Multiple person-to-person contacts in heavily trafficked areas
- Numerous high-touch surfaces (handrails, doorknobs, etc.)
- Massive potential for contagion distribution on a global scale
In this light, strengthening the sanitation measures is an essential part of the recovery that the air travel industry is expected to undergo. However, it has to be done in a way that would not undermine the quality of service. For instance, luggage sanitation can only be allocated to a rather narrow time frame to maintain the tight boarding schedule, so traditional methods will be a poor fit in this case.
Several solutions have already been rolled out to address this issue. One example is a luggage disinfection channel — an advanced sanitation unit that uses a combination of disinfectants and UV light to eradicate potential contaminants. The solution is dispersed into a fine mist to ensure even distribution on surfaces without creating moisture so that passengers’ baggage does not get damaged. The entire procedure is automated, sensor-driven, and touchless, so it will be a valuable addition to airports’ safety measures in the post-COVID world.
Focus on Prevention
Aside from disinfection, testing and timely detection of disease is the main line of defense against the virus. Of course, this procedure wouldn’t be completely delegated to airports, as reliable health checks and diagnostics cannot be performed on-premises. Nevertheless, basic precautions can be implemented that will contribute to improved public health. For example, body temperature measurements can be added to a disinfection tunnel which airport uses for sanitizing inbound passengers.
Not only will it reduce the chances of unintentional spread of disease, but it can also inform health agencies about the scope of the issue. Some sanitation passages are capable of gathering data about the number of detected illnesses, notifying the airport’s administration about emerging trends and assisting the decision-making processes. Such a data-driven approach is already a mainstay in aviation, and passenger health monitoring may become another component of this system in the future.
Final Thoughts
The COVID-19 pandemic is probably the most devastating period in the history of the airline industry, and its effects are far from over. However, it has also brought about some positive changes that will be beneficial in the long term, both to airports and passengers. So, even though most companies will not come out of the crisis unscathed, there is still a potential for improvement that, hopefully, will help change this sector for the better.