Technology has quickly infiltrated few everyday activities as much as travel. A stroll through an airport now involves electronic check-in, baggage tracking, terminal wi-fi, airline app delay notifications, digital boarding passes and more. Smart security features are being developed and implemented at airports worldwide, only the beginning of smart city implementations in the aviation sector. Terminal operations — temperature controls, lighting, maintenance — increasingly are controlled by smart building systems.
These things that are already happening in aviation environments. But what’s next? Smart city infrastructure must evolve to accommodate more than the airport. Airbus and its partners are leading the way in modular smart city transport concepts, preparing for flying cars — drone-like pods that could be the next step in smart city transport. Many questions will need to be answered, determining how to maintain safety, security, maintenance and operations of these bold new systems.
Smart cities need visionary partners to see where airports, city infrastructure and consumer demand will lead. Because we design, build and update every facet of today’s airports, we can help envision the connections that will create the next generation of travel experiences.
