The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) said this week that its recently created Airport Consortium on Customer Trust (ACT) program will continue to collaborate to develop actionable solutions for health enhancements, facility upgrades and the financial recovery of airports even as aviation enters the post-pandemic stage.
ACT will play a key part of the industry efforts to leverage the pandemic into as a catalyst for innovation that will noticeably improve the air travel experience at airports around the country.
ACT focus areas are airbridges, health screening and COVID-19 testing, new finance/revenue generation, indoor air quality, terminal and passenger facility design, touchless technology and virtual queuing
Among the recommendations, for example, are calls for airports to introduce automated queues and wayfinding and biometric-enabled transactions to make the airport experience more seamless and efficient.
“Airports are committed to coming out of the pandemic with enhanced facilities, processes, and technology to better serve the traveling public and restore passenger confidence,” said Todd Hauptli, AAAE president and CEO. “Led by innovative airport executives, the ACT Program has moved our industry significantly forward through in-depth analysis, tested solutions, and effective partnerships – a model that is already producing results and will continue to do so well into the future.”
AAAE added that together ACT members are shaping the future of airports by testing new solutions and services and sharing results to learn what works – and what does not – to build passenger trust, confidence, and excitement as they return to airports.
Moving forward, the ACT Program is now looking into urban air mobility, environmental sustainability, and infrastructure resiliency to include electric power delivery.
“AAAE’s ACT Program brings together our country’s most innovative airports, partners, and experts to identify critical gaps and opportunities, develop approaches to address them, influence industry stakeholders in a call to action, and pilot new technology,” said Justin Erbacci, CEO, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). “I am very pleased that in a short time since inception, we already are seeing concrete results from this consortium. The COVID-19 pandemic has added urgency to this need to collaborate, so we can speed up the recovery through quick and informed action and a reimagining of America’s airports.”
