Future Airport

Heathrow's terminal 5 has dominated the headlines these last few months. Future Airport speaks to IATA's airline community representative at Heathrow, David Stewart, who divulges his thoughts on T5, and what is needed to make successful forward planning a working reality.

Also in this issue, attention turns to ATC Global 2008 as it stakes its claim as a major industry event. This edition of Future Airport includes a special supplement that covers the highlights, and also features in depth articles which put air traffic control and its dynamic issues firmly on the radar.

The level of investment in airport development in the UAE is breathtaking and in an exclusive interview with Dr Ghanem Al-Hajri, the director general for Sharjah International Airport, and Paul Griffiths, the new CEO of Dubai Airports, we discover where the enlightened approach to airport expansion lies and uncover why the growth of European airports is in danger of becoming stunted.

Virgin Atlantic may have been granted immunity over its part in the fuel surcharge price fixing, but it too will be hit by the liberalisation of trans-Atlantic routes. As part of our Future Routes supplement, Virgin's general manager of aviation planning outlines the airline's post-Open Skies strategy and his desire to see 'a fully liberal transatlantic aviation industry'.

Sitting alongside open skies at the top of the political agenda is security. Our cover story looks at the US Transportation Security Administration's work in developing more sophisticated and sustainable approaches to baggage screening and where the balance between customer service and security lies.

Other highlights include South Africa's efforts to increase passenger capacity in time for the 2012 World Cup, the world's largest single Wi-Fi installation at Las Vegas Airport and the unprecedented success of self-service check-in kiosks at Schiphol Airport.

In this edition of Future Airport, and in support of the ATC Maastricht conference, we focus on the ever-evolving ATM landscape. As the healthy levels of traffic experienced pre-security concerns return, so do the issues of capacity and airspace management.

Eurocontrol explain their vision of a seamless traffic management system, explaining the need for convergence between European and US architecture, with the single sky initiative. We also have an update on the SESAR project as the consortium provide us with details of the 'Air Transport Framework - The performance Target' report.

Elsewhere in this edition: We hear from BAA who outline the success of their IT integration into the new Terminal 5; Matthais Ruete, director general of DG TREN at the European Commission, outlines the need for effective yet unintrusive regulation within the aviation industry; and Nicholas Sabatini, associate administrator for aviation safety, FAA, explores the redesign of US airspace.

In this edition we focus on the area of route planning and what exactly airports can do to attract key airline clients. We hear from Henk Guitjens, chief marketing officer at JFK Terminal 4 who discusses the balance of power between airports and airlines and how this is shifting towards the airlines, he outlines what airports can do to redress the balance.

Giovanni Bisignani, director general of IATA, calls on the European Commission to regulate Europe's airports. We also chart Ryanair's attempts to create a European base in Marseille and how they are meeting with stiff opposition from Air France.

Elsewhere we look at airport development, with ADP's director of planning, Jean-Marie Chevallier detailing the growing pressure on transport systems and infrastructure in Europe. He outlines how ADP are looking toward an integrated transport network in the development of their airports.

In this edition we focus on the drive for efficiency within the industry as called for by IATA. George Paulson, Director of the air traffic management programme at Eurocontrol explains how as an organisation they are looking to meet ambitious targets for delay reduction while Olli Marius Turpeinen of ICAO examines how meteorological data can positively impact of air traffic control safety and efficiency.

Star Alliance look at how the implementation of a common IT platform can dramatically improve the competitiveness of airlines working together, and Giovanni Bisignani of IATA explains how the air transport industry must shake off its outdated thinking if it is to prosper in an increasingly challenging business environment.

In this edition we centre on capacity issues across the aviation industry. Cesare Bernabei of the European Commission explains measures being taken to expand European air capacity safely and in harmony with public opinion and IATA explain the need for efficiency targets when developing templates for expansion.

Fotis Karonis of Athens International traces how they redeveloped and expanded capacity in conjunction with countries hosting of the Olympic games. We also look at the development of new airport infrastructure in China and Asia, and Jean-Louis Blanchou charts security developments within Aéroports de Paris.