Issue 6 2008

Munich Airport’s environmental strategy

Issue 6 2008 / 3 December 2008 / Matthias Linde, Project Manager for Sustainability at Munich Airport

Ecological sustainability has traditionally been a key element in Munich Airport’s environmental strategy and policy, and will become increasingly important in the future as the airport continues to pursue initiatives, not only in the form of innovative environmental projects.

More than 60% of Munich’s 1550 hectares are green areas, and FMG, the Munich Airport operating company, has purchased and set aside further tracts of woodland and wetlands in the immediate airport region as conservation areas, to compensate for the areas paved over when the airport was built. In the 1990s, Munich Airport became the first airport worldwide with a hydrogen fuelling station for apron buses and other vehicles. The pilot research project, funded by the State of Bavaria, was successfully completed in late 2006.

In 2005 Munich Airport received environmental certification under EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme) and DIN ISO 14001, which demonstrates Munich Airport’s relentless commitment to go above and beyond environmental regulations, set at the EU and national level, mandating environmental protection standards at airports. The focus is now on establishing new and streamlining existing sustainability measures at Munich Airport in line with certification standards. Certification under the ISO 14001 and EMAS standards was successfully renewed this year and remains a key element in FMG’s environmental strategy. (more…)

Tagged with: Environment, Germany, Munich Airport

An interview with Paul Behan, Programme Manager, Fast Travel programmes, IATA

Issue 6 2008 / 3 December 2008 / Paul Behan, Programme Manager, Fast Travel programmes, IATA

Following the success of electronic ticketing, the IATA Board of Governors has asked IATA to look at other elements of the passenger journey, in order to offer a self service option for passengers to choose. IATA went out to passengers through their Corporate Air Travel Survey (CATS) and independently surveyed 11,000 passengers. We spoke with Paul to find out more about how IATA’s Fast Travel programme will revolutionise the way in which we pass through an airport. (more…)

Tagged with: Boarding, International Air Transport Association (IATA), Paul Behan, Ticketing

When train and plane go hand in hand

Issue 6 2008 / 3 December 2008 / Giuseppe Rizzo, Reference Officer for passenger air/rail intermodality, DGTREN

Changing transport mode during a trip can be a stressful experience due to the change of interface and the need for the passenger to ‘take action’. Where should I head? What if I miss my connection? How do I get there? What about my luggage? But changing mode of transport is also what we do by definition, even many times, during our door to door (air) journey from our doorstep to the final destination.

Intermodality is the art of making such change of mode of transport as smooth and convenient as possible, but why should the European Commission bother about putting together two or more different transport modes?

In its White Paper on Transport₁ the European Commission affirms that “there is considerable scope for improvements to make travelling conditions easier and facilitate modal transfers, which are still highly problematic.

Far too often passengers are put off using different modes of transport for a single journey. They have problems obtaining information and ordering tickets when the journey involves several transport companies or different means of transport. Transferring from one mode to another can be complicated by inadequate infrastructure.” (more…)

Tagged with: DGTREN, Giuseppe Rizzo, Intermodality, Trains

EUROCONTROL’s Challenges of Growth 2008 Report

Issue 6 2008 / 3 December 2008 / David McMillan, Director General EUROCONTROL

EUROCONTROL publishes a series of studies aimed at providing decision makers with up-to-date assessments of the challenges presented by the increasing demand for air transport. The latest, ‘Challenges of Growth 2008’₁, is the third in the series and looks at those long-term challenges needing long-term solutions. (more…)

Tagged with: David McMillan, Environment, EUROCONTROL

The importance of good communications

Issue 6 2008 / 3 December 2008 / Gill Galway, Policy and Strategy Specialist, UK CAA

Even at the world’s smaller airports, the airside environment can be a challenging place to work. For an airside driver the task of completing your duties safely, complying with safety instructions and restrictions, and maintaining a watchful eye on aircraft and other vehicles on the manoeuvring area can be particularly daunting.

An airside driver could be operating a tug responsible for towing tonnes of aircraft, worth millions of pounds, around and in-between similarly valuable and sizeable aircraft. Equally he could be an operations driver checking the runway surface and lighting, or driving a fire and rescue vehicle responding to an emergency and preparing himself for what that might bring.

Airside drivers are trained to be aware of the potential dangers of driving a relatively small vehicle behind or in front of a jet engine or in close proximity to an aircraft such as a Boeing 747, which at its highest point is nearly 20 metres tall. However, some of the biggest risks can occur in situations that do not involve operating close to an aircraft and that may appear straightforward or routine. In 2007 there were 228 runway incursions, when an aircraft or a vehicle entered an active runway without permission. Of those occurrences, over 20% happened due to airside drivers failing to follow procedures. (more…)

Tagged with: Airside drivers, Gill Galway, Operations, UK CAA

Bar Coded Boarding Passes (BCBP)

Issue 6 2008 / 3 December 2008 / Eric Léopold, Project Manager, Bar Coded Boarding Passes

An interview with Mr. Eric Léopold, Project Manager, Bar Coded Boarding Passes (BCBP). (more…)

Tagged with: Boarding, Eric Léopold, Ticketing

From ‘Afterthought’ to ‘Cutting Edge’?

Issue 6 2008 / 3 December 2008 / Richard L. Altman, Executive Director, Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI)

CAAFI progress in advancing aviation alternative fuels.

One year ago International Airport Review readers were introduced to the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI). CAAFI’s genesis, its structure and its accomplishments were listed. Readers were left with the question “Will aviation be the last to wean itself from petroleum fuel or will it be a “first mover” to a very different future?”

Lastly there was a conclusion that airports would play a ‘key role’ in implementation. Left open – what is this role in an arena where airports have typically had limited engagement? What is at stake for airports?

What follows is an update that answers the first of these questions and adds granularity to the stake that airports have solutions. (more…)

Tagged with: Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), Fuel, Richard L. Altmanm

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: leader in innovation for over 40 years

Issue 6 2008 / 3 December 2008 / Ad Rutten, Executive Vice President & Chief Operations Officer, Schiphol Group

On 28 April 1967, the then reigning Queen Juliana of the Netherlands opened the new Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: Schiphol-Centre. With its tangential runway system comprising four runways for take-offs and landings, its ‘one terminal’ concept with (at that time) three piers – each one complete with passenger bridges – its split-level arrival and departure halls, tax-free shopping centre and range of other facilities for passengers and visitors, the airport’s opening set a new standard in airport design and innovation.

Today, over 40 years later, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol continues to be a leading and innovative airport. With passenger volumes climbing to nearly 48 million in 2007, Schiphol is the fifth-ranking passenger airport and one of the four most important hubs in Europe. (more…)

Tagged with: Ad Rutten, Airport profiles, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

The New Hamburg Airport

Issue 6 2008 / 3 December 2008 / Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO, Flughafen Hamburg GmbH

‘Boomtown Hamburg’ – the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is continuing to develop into one of Europe’s top city destinations. Tourism in the Greater Hamburg region is experiencing significantly more dynamic growth than in other major cities, such as Berlin and Munich. Hamburg’s hotels reported 7.4 million overnight stays in 2006, and the growth is continuing. The city welcomed a total of 111 million day trippers in 2007. Hamburg Airport is a substantial contributor to the region’s tourism boom. It is not only one of Germany’s largest airports, it is also among the fastest growing.

Around 65 airlines fly from Hamburg to more than 130 destinations worldwide. More than 1,600 people are employed by the Hamburg Airport Group and its 14 subsidiary companies, and more than 250 companies operating on the airport premises provide jobs to almost 14,000 people. Hamburg Airport paints an accurate picture of the entire aviation industry in the immediate past. Last year saw 6.9% growth in passenger numbers to almost 12.8 million and growth of 12% was recorded the previous year. This year the airport is expecting more than 13 million passengers, a new record in the company’s almost 100 year history. (more…)

Tagged with: Airport profiles, Flughafen Hamburg GmbH, Germany, Hamburg Airport, Michael Eggenschwiler

Sofia Airport – one of the most dynamically developing airports in Europe

Issue 6 2008 / 3 December 2008 / Plamen Stanchev Dimitrov, Executive Director, Sofia Airport

Sofia Airport falls among the small airports according to the ACI classification, and yet it is the biggest in Bulgaria and one of the most dynamically developing airports in the region. For the last four years the passenger flow has doubled, while this year, for the first time in its 70-year history, Sofia Airport will exceed the figure of three million passengers a year.

Today Sofia Airport has a modernised infrastructure that contributes to the new image of Bulgaria’s capital city as well. The airport has two passenger terminals, which can accommodate 4.4 million passengers a year in total.
The end of August 2006 marked the commissioning of the new runway system, with a traffic capacity of 25 aircraft movements per hour at ICAO Category III A for operations in low visibility conditions.

On the eve of Bulgaria’s accession to the EU, on 1 January 2007 the newly built Terminal 2 at Sofia Airport was officially opened. Terminal 2 is a modern facility with a capacity of 2.6 million passengers a year, which ensures high standards of airport service and full convenience for passengers. Terminal 2 is preferred by the so-called traditional carriers servicing a wide range of destinations worldwide. (more…)

Tagged with: Airport profiles, Bulgaria, Plamen Stanchev Dimitrov, Sofia Airport