What smart airports of the future will be like: air taxis, 5G, sensor corridors for fuss-free security and much more

We are headed for an era where e-gates and facial recognition will evolve into biometrics and AI to allow infrastructure to ‘think’ for itself

Automated checkpoints and sensor corridors will make going through security fuss-free, while there may even be air taxis to take us to and from the airport

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An attendant doing a facial recognition test using biometric technology at Istanbul Airport, which is also one of only a few airports currently to have its own 5G indoor network. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Published: 8:00pm, 22 Jan 2020Updated: 9:37am, 23 Jan 2020

Despite “flygskam” – flight shame – and climate crisis concerns, air travel is only set to grow, with a predicted doubling of the worldwide number of passengers flying by 2040.

China is anticipated to become the world’s largest aviation market within the next 10 years. “By 2030, China will be the biggest passenger market in the world, and its domestic travel will represent the largest traffic flow,” says Benoit Verbaere, business development director at SITA, a provider of IT and telecoms services for the air transport industry.

To meet this growing demand, China has plans for major airport expansion. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has set a goal of having 450 commercial airports by 2035, almost double the number at the end of 2018.

However, airport expansion alone may not be enough.

Air taxis to help passengers get to and from airports more quickly could emerge by 2030. Photo: SITA

Technology-inspired efficiency will also play a large role. SITA predicts that we are headed for an era where e-gates and facial recognition will evolve into “smart” airports that use biometrics and artificial intelligence to allow the infrastructure to “think” for itself. There may even be “flying taxis” to take us to and from airports.