Introduction
Since the first airplanes were relatively light and developed low speeds, not requiring a long run on takeoff or landing, they could use small flat areas as an airfield. As a consequence, airports for such planes were located in any suitable places convenient for servicing the population. They had no specially equipped runways with artificial pavement. Pilots oriented their planes themselves relative to the wind direction so that with a short takeoff (from 300 to 900 m), they could quickly develop the speed of 150-170 km needed to get off the ground. Airports are vital centers where different services are concentrated. Therefore, they have a system to ensure the safety and security of air passengers. In most airports around the world, these functions are carried out through coordinated activities by various services. This work will concentrate on the lifecycle of airports and their development during the last years, which are significant.
Main Processes at the Airport
The passenger must arrive at the airport in advance, about 2-2.5 hours. Passenger check-in begins in 2 hours and ends 40 minutes before departure. If the person is leaving the Euro Zone and would like to get a tax refund on the Tax-Free purchases, they must arrive at the airport 3-3.5 hours in advance (Why Online Check-in Is Your Best Strategy for Flights, 2019). Filling out documents takes time, and there may be a queue at the tax refund counter. The passengers can check in for their flight using such methods as a check-in counter, a check-in machine, as well as online check-in for the flight (Why Online Check-in Is Your Best Strategy for Flights, 2019). Each of them has its positive and negative sides, as people still use all of the mentioned registration methods, depending on their personal situations.
After check-in, one goes to customs control which purpose is to check things and items (hand luggage, clothes) for permission to take out, according to the legislation of the country where the person is leaving. There are two zones at customs control, namely red and green corridors. The red corridor is designated for passengers who carry large sums of money (over 10 000 US Dollars), antiques, jewelry, weapons, and other items that require approval from the customs service must be declared. The form is issued free of charge by customs officials. The green corridor is used by passengers, where they do not need to report anything. All things and items in their hand luggage that are not prohibited or restricted for exportation.
In addition to scanning the belongings, the passengers are also subject to personal inspection. They must pass through the metal detector, belt, watch, and cell phone must be left on the scanner belt. Sometimes officers may feel and ask to take off the shoes. The entire customs control procedure takes about 10-15 minutes if the belongings do not arouse suspicion. After the customs control area, the person is directed to passport control. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that there are several counters, each of which is allocated for different categories of passengers. There are places for citizens of the European Union and for other passengers who do not belong to this category.
The next step is to show the passport and boarding pass to an authorized officer. He checks the passport for the legality, makes sure the passenger has a visa (if necessary), and stamps the state border. In the boarding pass, the passenger must find information about boarding time (20-30 minutes before departure) and the gate number (Why Online Check-in Is Your Best Strategy for Flights, 2019). If there is enough time, the person can walk around the Duty-Free stores (Why Online Check-in Is Your Best Strategy for Flights, 2019). At the indicated time, the passenger is directed to the gate, and after checking the boarding pass, this person is escorted to the plane (by bus or “by the sleeve”). After landing at the destination airport, all the above-mentioned procedures have to be done in reverse order, namely passport control, customs control, and receiving of luggage. After receiving the luggage on the luggage belt, the passenger goes to the exit of the airport.
Example of Hubs
A transportation hub is a place where a leg of a route begins or ends. A transportation hub can be a transfer point, an airport, a train station, or a master data facility – a shipping point, a factory, a buyer, or a supplier (Liberalisation of Air Transport Corporate Partnership Board CPB, 2019). If a transport node is used as a transshipment or border crossing point, the appropriate indicators must be set. When defining a transport node, a reference to its location must be specified. For example, a shipping point or factory can be specified as a transport node. A transport node can also refer to an address (Liberalisation of Air Transport Corporate Partnership Board CPB, 2019). Reference to location or address is mandatory.
One can specify a customs point code to handle export transactions. If the person wants to define a customs point when processing export transactions automatically, one must enter the address for transport nodes defined as border crossing points. To define transport nodes, it is needed to perform several steps, such as:
- Determine which transport nodes are required for the shipment.
- Enter an alphanumeric code up to 10 characters extended and the name of the transport node.
- Provide a link to the location or enter the address of the transport node.
IATA Prediction
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Monday that a sharp recovery in air travel after the pandemic would allow global airlines to cut losses this year and possibly return to profitability in 2023. The industry organization has improved its forecasts, which are getting a lot of attention. Prime writes about it. Global airlines are now expected to make a loss of $9.7 billion in 2022, much better than the revised 2021 loss of $42.1 billion, IATA specified (Arabnews, 2021). The 2022 forecast is nearly $2 billion, better than the previously predicted loss of $11.6 billion.
Last year’s figure was revised and ended up lower than the previously expected $52 billion loss. Nevertheless, the airlines gathered in Qatar warned of high oil prices and the threat of inflation, which are undermining the fragile recovery. North America remains the region with the best performance and the only one to report earnings at the end of 2022 (Arabnews, 2021). Profits are expected to be $8.8 billion. In Asia, due to the zero-tolerance COVID strategy, Chinese borders remain closed, and the local market remains under pressure. Regional airlines are projected to have a total loss of $8.9 billion (Arabnews, 2021). The improved forecast comes at a time when airports and airlines are rushing to hire thousands of employees to cope with resurgent demand as people seek to make up for vacations lost in the pandemic.
Managing Growth
The introduction of a modern automated control system to the airport engineering complex will allow:
- Qualitatively improve and steadily guarantee conditions of safety and comfort for both passengers and service personnel.
- Practically reduce to zero the risks of technical accidents by continuous automatic analysis of system parameters and early prediction of approaching dangerous situations.
- To be automatically ready round-the-clock to react instantly to any abnormal situations and ensure the previously unattainable response speed.
- Receive in real-time a comprehensive status picture of all airport systems and be able to make decisions about the situation on the basis of complete, reliable, and objective information.
- To possess an archive of information on all events with the ability to document the chain of facts, both technical and situational.
- Significantly (up to 30%) reduce consumed resources (electricity, heat, etc.) by automatically tracking and eliminating the facts of useless consumption and reducing the need for other operating costs.
Experience in the use of integrated control systems shows that the system itself usually pays for itself in 3-4 years, while the service life of engineering equipment is increased by about five years due to the reduction of idle operation, as well as an automatic preventive maintenance plan (The Airport Revenue Growth Challenge – Tapping into Global Best Practice, 2017). Recognized technological advantages and efficiency in the process of our systems have allowed us, in addition to everything else, to provide our customers with exclusive conditions of insurance of facilities – with a reduction of the current rates by 40%-60%.
Conclusion
The development of airports continues to this day. It is evident how much this industry has improved in recent years. It is not only about the aircraft themselves but also about the equipment and personnel, which are improving and evolving. Judging by the latest forecasts, it is noticeable how much more profitable this business is. Despite a slight downturn during the pandemic, one can be sure that the aviation industry has a bright future ahead of it. This is evidenced by current financial reports and feedback from customers who have appreciated the new features and adaptations to the flight management system.
References
Arabnews. (2021). Saudi Arabia’s Almosafer to become largest travel agency in Middle East. Arab News. Web.
Liberalisation of air transport (2019). Oecd Publishing. Web.
The airport revenue growth challenge – Tapping into global best practice (2017). Veovo. Web.
Why Online Check-in Is Your Best Strategy for Flights (2019). SmarterTravel. Web.