Angkasa Pura

From the G20 Event in Bali, Global Aviation Industry Players Welcome Aviation Awakening

AP II at the G20 Forum was asked to lay out a strategy for the aviation industry to bounce back from pandemic pressures and be ready to face similar crises in the future

Jakarta - PT Angkasa Pura II, the operator of 20 airports in Indonesia including Soekarno-Hatta Airport which is ASEAN's busiest airport, at the G20 Forum Aviation Dialogue which took place in Bali, 19 October 2022, was asked to explain strategies in bringing the aviation industry back to life and ready to face a crisis. similar in the future.

The G20 Forum Aviation Dialogue itself is a side event of the Indonesian Presidency at the G20 Summit which discusses efforts to recover the aviation industry after the COVID-19 pandemic, by inviting industry players including ICAO President Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano was also attended by IATA, Airbus, The Boeing Company, Airport Council International (ACI), Aergo Capital and various international companies, as well as transportation ministers from various ASEAN countries and G20 members.

AP II President Director Muhammad Awaluddin was given the opportunity to be a panelist at Session 4 - Recovery Impacts from the Aviation Industries to Build Back Better for future resilience.

Also being a panelist in the session Director General Airport Council International (ACI) Asia Pacific Stefano Baronci, Deputy for Destination and Infrastructure Development at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Vinsensius Jemadu, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Minister of Aviation and Local Transport at Department for Transport UK Charlotte Vere, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Australia Carl Brown, and representatives from the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

The session was also attended by Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi and Minister of Transportation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser.

As a panelist, AP II President Director Muhammad Awaluddin said the aviation sector was undergoing a recovery period in the midst of a pandemic, but the industry must always be aware of other challenges.

"The aviation industry is currently facing various challenges such as geopolitical conditions, rising fuel prices, supply chain and employment issues as happened in Europe."

"On the other hand, we are also facing challenges to accommodate the increasing demand for flights in line with countries removing travel restrictions," explained Muhammad Awaluddin.

Muhammad Awaluddin said airports need to improve their capabilities by focusing on three aspects, namely: Agile Infrastructure; Smart Technology; and Business Models.

Airport infrastructure that can deal with any situation (Agile Infrastructure) is very important to support rapid operational adjustments.

"Airports must be easy to carry out different operational scenarios, either when flight traffic is high or when it's low," said Muhammad Awaluddin.

Airports also absolutely must apply smart technology (Smart Technology) in operational and service aspects to realize a seamless journey experience, and can increase interaction with travelers.

Muhammad Awaluddin said airport operators must also implement a new business model, among others, by establishing strategic partnerships, as well as entering new businesses such as real estate and so on.

Changing business as usual
In the forum, Muhammad Awaluddin also said that the airport must change what has been going on so far to make better planning.

"There are three related things that must be changed, namely in estimating flight traffic (planning frequency), data sources (nature of data) and scenarios in anticipating a projection (scenario forecasting)," explained Muhammad Awaluddin.

Currently, in estimating flight traffic (planning frequency), the industry uses airline capacity data set one year to 6 months in advance. "In the future, projections must be made weekly or every two weeks to be more precise so that airports can quickly make adjustments, make efficiencies and seize opportunities," said Muhammad Awaluddin.

Regarding the data source (nature of data) as an operational basis, Muhammad Awaluddin said that what is currently being used is simple data from airlines and airports. In the future, data sources as the operational basis must be complemented by various variables, including macro indicators, sentiments that affect customers, analysis of customer spending/expenditures and airline data.

Regarding scenarios in anticipating projections (scenario forecasting), in the future several alternative scenarios must be prepared that are supported by big data and artificial intelligence (AI) so that they really help airports anticipate customer desires and can carry out really mature operational plans.