Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Groupe ADP has recently launched a driverless bus trial at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, which consists of two autonomous shuttles provided by Keolis and NAVYA. Trials will be ongoing until July 2018, offering free rides to passengers with limited mobility. Both shuttles are currently taking on routes from the business district of the airport to the Environmental and Sustainable Development Resource Center, as well as Groupe ADP’s headquarters. The units are capable of carrying up to 15 people – 11 seated and four standing. Individuals can access the on-demand shuttle service via a QR code.
Belgrade Airport
French group VINCI Airports has signed a 25-year concession contract for the operation of Serbia’s Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. As a concessionaire, VINCI Airports will aim to support flag carrier Air Serbia to offer new long-haul routes as part of its hub strategy. VINCI Airports will build on its partnerships with over 200 airlines to further increase the airport’s traffic and connectivity, in line with Serbia’s strong economic growth potential. Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport will serve as the company’s hub in Southeast Europe, a geographical area in which VINCI Airports has not operated until now.
Rome Fiumicino Airport
Aeroporti di Roma has launched its new Rome Fiumicino Business City construction project at Rome Fiumicino Airport. The project covers a 91,000sqm sustainable airport city design, requiring investment of €190 million. The final design features a 1,300-seat conference centre with integrated hotel service, public and private offices in tourism and insurance, business lounges, consular and embassy offices, a medical centre, retail activities, supermarket and 41,000sqm of green spaces, urban furniture and pedestrian routes. The city will have direct access via rail and road transportation services. The airport city’s first four buildings to be available between 2022 and 2023, with the remaining three opening in 2024.
Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport has won the Innovation in Technology & Systems Award for its Fire Alarm App at the Facilities Management Awards. The App was designed to help Dublin Airport’s fire alarm responders find the location of a fire alarm activation using a graphical map interface so they can react without delay. There are approximately 14,000 fire sensors located across both terminals, so speed is key in pinpointing the source of a fire alarm so that any potential impact on the passenger journey is minimised.
Minsk Airport
The Belarusian Transport & Communications Ministry has outlined three major projects in anticipation of the 2nd European Games, planned to be held in Minsk in 2019. The authority’s plan for the aviation sector is to boost Minsk Airport’s capacity with an addition of a second runway. The development will be commissioned this year and should be operational just in time for the games. Minsk Airport will be able to offer a more convenient schedule of regular flights and charter flights as the two runways are meant to be operational simultaneously.
Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport
Israel Airports Authority (IAA) has opened its new Concourse 4 at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport Terminal 3. It will be able to handle up to 1,800 more passengers per hour once fully operational and facilitate the simultaneous departure of 32 aircraft on international flights. The new passenger wing includes telescopic glass pathways, eight plane exit gates, shops, restaurants and a VIP lounge. It will be able to accommodate many more arriving and departing flights.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Royal Schiphol Group has announced that Amsterdam Schiphol and its entire Dutch airport network will utilise wind power from next year. The group worked with sustainable energy provider Eneco and the municipality of Vianen to build three wind turbines, two of which will provide energy for the Schiphol Group. This supply amounts to around 20GWh per year, which is comparable to the annual energy consumption of 17,000 households. Eneco will build more wind turbines for Royal Schiphol Group over the next two years, so that by January 2020 all of the power for the airport company will come from newly-constructed Dutch wind farms.
Lapland Airports
Finavia plans to spend €55 million in 2018 and 2019 to expand its airports in Lapland. It estimates the investment could raise the number of passengers using airports in Lapland and nearby Kuusamo to two million annually by 2030 and create 500 new permanent jobs in the region. The biggest investment of €25 million will go to the airport in Rovaniemi, capital of Finnish Lapland. Kittilä will receive €20 million, while Ivalo in the far north is to see investment of €10 million. The expansion work is to begin immediately and be wrapped up by the end of 2019.
