The NEXTT Vision: From concept to implementation – during and post-COVID-19

As a joint initiative of Airports Council International (ACI) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), NEXTT (New Experience Travel Technologies) created a shared vision for the future of travel. NEXTT intended to leverage the latest technological developments to address the predicted capacity constraints that airports were facing. Under the NEXTT Vision, the passenger, cargo and baggage journeys, alongside aircraft turnaround, were revisited, and areas that will change were identified, benefitting from innovation, technology and process changes in the future of travel.

Over 1,000 participants registered for the first webinar on 28 October 2020, looking at how the NEXTT Vision will change in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IATA and ACI panelists discussed how NEXTT addresses the challenges brought by the immediate crisis, and how some of the technology and process changes contribute to the mitigation of health risks.

This first webinar confirmed the validity of and the need for the concepts of NEXTT during these difficult times for the air travel industry. Although the NEXTT vision remains a long-term focus on the future of travel, many of the concepts – such as seamless passenger journeys, touchless technology and biometric processing – are not only relevant to address predicted capacity constraints, but are already relevant today, addressing the new challenges, and are currently being trialed and implemented.

This second webinar, scheduled for 4 February 2021, will look further at how the industry is moving from concepts to the implementation of ideas and taking advantage of the new imperatives of healthy travel to accelerate innovations and process changes. 

Our panelists will be: Aaron Beeson, Director of Innovation at ANA Aeroportos de Portugal; Gonzalo Velasco Zabalza, Business Plan and Innovation Director at Ferrovial Airports; and Alexis Long, Chief Executive of technology accelerator, Trade and Travel.

Our speakers will:

• Demonstrate how innovative concepts and new opportunities arise in remote and off-airport activities, touchless processing, flexible and sustainable design and common data exchange solutions
• Address the challenges that airports and their key partners might have to overcome in the short-term (such as funding, commercial viability of projects, path to innovation, etc.) for a brighter future
• Discuss what practical steps the aviation sector can take to stimulate the emerging technology market to accelerate action and focus its technologies on the industry’s most pressing challenges.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on travel, passenger trust and airport operations have further confirmed the validity of and the need for the concepts of NEXTT. Today, airports, airlines, governments and other aviation stakeholders are continuing to develop and assess best practices for the immediate future of travel, with a greater focus on health and personal safety throughout the travel journey.

The NEXTT Vision and its emerging themes maintain the efforts on customer convenience and reduce time spent on processes, while playing a critical role in supporting the restart of the industry, and emerging health risk mitigations must be accommodated.