Writes Lynne Harrison, Group CFO
If you have read my articles during the past couple of years you may have noticed that those of us based in the US haven’t really stopped traveling – but we have had to restrict ourselves to domestic trips (I know, it’s a big country – still plenty of scope!) With international travel restrictions easing, however, towards the end of March I was able to visit YYJ (Victoria International Airport in British Columbia, Canada) for the first time since we started doing work there in January 2020. It was great to finally meet the members of that team – and to see another of our airports. YYJ is a unique environment for us as it is our only airport with onsite support located on a relatively small island (a mere 11 minutes flying time from Vancouver!).
With in-person events gradually returning, ACI-NA continued with their recent tendency to hold conferences in difficult to get to locations – at least from Northern Virginia, which is especially strange as most of the ACI-NA team live near DC – the CEO Forum, in February, was in beautiful Palm Springs (PSP), California (aka a desert in the middle of nowhere) while Airports@Work was in Kansas City (MCI), Missouri. Thankfully the annual conference and exhibition will be in easily accessible – and rather familiar – Minneapolis (MSP)!
PSP is one of the more unusual airports I’ve visited – these pictures are airside! It is quite disorientating to deplane – go outdoors – then go into the terminal and exit security. As stated, it’s in the desert – they don’t expect much rain!
The current MCI is also an unusual airport – although I have been there before – three separate terminals in the shape of ‘horseshoes’ – and a connecting bus between them.
Designed in the days before TSA security and totally inappropriate for the challenges of today – happily, they are in the process of building a new (normal shaped) terminal, which is due to open in March 2023.
What was clear at the CEO Forum is that the Airport CEOs are still largely pre-occupied with the basics, such as getting the concessions back and keeping their airports clean, but we are also experiencing more interest from their IT people as they move from thinking about what they might be able to do to actually planning to do something. It is also the start of ‘budget season’ so many CIOs want outline pricing to include in their 2023 budgets. As we’ve all seen, the airports are under pressure and technology is seen as an essential part of resolving the issues.
Looking forwards, briefly, to the ACI-NA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Minneapolis in September, this will be a chance to showcase our updated booth – we’ve used the same graphics since 2016 so it was time for a refresh – and, of course, we need a rubber duck!
Paying homage to the fact that Mall of America is celebrating its 30th birthday this year will, hopefully, make this guy a suitable choice!
Overall, as we start our new financial year – and the second half of 2022 calendar year – I’m feeling optimistic about the coming year and look forward to having plenty of good news to share with you all.
