AFA Keynote airport CEO panel: The evolution of airports in a post-pandemic era

At Aviation Festival Asia, the airport CEO panel comprised of Hari Marar, Managing Director & CEO at Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), Ayman Aboabah CEO King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA), and Sumesh Patel President, Asia Pacific SITA, gathered to discuss the evolution of airports in a post-pandemic era.

The discussion broadly looked at business models, digitalisation, the future of the airport experience, intermodal travel, and sustainability. When dissecting these topics, panellists considered the impact of the pandemic, with Ayman highlighting that "hard times teach you how to deal with good times," reframing the period as accelerating the digital learning curve.

All dialogue was underpinned by the industry's digital transformation, forming the foundation of topics from catering to different generations to integrating future modes of transport into an airport hub.

Highlights of the panel include an insightful conversation around where the industry is at with digital border crossings and reducing reliance on paper documents. Here, Sumesh's insight complemented the panel discussion with an analysis of the challenges of implementing global standards.

Additionally, the conversation around intermodal travel sparked interesting discussion surrounding the future of travel. Hari highlighted that friction occurs when shifting from one mode of travel to another, explaining the role the airport can play in easing this by establishing the airport as a hub of transport, open to integrating future modes of transport as they come up.