Digital transformation in Airport is an evolving process.

S. Suhas IAS, Managing Director

Cochin International Airport

How optimistic are you about the government initiatives and policies in the airport sector, especially development of airports under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model?

Being the pioneer of the idea of building airport infrastructure under PPP model, CIAL has always been championing the case. We proved that bringing the future beneficiaries of the airport project, viz; Non resident Indians, airlines, common public, high net worth business people, banks, fuelling agencies into a common platform wherein the Government machinery could act as a facilitator is possible in airport infrastructure development.  With the relentless support from the Government such an initiative could build a world class airport at Kochi which also triggered many huge development projects in both aviation and non aviation sectors. On this outset, I am looking forward about any initiative that can be termed as inclusive.

The government intends to make India a global hub for Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services. Also, the convergence between the Defence sector and the civil MROs will be established to bring down the maintenance cost of airlines. What is your take on this?

Indian carriers are spending huge sums, close to $ 1.25 billion, on MRO services abroad. MoCA has put special emphasis on making India the Global MRO Hub and in line with this philosophy, Government has already taken steps to rationalize the tax regime on MRO services to ensure a level playing field for Indian MROs to compete at the international level.  Given our pool of trained human capital in the MRO sector in the country, I am sure we will be able to compete with the best and deliver high quality service to the airlines around the globe. It is only a matter of time.

There is a need to complete the ongoing projects under the UDAN initiative in a time-bound manner. In addition, the existing capacity of international airports needs to be augmented under the International UDAN initiative. What measures do you think can help the government reach this target?

We have learnt a few important lessons from the first few rounds of bidding in UDAN and its time to change the wheels on track to deliver better on its ambitious targets. The challenge is not demand but the operational and financial sustainability of the program. In a market skewed towards legacy carriers in its present construct, their ability to deal with the supply and operational requirements of an expanding network with smaller airports, shorter runways and lower load factors using their current fleet is becoming increasingly difficult and throwing many spanners in the works.

Therefore, solution lies in revamping the scheme to allow newer operators and carriers to come into the system and provide the fleet and flexibility required to deepen air travel markets by providing lost cost capital to support new ventures, creating strong leasing markets, incentivizing non scheduled operators through code shares and opening up the Industry for air transport aggregators that can significantly multiply the number of frequency of uses, much like the ride - hailing market in the urban transport ecosystem, which has transformed intra city travel globally.

How do you see the adaptation of smart technologies for digital transformation of airports for the future like Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), tracking system, automation, big data and advanced analytics?

Digital transformation in Airport is an evolving process. AI is used for Facial recognition to identify passengers at automated gates and various checkpoints. AI is also used extensively in CCTV footages for face recognition, person tracking, threat identification, vehicle tracking, number plate recognition etc. Another area is the adoption of Digital way finding technology which can guide the passenger throughout his or her transit via a smartphone. IoT can be used for assisting passengers with indoor navigation using Wi-Fi beacon-lined maps. IoT technology will also help to track the vehicle locations in airport areas (such as tarmac transfer buses) and tracking of location of various service equipment. Sensors will transmit data such as equipment breakdowns to alert operations to respond to those issues in future.

This can improve the airport experience for passengers and airport and airline staff. Smartphone apps can be developed to push real-time flight information to passengers to help them anticipate changes to their journey. we are now able to validate and accurately track the baggage through the screening area and then start identifying if it is being sent to Level 2 screening or Level 3 screening and finally to the makeup areas. We can start capturing, storing, analysing these data points to better predict and manage the operation. AI is also used in threat identification in X-BIS images

What are the significant concerns / challenges / potential in the airport sector in terms of competitiveness, rising fuel factor, overcapacity, labour unrest, emergence of low-cost carriers etc.?

The biggest concern of aviation is now on the reopening of India's skies, albeit in a
phased manner, is imperative and all stakeholders are eager to hear on that front. This will only kick start the aviation business. We can now establish standard health and safety entry protocols across states which will ensure the complexity and uncertainties around travel are put to rest and that we focus on rebuilding consumer confidence in travel. This will also address the recent spurt in the job loss in the sector and bring back full potential of employment in aviation. The crowd management in the aviation sector needs to be fixed with technology. Once these done, we can certainly thrust on capacity additions in terms of new airports and fleet size for long term planning.

The support of the Government is significant here. We have been enjoying a persistent support from our Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, who holds the post of Chairman of CIAL and the Board of Directors. With this support, we became a front runner in south Indian airports in installing facilities like Rapid PCR testing immediately after  Dubai Airport Authority had issued a notification.

Also as a country we need to give emphasis on opening doors for diversified type of flying machines including small and smaller aircraft such as air taxi, sea planes. Similarly, we can connect unexplored and hilly terrain destinations that can be served through diversified flying machines such as helicopters. These aspects will gradually unlock our tourism potentials and resultant growth in the sector. With the travel demand rising in the tier 2 and 3 cities, it becomes crucial that environment for Low cost carriers and regional carriers are going to be improved.

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