Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport have announced an acceleration of scheduled maintenance works, taking advantage of the decreased passenger levels due to lockdown.  

Currently improvements to the drop-off road (Ceintuurbaan) is being performed now instead of the spring as previously scheduled. This work will be completed in May with necessary finishing touches to take place in the autumn. 

The number of security lanes in Departure Hall 4 will be increased from five to six and a new CT scan will be installed in each lane.

Continue reading Schiphol brings forward construction schedule due to coronavirus crisis at Passenger Terminal Today.

A fire safety and evacuation exercise, scheduled to take place on April 29 in Berlin Airport’s (BER) terminal T1, has been postponed until this summer due to social distancing guidelines. Postponing the drill, however, will have no effect on the already agreed date Terminal T1 will become functional. 

Prof. Dr. Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, chief executive officer of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg, says, “Postponing the exercise from April 29 to the summer is no problem for the commissioning preparations.

Continue reading Berlin terminal postpones safety drills but commissioning unchanged at Passenger Terminal Today.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is offering free access to online training courses for up to 5,000 aviation workers as part of its efforts to help the industry through the COVID-19 crisis.    

 Current employees—or those who wish to become a part of the aviation or related industries—can select one from eight of IATA’s most popular e-learning courses to strengthen their industry knowledge and skills: 

Stéphanie Siouffi, IATA’s director of training, says, “Aviation will make it through the COVID-19 crisis.

Continue reading IATA offer free education for aviation workers at Passenger Terminal Today.

Kinetic Consultancy has launched a survey to evaluate recovery strategies and envisioning the new normal for airports during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Kinetic aims at collecting insights from industry experts with a focus on the future of airport development and specifically the non-aeronautical revenue. New insights will support relevant scenario’s and allow the industry and its leaders to start planning to operate in the new normal.  

Martijn Steur, managing director at Kinetic Consultancy says, “In our recent conversations with several airport industry leaders we’ve learned that there is a need for insights on the speed and shape of the recovery and envisioning the new normal.

Continue reading Expert insight into the future of airports sought at Passenger Terminal Today.

Emirates is planning to operate passenger services to Jakarta, Manila, Taipei, Chicago, Tunis, Algiers and Kabul in addition to the already commenced operation to London and Frankfurt.  

These services will facilitate residents and visitors wishing to return home. 

Only citizens of the destination country and those who meet the entry requirements will be allowed to board. Passengers will be required to comply with each country’s requirement. 

There will be no online check in and seat selection available and services such as chauffeur drive and lounge will not be available in any of the destinations. 

Continue reading Emirates announce additional routes at Passenger Terminal Today.

Amorph Systems and Vantiq has announced a strategic partnership to create a new application that will help airports worldwide address real-time operational requirements during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The new application combines thermal cameras, flight information, passenger flows and real-time communication to instantly detect passengers with high temperatures and alert airport operations control to identify potential contaminated areas. The system also allows airport managers to quickly re-direct passenger flows, re-position flights and re-allocate staff due to closed areas. 

Continue reading New application to help airports mitigate impact of Covid-19 launched at Passenger Terminal Today.

Changi Airport Group (CAG) announced today that in view of the decline in passenger traffic and the likelihood that air travel demand will not return to pre-Covid-19 levels in the near term, terminal operations at Changi Airport will be consolidated.  

From 1 May 2020, operations at Terminal 2 (T2) will be suspended for 18 months with airlines to be relocated to the remaining terminals. This suspension will allow the current T2 expansion works to be accelerated with expected completion, currently scheduled for 2024, brought forward by up to one year. 

Continue reading Changi Airport to consolidate terminal operations, brings forward expansion completion date at Passenger Terminal Today.

Gatwick Airport is supporting the UK’s coronavirus response by providing use of its long-stay car park as a drive-through testing center. 

 Initially for use by NHS staff and invited key workers, the site was opened on Wednesday, April 8 and be available between 9am and 5pm daily, on an appointment-only basis. 

 Stewart Wingate, chief executive, Gatwick Airport, says, “We have the space available at Gatwick to be able to host such a large-scale operation.

Continue reading Gatwick doubles as Covid test center at Passenger Terminal Today.

Swedish designer of furniture for airports and other indoor public spaces, Green Furniture Concept, is launching a new line with low-carbon aluminum from Hydro. 

When the company was searching for a more sustainable metal for its new Ascent Series of airport gate seating, it decided to use Hydro’s CIRCAL, a low-carbon material containing at least 75% recycled aluminum. 

Hydro CIRCAL can be recycled again and again and has been extruded to form the support beam running under the seating of the Ascent Series. 

Continue reading Airport furniture designer team up with Hydro for aluminum supply at Passenger Terminal Today.

Heathrow Airport remains financially stable despite the devastating fiscal impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, says rating agency.  

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has announced that it is lowering the long-term ratings on Class A and Class B debt issued by Heathrow Funding Limited, with both retaining negative outlooks due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19.  

Despite the move, Heathrow retains investment grade credit ratings on its Class A and Class B debt which now stand at BBB+ and BBB- respectively.   

Continue reading Heathrow remains financially robust at Passenger Terminal Today.