Airports in the news: Summer 2020

A snapshot of stories from around Europe.

Istanbul Airport

Istanbul Airport has announced the opening of its third runway. With this, the airport becomes the first in Turkey and only the second in Europe to operate three independent parallel runways. This new airstrip will reduce taxi time significantly. On average, landing times will decrease by seven minutes and take-off times by four, with domestic taxi times being reduced by approximately 50%. The capacity for flight movements per hour will also increase from 80 to 120 with a daily capacity of more than 2,800 movements. When the entire construction is completed, the airport will have six runways and a total capacity of 200 million passengers per year.

Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport

Sheremetyevo Airport has made the needs of children – and adults who are travelling with children – a high priority in the design and functioning of its terminals. A total of six baby- and child-care rooms, open play areas and changing rooms are now available in all terminals, including in the business and VIP lounges. All these dedicated areas include play corners with toys and game consoles, sleeping areas, kitchenettes and rooms for feeding babies and changing diapers. Children’s playgrounds and play areas are equipped with child-safe equipment that is updated annually. All the childcare rooms are manned by specially qualified staff to ensure these young clients have fun in the safest environment.

Brussels Airport

Each year, Brussels Airport has thousands of animals among its passengers. These include pets, police dogs, reptiles and horses, and even an occasional panda. In order to offer the best possible service in the field of animal transport, Brussels Airport has invested in a brand-new Care & Inspection Center, in the cargo area of Brussels Airport. There, animals can be housed and checked in the most comfortable surroundings before they continue their journey. The temperature, the type of light and the air circulation in each area can be precisely adjusted thanks to a unique innovative system that has been developed specifically for this centre. The Animal Care & Inspection Center opened its doors on 1 June 2020.

Frankfurt Airport

Frankfurt Airport is set to turn to wind power to provide the bulk of its electricity as part of its ongoing commitment to meeting its climate protection targets. Its operator, Fraport AG, intends to set an annual minimum purchase quantity of up to 350 gigawatt hours with the operator of an offshore wind farm with a target deadline of 2025. Fraport remains committed to covering most of Frankfurt Airport’s electricity consumption using renewable sources by 2030. The company plans to eliminate all emissions and be CO2-free from 2050. The use of renewable energy is a key factor in meeting its self-imposed climate protection target.

Swedavia

Veovo has won Swedavia’s tender to provide automated revenue management across all the Swedish airports operated by the company. By fully automating the collation, preparation and processing of billing data in real-time, the new system will reduce revenue leakage, minimise billing errors and improve the cash cycle time. It will also give greater visibility into vital income-generating streams across all Swedavia’s operations. The system’s flexibility will also support Swedavia in building innovative and competitive tariff structures to attract new airlines and incentivise route expansion. It will also provide a platform to fuel sustainable growth.

Makedonia Airport

The staff of Makedonia Airport are welcoming international passengers to Thessaloniki with the tourism logo of the Greek northern city on their face masks. The masks were provided by the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization and Fraport Greece, the operator of Makedonia Airport, to mark the reopening of the city’s airport to international flights following three months of COVID-19 travel restrictions. The new face masks aim to present the city’s “hospitable face” to visitors, while ensuring their and the airport staff’s health and safety in direct interactions.

Manchester Airport

Manchester Airport now provides the opportunity to pre-book a free 15-minute security slot, as part of a new UK-first trial by Manchester Airports Group. By booking their free slot, the passengers will benefit from access to a dedicated lane straight to the security checkpoint and will be able to reach the departure lounge more quickly. This approach will also allow the airport to manage the volume of passengers coming through security more efficiently and help keep queues shorter. The availability of slots is limited and will be operated on a first-come, first-served basis, through online booking. Passengers will be encouraged to make a booking around two hours before their flight departure time and are asked to arrive within the chosen slot.

Toulouse-Blagnac Airport

Toulouse-Blagnac Airport has co-signed a framework agreement for the construction of the first green hydrogen station at its premises. The signatories include Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, AREC Occitanie, and Engie Solutions. The new station will supply hydrogen to four buses that will circulate at the airport. The new low-emission vehicles will be operated by Transdev, a French international private public transport operator, on the airport runways, transporting passengers between the terminals and airplanes. The buses will also provide shuttles between the terminal and far car parks. The new station is part of the French national project HyPort, which was launched in the Occitanie region, via AREC and Engie, as part of the European project JIVE2.


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