Advanced Airport Technologies and Markets

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a new report entitled “The Global Market for Advanced Airport Technologies“. The global market for advanced airport technologies to have been just over $9 billion in 2012. The market should exceed $9.2 billion in 2013 and $11.1 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% over the next five years.  This report covers the worldwide market for electronic, and electro-optical, and other modern technologies used in airports such as: Air/ground traffic management and control systems, Landing aids, guidance, and lighting, Airport communications, and more.

Airports are the backbone of the worldwide commercial air transportation system. The rapid growth of this sector creates a continuing need to expand airports and provide high-quality services. At the same time, technological, regulatory, security, and economic trends are placing new demands on airports.

A major example of technological developments that are forcing airports to introduce new technologies is the introduction of new super-jumbo aircraft such as the Airbus 380. The A380, which can carry up to 850 passengers in some configurations, requires many airports to upgrade their baggage-handling systems and other ground infrastructure.

Regulatory developments often are tied to technological developments. For example, regulatory authorities, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), are working toward the implementation of Global Positioning System (GPS)-based approach and landing control systems such as LAAS (Local Area Augmentation System). In the future, at least some airports may be required to install LAAS or similar systems.

Airport security has been a major concern for decades due to the vulnerability of commercial aircraft to hijacking. The first recorded aircraft hijacking was in the early 1930s, but there was a large increase in the number of hijacked aircraft in the late 1960s, initially to Cuba but later to the Middle East. Since then, the number of hijackings has decreased, but the horrific events of September 11, 2001, placed airport security in the limelight again.

The result has been a worldwide effort to develop and deploy technologies to prevent terrorists from gaining access to aircraft. The effort to secure the world’s civilian air fleet has become a race, with terrorists finding new ways to circumvent the security measures that have been put in place, as in the case of the “underpants bomber” who nearly succeeded in bombing Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day 2009.

On the economic front, the privatization of many formerly government-run airports around the world has created a growing class of airport operators with the financial means and the incentives to invest in modernizing their facilities and infrastructure. The modernization of facilities and systems can help these private airport operators improve their bottom line by cutting costs and increasing traffic and revenues.

The net result of these trends is that over the next 20 years, airport operators are expected to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on new airport construction, expansion, and modernization.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site.  View the report: “The Global Market for Advanced Airport Technologies“.

Advanced Airport Technologies and Markets