TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 191: A Primer to Prepare for the Connected Airport and the Internet of Things introduces the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) within the airport environment to leverage current and emerging technologies. IoT can be used to provide information and services to airport passengers with current and evolving technologies. Airports, airlines, and other stakeholders can use these innovative technologies and data to enhance the user exp...

“Pavement condition data” are essential inputs to the process of managing airport pavements and ensuring safe operations. The technology available today to collect pavement condition data is considerably different from that available even 20 years ago, and new technologies are being developed and introduced into practice at a rapid pace. ACRP Research Report 203: Guidelines for Collecting, Applying, and Maintaining Pavement Condition Data at Airports provides guidance on the collection, use, maintenance,...

As a reliever airport for the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport must keep track of information for nearly 300,000 aircraft operations and 1.4 million passengers a year. To meet this challenge, the airport developed an innovative, digitally connected solution with the help of ACRP Research Report 182: Guidancefor Planning, Design, and Operationsof Airport Communications Centers . The TRB Airport Cooperartive Research Program's ACRP Impacts on Practice 182: Redesigning ...

The unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry is on the cutting edge of aviation innovation. Airports, including tenants and contractors, are discovering the benefits of UAS to their operations and bottom line. Yet, with the diversity of UAS applications at airports, there has been a lack of relevant industry data on this topic to inform the airport industry on current practices. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Synthesis 104: Current Landscape of Unmanned Aircraft Systems at Airports s...

As demand for air travel grows, airport-related emissions are increasing and airports are challenged to reduce associated environmental impacts. In response, expanded regulatory programs and global climate protection initiatives are being developed that require the aviation industry—including U.S. airports—to implement new, clean technologies and to modify operational practices to reduce emissions. One effective option for reducing the emissions associated with aircraft auxiliary power units (APUs) and d...

Airports worldwide are setting aggressive zero- or low-emissions targets. To meet these targets, airports are deploying new strategies, adopting innovative financing mechanisms, and harnessing the collective influence of voluntary emissions and reporting programs. In tandem, new and affordable zero- or low-emissions technologies are rapidly becoming available at airports. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's pre-publicaton draft of ACRP Research Report 220: Guidebook for Developing a Zero- or L...

Airports must maintain a safe and efficient facility while considering environmental impacts. Though traditional environmental challenges such as noise and water quality remain, several new themes are emerging, including energy management, sustainability, resiliency, and wildlife management. Airports will need guidelines and practices to help them address these pressing issues, and the first step in the process is to identify knowledge gaps and research needs. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program...

Most general aviation (GA) airports are minimally staffed and rarely employ environmental specialists, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) can be overwhelming to work through for those not familiar with the requirements. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 211: Guidance for Using the Interactive Tool for Understanding NEPA at General Aviation Airports , and the accompanying interactive tool that was developed, will help airport staff from GA airports understan...

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) latest Impacts on Practice explores the impact ACRP Research Report 58 : Airport Industry Familiarization and Training for Part-Time Airport Policy Makers has helped airport policy leaders, stakeholders, and policy-related decision makers understand airport administrative and operational requirements in order to assist them in making more informed policy decisions. According to an Airport Authority Board Member and Chair of the Air Service Development Com...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 16: Guidebook for Managing Small Airports. Second Edition is designed to help airport practitioners, owners, operators, managers, and policymakers of small airports, who may have varying degrees of experience and backgrounds, to fulfill their responsibilities in such areas as financial management, oversight of contracts and leases, safety and security, noise impacts, community relations, compliance with federal and state obligations, facil...

The introduction of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) has presented a wide range of new safety, economic, operational, regulatory, community, environmental, and infrastructure challenges to airports and the National Airspace System. These risks are further complicated by the dynamic and shifting nature of UAS technologies. The pre-publication draft of ACRP Research Report 212: Airports and Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Volume 1: Managing and Engaging Stakeholders on UAS in the Vicinity of Airports provides gu...

The TRB' Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP LRD 37: Legal Issues Relating to Airports Promoting Competition explores permissible means and methods of encouraging and accommodating competition at U.S. airports. It discusses the history of how competition has been addressed by government and airports and provides the context of the concentration of air carriers and fixed-base operators (FBOs), the accommodation of air carriers with differing business models, and avoiding the grant of exclusive rig...

Large-scale, complex airport construction projects have the same issues as construction projects on a smaller scale, but they present a series of specialized legal issues. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Legal Research Digest 38: Legal Issues Related to Large-Scale Airport Construction Projects focuses on those legal issues causing the most significant risks during planning, design, permitting, procurement, and construction.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 199: Climate Resilience and Benefit–Cost Analysis: A Handbook for Airports provides information on how to apply benefit–cost analysis tools and techniques to improve decision making affecting resilience of airport infrastructure projects in response to potential long-term impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. The handbook is designed to improve the process by which infrastructure investment strategies are evaluated, with an...

Although general aviation airports have historically been funded by federal, state, and local entities, the private sector is increasingly playing a larger role. This involvement has ranged on a continuum from service and management contracts to singular projects at airports that involve leasing mechanisms to long-term leases and the whole-scale private development of general aviation airports. In an era of declining resources and increasingly scrutinized public expenditures, private-sector involvement i...

Many airports undertake stormwater projects to accommodate facility expansion, address obsolescence, and respond to evolving regulatory requirements. Often, stormwater infrastructure is installed or upgraded on a project-by-project and piecemeal basis, resulting in mismatches of sizes, material types, ages, and conditions. When airports are considering expanding or improving their stormwater facilities, the immediate need for stormwater infrastructure modification may not be clear, and a benefit–cost ana...

Staff from smaller airports typically lack specialized expertise in the negotiation and development of airport property or the resources to hire consultants. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 213: Estimating Market Value and Establishing Market Rent at Small Airports provides airport management, policymakers, and staff a resource for developing and leasing airport land and improvements, methodologies for determining market value and appropriate rents, and best practices ...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis 21: Airport Energy Efficiency and Cost Reduction explores energy efficiency improvements being implemented at airports across the country that are low cost and short payback.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis 27: Airport Self-Inspection Practices provides insight into common airport self-inspection practices. For the purposes of ACRP Synthesis 27, a comprehensive self-inspection program includes the components of training; inspecting; reporting discrepancies and findings; follow-up, resolution, and close-out; and quality control. The report may be useful to airports in benchmarking their self-inspection programs to peer airports and practices conside...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis 34: Subsurface Utility Engineering Information for Airports examines ways in which information on subsurface utilities is collected, maintained, and used by airports, their consultants, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to help increase the effectiveness of, and enhance safety during, infrastructure development programs at airports. The report also compares the current state of technology and effective processes from other industry se...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 80: Guidebook for Incorporating Sustainability into Traditional Airport Projects describes sustainability and its potential benefits, and identifies different applications of sustainable initiatives in traditional airport construction and everyday maintenance projects. The printed version of the report includes a CD-ROM that includes an airport sustainability assessment tool (ASAT) that complements the guidebook and may be used to assist in identif...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis 47: Repairing and Maintaining Airport Parking Structures While in Use provides information on developing and implementing successful maintenance and repair strategies for in-use airport parking structures that involve the least impact on the airport patrons, revenue stream, and facility operations.

Airports continually balance demands to improve infrastructure within the realities of available budgets. Green revolving funds (GRFs) offer an alternative approach for investing in projects that generate operational savings. These funds work by tracking verified cost reductions from implemented actions, and then transferring those savings to a reserve that provides capital for future qualified projects such as energy system upgrades. A number of universities have managed GRFs for over a decade. Municipa...

The September 2015 issue of TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Impacts on Practice explores how Philadelphia International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and Changi Airport in Singapore applied guidance from ACRP Report 52 : Wayfinding and Signing Guidelines for Airport Terminals and Landside to help passengers find their way in and around an airport.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 163: Guidebook for Preparing and Using Airport Design Day Flight Schedules explores the preparation and use of airport design day flight schedules (DDFS) for operations, planning, and development. The guidebook is geared towards airport leaders to help provide an understanding of DDFS and their uses, and provides detailed information for airport staff and consultants on how to prepare one.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 200: Using GIS for Collaborative Land Use Compatibility Planning Near Airports offers guidance for using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a collaboration tool to encourage compatible land use around airports. The report is designed to help airport and community planners seeking to work together to protect existing and future airport development as well as maintain safety and improve quality of life for those living and working near ...

Global business and tourism depend heavily on the efficient operation of airports and movement of passengers, baggage, and cargo across many areas. With increasing demand and connectivity requirements for airports comes the need for more sophisticated simulation and modeling tools to validate design assumptions. Furthermore, airport design and planning decisions have significant impacts on policy and major capital improvement decisions, which can be supported by simulation and modeling tools at many leve...

Introduction of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will pose safety, economic, operational, regulatory, community, environmental, and infrastructure challenges to airports. These risks are further complicated by the dynamic nature of UAS technological development. Experiences and lessons learned from recent major aviation system changes demonstrate the critical importance of ensuring that airports have the resources needed to avoid adverse impacts and maximize benefits as early as possible. This pre-publica...

Airports in the United States are responding to the demand for increased air travel with sustainable development that incorporates more energy-efficient and lower-emission technologies. Funding for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions-reducing technologies, such as electrification, alternative fuels, and renewable energy, has also become more accessible as technologies are proven to be safe, reliable, and cost-effective. Newer strategies and programs to reduce GHG emissions reach beyond airport operations to i...

As an East Coast tech hub, Raleigh, North Carolina, is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States. Leaders there used the knowledge gained from two reports by TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program to develop a draft Balanced Scorecard, which was then refined, approved, and implemented. Impacts on Practice: Measuring Success at Raleigh–Durham International Airport summarizes how RDU now better connects its strategic goals to its practices, tracks the right metrics, and develop...

Airports — especially in the past two decades—have generally sought to promote and increase collaboration among the members of the airport community, particularly between an airport and its airlines. One metric of this trend has been the increase in the number of U.S. airports with full-time emergency managers, from fewer than 10 in 2007 to more than 120 today. Collaboration and increased professionalism in airport emergency management have gone hand in hand. No matter whether the incident is aircraft-re...

Incompatible land uses can threaten the safe utility of airports and expose people living and working nearby to potentially unacceptable levels of noise or safety risk. At the state level, all 50 states have enacted some form of airport zoning legislation since the 1950s. The majority of states (90 percent) have enacted laws mandating or enabling local governments to adopt, administer, and enforce airport zoning regulations. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 206: Guidebo...

Access to relevant, precise, and timely information is crucial for a pleasant experience in air travel. Travelers with cognitive and sensory disabilities, aging travelers, and travelers with limited English proficiency need alternative approaches to those provided for general travelers for accessing and communicating air travel information. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Synthesis 101: Communication Strategies for Airport Passenger Access and Mobility details how airports and airline...

The needs of airports may vary depending on the types of operations typically conducted at the airport, as well as the type of weather common to the airport. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Syntheis 105: Airport Surface Weather Observation Options for General Aviation Airports aims to provide the operators of general aviation (GA) airports a comprehensive source of information about airport-based weather observation options so they may make informed decisions to support the specific o...

The risk of disease transmission at airports and on aircraft is similar to the risks associated with other densely populated places. There are also unique factors related to the interaction of individuals from geographically diverse regions with differing immunity and endemic diseases. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Report 91: Infectious Disease Mitigation in Airports and on Aircraft offers guidance for mitigating the risk of disease spread via droplet, airborne, and contact at airpo...

A review by SomeRandomHEFan (46). An excellent showcase of Humongous Entertainment's sense of humour. And I guess there's an acceptable edutainment game in there somewhere, too.

Trade groups expect the British government to roll out new coronavirus travel restrictions on Sunday, including a quarantine for out-of-country arrivals. And they're already pushing back publicly.

Exclusive: analysis of Eurocontrol flight data shows the small Leicestershire airport ahead of Madrid, Rome and Munich

'There is a possibility that we will look to close our full LGW operation,' BA tells Unite union

Plane Talk: People in this country have plainly had enough of experts

Passenger aviation and social distancing are fundamentally incompatible

'For tourists coming to Cornwall from Germany, Scandinavia and elsewhere, that's the end,' says Tim Jeans, chairman of Newquay airport

Delta said it is making the move to protect employees amid the coronavirus pandemic, but planes have been flying near empty

The world is nearing 4 million cases of the coronavirus. More COVID-19 news Saturday.

Airport temperature screenings mark latest discord between Trump administration and CDC over federal coronavirus response and science of public health

How do you help millions of passengers navigate one of the world's largest airports? In Turkey, the answer is a fleet of humanoid robots.

In March, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) became the first in the world to be certified as an International Air Transport Association (IATA) Center of Excellence for Perishable Logistics (CEIV Fresh) Partner Airport.

Two of the airport’s cargo terminal operators, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL) and Cathay Pacific Services Limited (CPSL) have achieved IATA CEIV Fresh Certification, while Cathay Pacific recently became the world’s first airline to be certified.

IATA created the Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) to help organisations involved in the air cargo supply chain achieve handling excellence.

The certification underscores the speed, consistency and efficiency of all HKIA stakeholders when it comes to the treatment and transportation of perishable products.

It also helps to ensure food safety, and reduce food wastage and loss along the supply chain.

Quality benchmark

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited Chief Executive Wilson Kwong said the main value of the accreditation is that it provides a universally recognised standard.

“It gives assurance to the various stakeholders that we have, and we are adhering to the highest possible standards.”

Both accredited cargo terminal operators HACTL and CPSL have set up perishable cargo handling areas with truck docks next to the apron.

As soon as the perishable goods are unloaded from the aircraft, they are immediately transported to the handling area.

The clearance and sampling checks have been streamlined to minimise the time taken to unload the goods. There are cold rooms set at tailored temperatures for various kinds of perishable cargo.

Their staff training and handling process have also been assessed and certified for their compliance with the global industry standards.

Cathay Pacific Services Limited Chief Executive Officer Jenny Lam noted that one of the challenges in meeting the certification standard is training its 2,000 employees in handling and storing perishable goods.

“They first have to identify what types of perishables they are, such as are they flowers, are they fruits, are they meat, so that they know how to segregate the storage.

“Secondly, they gain knowledge about certain fruits that cannot be put close to each other such as bananas and apples.”

Growth opportunities

In 2018, the airport handled about 380,000 tonnes of perishable cargo - a rise of 12% on 2017, with perishables accounting for about 8% of total air cargo volume.

Airport Authority Commercial Executive Director Cissy Chan explained that temperature-controlled air freight is one of the fastest growing segments in the air cargo market.

She believes with the new certification, the airport is well-placed to capture the increasing growth opportunities in the market for fresh and perishable goods.

“With the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the transport time between the airport and the Greater Bay Area, notably the western part of the Pearl River Delta, will be further cut down.

“So this will put us in an even better position to become the transhipment hub for these perishables for the entire bay area.”

Extra backing

To support the growing demand for perishables, the Airport Authority has provided additional cool dollies, so there are now more than 30 for use by the whole airport community. It is also building apron shelters to protect the perishables from ambient weather elements.

Cathay Pacific Cargo Service Delivery General Manager Frosti Lau said they would work closely with the authority and its cargo terminal to see what new investments are required to handle the increasing demand.

The Airport Authority expanded the scope of its food waste recycling programme in 2011 to cover Hong Kong International Airport business partners, including restaurants and lounges operating in terminal buildings, as well as airline catering companies, hotels and cargo terminals.

In 2017-18, over 2,000 tonnes of food waste from 17 airport business partners were collected for recycling.

Rainie Ho, the supervisor of one participating restaurant, said staff make every effort to collect food waste on a constant basis.

“We have three bins of recycled food waste, including eggs, toast, bread, chicken, meat, pork bones, tea and coffee every day.”

Ms Ho gave kudos to the Airport Authority for making the process simple.

“The Airport Authority provides us with garbage bags every month. We explain to our staff that the red bags are for food waste, while the black ones are for general rubbish. This makes it easier for them to remember and handle.”

Airport Authority Assistant General Manager (Sustainability) Mike Kilburn is the facilitator of the food waste recycling programme. He hoped to encourage more business partners to join by making the scheme as trouble-free as possible.

“This is an example of an easy, useful and free programme because the contractor comes to collect from each company and the contractor provides a clean rubbish bin for the food waste, they take the food waste away, they wash the bin and then they bring it back clean.

“And it is useful because the food waste is not just sent to the landfill, but it is turned into fish meal so it goes back into the food chain because the fish meal is fed to the fish and the people can eat the fish, so it is a very complete system.”

Surplus food collection

In addition to food waste recycling, the authority promotes the Food Rescue Programme in co-operation with a local non-governmental organisation called Food Angel.

In 2013, the authority helped Food Angel to purchase a refrigerated truck and covered the cost of collecting surplus food from business partners on the airport island.

By 2014, a central storage room was set up in the terminal building to collect even more surplus food from catering outlets.

By proving it can reduce its environmental impact by working closely with the entire airport community, the authority was recognised at the 2018 Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence where it won the Gold Award for the Public & Community Services Sector.

Future prep

In 2018, the authority launched a voluntary municipal solid waste charging pilot scheme to achieve waste reduction.

It has assisted more than 200 tenants with measuring their waste generation and calculating what it would cost to dump it in the future.

Another participating restaurant manager Alfred Lau explained that the pilot scheme helps restaurants gear up for the polluter-pays principle.

“A mock monthly invoice was issued to us, showing the quantity of waste disposed and the estimated disposal charge. Now we understand that by reducing our waste, we will pay less in the end.”

Mr Lau believes the pilot scheme encourages eateries to alter their disposal behaviour by recycling as much food waste as possible.

“Our disposed waste amount fell sharply once we learnt useful ways to recycle. Our restaurant is located in the restricted area of the airport where drinks are not allowed to be brought inside. So many passengers buy bottled drinks and create a large amount of plastic waste. Just by recycling plastic bottles, our waste decreased significantly.”

The authority said it is proud to be the driving force behind waste reduction.

“We make it easy for them because we do all the organisation, we make it useful because they can help them to prepare, and it is free for them to join the programme. This is very important for us because as the Airport Authority, our job is to create a concept that other people can follow and if you address those three criteria, you make it very hard for them to say no to you. We take away their reasons to say no, so it is easy for them to join our scheme,” said Mr Kilburn.

The Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence is led by the Environmental Campaign Committee alongside the Environmental Protection Department and in conjunction with nine organisations. The objective is to reduce Hong Kong’s environmental impact by promoting environmental management.

The Airport Authority’s current target is to reduce, recycle and recover 50% of all its waste by 2021.

Here’s my Q&A column from the WSJ this week — and if you have any questions for me, you can tweet them to @danariely with the hashtag #askariely, post a comment on my Ask Ariely Facebook page, or email them to AskAriely@wsj.com. ___________________________________________________ Hi Dan, I have a hard time watching...