Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) leadership acknowledges the need for changes in the airport's interaction with its community. To become more environmentally and community-friendly, they presented an eight-point plan. The plan includes prohibiting private jet flights to and from Schiphol and banning the noisiest aircraft from operating at the airport.
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Schiphol is also exploring the use of technology to reduce the airport's impact on local communities. Lennert l'Amie, Schiphol's CIO, believes in the potential of technology to help airports and other stakeholders become more sustainable. He thinks that sustainability should be a crucial part of every product developed and advocates for CIOs and CTOs to play a significant role in achieving it.
While he acknowledges that the industry will undergo fundamental changes in the future, such as electrification or the use of hydrogen to power aircraft, airports can already optimize their operations with sustainability in mind. For instance, optimizing gate planning and tug operations with sustainability and emission reduction parameters. However, l'Amie said that a mindset change is necessary, moving from day-to-day survival to thinking about the long-term future. Schiphol is working with startups to co-develop products, but it requires clear goals and objectives. Furthermore, there is always a risk of startup downfall.
Building a quieter, cleaner, and better airport is not always easy, and it requires the collaboration of airlines, air traffic control, authorities, and other stakeholders. But the pressure to reduce emissions is also an intrinsic motivation for Schiphol to make the airport more environmentally friendly. Schiphol's innovations are not limited to sustainability initiatives; they also seek to improve passenger experience. Investment in physical infrastructure is costly and time-consuming, so technology can be leveraged to optimize security capacity, for example. The development of a solution for passengers to book time slots at security gates optimized security capacity while enhancing passengers' happiness. The integration of the solution into the airport's planning and validation process was challenging, but it reduced peak queues by 6%, which was significant for a capacity-stretched airport. Schiphol is extending its service platform to people with reduced mobility to optimize their flow and experience. The company plans to implement further technological developments, taking advantage of the technology cycle that takes place every five to seven years. According to l'Amie, using technology at airports is tangible and can enhance passengers' experience.
