Passenger Terminal Expo is less than a month away, and we’re excited to welcome thousands of visitors, exhibitors and conference speakers to the world’s best airport conference and exhibition in Amsterdam on March 14, 15 and 16! As always, the show will be a platform for companies to showcase their latest innovations, with plenty of exciting technology launches, company announcements and networking opportunities available. Here is a roundup of must-see events, selected by Passenger Terminal World editor Hazel King.
Opening address
We’re delighted to welcome Robert Carsouw, executive vice president and CFO of Royal Schiphol Group, the host airport operator for Passenger Terminal Expo, as the keynote speaker for this year’s event. He will open the conference at 8:30am, welcoming delegates to Amsterdam and highlighting some of the key topics and trends up for discussion during the conference.
Show exclusive – Zoeftig
Booth: 1150
Industry-leading designer, manufacturer and supplier Zoeftig is back at Passenger Terminal Expo once again. Building on last year’s reveal of the company’s newest terminal seating offering, Vista, the team will exclusively showcase a host of innovations that are set to expand the product range ahead of its market launch later this year.
Zoeftig’s wealth of knowledge and experience – earned through more than 50 years of crafting concourses across the globe – ensures that Vista is anything but ‘one size fits all’. The product can elevate and transform any space into a memorable experience for all passengers, and the latest update being announced at Passenger Terminal Expo will not disappoint.
Product launch – Cognitec
Booth: 1730
At Passenger Terminal Expo 2023, Cognitec will introduce the latest version of its FaceVACS-Entry product, a slim, lightweight device suitable for installation in e-gates and kiosks. The technology takes standards-compliant biometric photos and compares them with digital facial images retrieved from ID documents or databases. Its instant camera positioning, active lighting and responsive user guidance lead to optimal capturing conditions, accurate verification results and fast processing times. The system serves all applications that require the acquisition of standards-compliant photos and the verification of probe images against live images – such as border control scenarios and entry/exit programs. Travelers can complete all border procedures in a self-service setting in just a few seconds.
Skytrax Awards
Taking place in the exhibition hall at 5:30pm on March 15, the Skytrax Awards ceremony is always a headline event at Passenger Terminal Expo. Regarded as the ‘Oscars of the airport industry’, the awards celebrate the best airport operators, terminals, staff, retailers, service providers and more that make the aviation industry so special. Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, comments, “The collaboration with Passenger Terminal Expo enables Skytrax to host the World Airport Awards at a venue that offers very clear synergies between the two events. It provides the platform to publicly honor the winning airports while at the same time delivering an awards ceremony that is not influenced by any third party. This concept is of paramount importance to us.”
The awards are based on customer evaluations of airport service and facility quality standards across more than 500 airports.
Live demonstration – NEC
Booth 2140
NEC will demonstrate how NEC I:Delight, its highly scalable digital identity management platform, delivers mobile-driven and touchless airport experiences using digital ID. The NEC I:Delight digital ID platform enables secure and frictionless traveler verifications that are scalable beyond the airport, including car rentals, hotels and global sporting events.
SITA Smart Path, powered by NEC I:Delight, has deployed its mobile-driven identity management solution in full production environments at major airports including Miami and San Diego, and had more than 3,000 touchpoints in various stages of adoption in Athens, Doha (Hamad), Rome, San Francisco and Taiwan by November 2022.
NEC’s biometric technology also provides Star Alliance passengers with the ability to create a digital ID for touchless processes using facial recognition for check-in, loyalty programs, VIP lounge access and boarding. The NEC I:Delight digital ID platform is interoperable with SITA’s shared airport infrastructure in more than 460 airports to help streamline processing at checkpoints. By 2023, more than 130 gates will use SITA-NEC technology for biometric boarding.
Passenger Terminal World magazine
Booth: 3310
You can’t possibly attend Passenger Terminal Expo without visiting the Passenger Terminal World booth and picking up the latest copy of the world’s leading airport industry magazine! The January issue, which will be available for free throughout the three-day event, is packed full of insightful industry comment, news, features and interviews, including why luxury remains a vital part of the travel retail channel mix; current IT investment trends and how to get the most for your money; expert opinions on how biometric technology will shape the future of airport operations and design; an exclusive interview with Jack Christine at Charlotte Douglas International Airport; and case studies on Zurich Airport’s Dock A and Fukuoka International Airport’s terminal expansion project. Make sure you drop by Booth 3310 during your visit to Passenger Terminal Expo, where you can also book your place at the 2024 show!
Exhibitor spotlight – Beumer
Booth: 1345
Beumer Group will showcase the latest features of its CrisBag with integration to data analytics at Passenger Terminal Expo 2023. The implementation of the world’s first individual carrier system (ICS) for baggage handling has just celebrated its 50th anniversary. Its deployment in big and small airports around the world has always been in response to particular challenges. San Francisco Airport (SFO) in California, for example, was looking for a green option when deciding on an ICS for its new Harvey Milk Terminal. Alongside this, 100% baggage tracking ability was essential. SFO was mindful of passenger satisfaction and wanted a baggage handling system (BHS) that could deliver bags on arrival in the shortest time possible. Low operational costs and a quick return on investment (ROI) factored into the airport’s decision regarding ICS technology, and SFO has reduced system time for arrival bags to as little as four and a half minutes as a result. The ICS, Beumer Group’s renowned CrisBag technology, also received TSA approval for an improved checked baggage reconciliation area (CBRA) operation. With the integration of the CrisBag ICS technology, SFO became the first airport terminal in the world to earn Platinum certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) v4 2014 program.
Product launch – Veovo
Booth: 1205
At Passenger Terminal Expo 2023, Veovo will launch its new-generation Resource Management System (RMS), which uses AI and advanced decision support to optimize gate parking and resource allocation. Inaccurate off-block times and late gate changes cost airlines and airports in both efficiency and on-time performance. Veovo’s RMS allows airports to predict which flights will be late, early enough to recover or re-sequence them, and foresee potential resourcing conflicts early enough to prevent them. Using historical big data, flight and people flows, rules and preferences, the system automatically builds more robust resource plans. Dynamic models and simulations then help planners proactively understand the impact of changing operational conditions to optimize resource reallocations. Veovo will also showcase a new suite of machine learning solutions designed to predict anything, anywhere across the airport, across all time horizons – from forecasting passenger and baggage flows to accurate off-block times.
25th-anniversary party
Taking place in the exhibition hall at the end of Day 1, Passenger Terminal Expo will host a special drinks reception to celebrate the success of the event over the past 25 years. Free refreshments and entertainment will be provided in a relaxed atmosphere, giving you the opportunity to continue networking with friends and colleagues after a successful first day.
Live demonstration – Vision-Box
Booth: 1575
At Passenger Terminal Expo 2023, Vision-Box, will showcase Seamless Assistant, a new state-of-the-art security gateway device to make passenger processing more efficient.
This flexible and fully standalone mobile device is built with a small form factor; it is on wheels and can be used in different scenarios. Thanks to its reduced footprint, battery-powered capability and mobile wi-fi connection, the Seamless Assistant enables biometric identification with liveness detection, and fast deployment in various locations. The Seamless Assistant has been developed to provide an exceptional user experience through its biometric and biographic capture performance, replacing manual and paper-based processes. This new device is intended to take the biometric experience to the next level by optimizing the airport experience, with more passengers being processed in less time.