Samsung C&T secures $1.56bn of expansion work at Taiwan Taoyuan Airport

US FAA allocates $627.7m for airport improvement works

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has allocated more than $627.7m in grants for airport improvement works. It will be used to fund infrastructure and safety projects in 390 airports located in 39 US states, as well as Puerto Rico and the Federated States of Micronesia.

The funding will be allocated through the FY2021 Airport Improvement Program.

Funded projects include the construction of a replacement airport in Newtok, Alaska, the reconstruction of runway 08/26 at Rafael Hernandez Airport in Puerto Rico, reconfiguring the existing runway of Willow Run Airport in Michigan, and construction of an apron at Salt Lake City International Airport.

SITA launches AI-based solution for lost items

Technology provider SITA has introduced the artificial intelligence-based (AI) solution WorldTracer Lost and Found Property for managing lost items on the aircraft or in airports.

The cost for handling and returning a lost item, comprising registration, handling inquiries and customer calls, storage and postage, can go up to $95.

WorldTracer Lost and Found Property is the latest option to SITA’s WorldTracer solution used in 2,200 airports, which promises to reduce the expense of returning lost items by 90%.

The WorldTracer service is a  contactless method enabling passengers to report delayed baggage from a mobile device.

Swedavia implements fossil-free airport operations

Swedavia AB, the owner and operator of ten Swedish airports, has announced that its airport operations across Sweden have become fossil-free.

It will now provide support to other corporations and organisations at its airports for transforming operations.

According to the company’s annual and sustainability report 2020, Swedavia has become one of the first airport operators globally to implement fossil-free operations.

About ten years ago, the company’s combined airport operations produced about 8,000t of fossil carbon dioxide annually. Over the last few years, the company has taken several measures to cut down its carbon footprint in a systematic way.

Swedavia became climate-neutral in 2006 and in 2011 it decided to cut down its fossil emissions to zero by the end of 2020. In January 2017, Ronneby Airportbecame the first to achieve this goal, followed by Visby Airport and Luleå Airport in 2018.

Lithuanian Airports deploys new management and display systems

Lithuanian Airports has installed new airport management and information display systems at its three airports, Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga to upgrade airport operations management and enhance efficiency.

The new airport management system has been developed and deployed by SITA.

The three airports were earlier using separate operations management systems. The new system receives flight updates from standard aviation feeds and processes them automatically, resulting in increased operational efficiency.

This system will help the airport operators to make decisions on time and allot airport resources like check-in desks, boarding gates and baggage claim belts without human intervention.

London Southend Airport to compensate neighbouring property holders

London Southend Airport has received an order from the Upper Tribunal’s Lands Chamber to reimburse the owners of neighbouring houses over the noise caused by a runway extension.

The BBC reported that this comes after several property holders near the airport claimed that the value of their properties was reduced after the extension began operating in 2012.

The airport denied these claims but nine of them were upheld by the Upper Tribunal’s Lands Chamber, which instructed the airport to pay out £86,500 in compensation.

After 190 homeowners near the airport submitted their claims under the Land Compensation Act 1973, ten exemplar cases were considered by the court.