The airport of the future

By Morten Andersen

Low environmental impact. Sustainable use of resources. Optimal exploitation of space. Maximum flexibility.
These are the four key concepts in ‘The Airport of the Future’ development project initiated by the Danish Airport Group, which is part of the Danish Export Association. The group comprises more than 40 Danish companies, whose businesses range from engineering consulting to baggage handling systems and other types of equipment for air traffic control, security and maintenance.
“Although the companies each have their niches in airport construction, they share a common denominator in environmental considerations, resource exploitation and Scandinavian design. We are now developing this so we can supply a total concept. In addition we gain more “muscle” when we collaborate, which enables us to bid for major projects,” says Michael Niels Thorsen, sales director in Integra A/S and chairman of Danish Airport Group.


Airports are national symbols
COWI consulting engineers is the world's eighth largest consultant in the airport sector measured by revenue generated abroad, so it has a lot of weight in relation to many of the other companies in the Danish Airport Group.

“Since our work as consultants lies early in the process, we often hear about projects a couple of years before the companies which supply equipment. But one should never be so high and mighty as to think there is no benefit in collaborating with others. Often we are the ones who tip the others in the group, but if we can just get a couple of contacts from them in return, then that's fine,” says project director Ejner Christensen of COWI.

The Danish companies never present a complete package, he points out:
“Airports are national symbols, especially in the capitals. The airport terminal is the first impression that visitors gain when they arrive in a country for the first time. We typically team up with a local architect so that the airport gets a visible local touch.”
But in the underlying functionality one can build on elements from previous projects. According to Ejner Christensen, Danish companies in the airport sector are good at being flexible in their solutions.

“Creative thinking is necessary when you need local distinctiveness and functionality to form a synthesis. That is a Danish strength.”
In addition, it is a distinctive Danish speciality to think of energy, climate and environment.
“For example, we are consultants on a new terminal in Oslo, Norway, where the winning parameter was that our solution was better thought through in the energy area,” says Ejner Christensen.


Sub-optimal start to climate discussions
Green developments in airports will come more onto the agenda, the COWI director believes, since the entire aviation industry has an image problem with regard to climate impact. One of the reasons is that the industry has not managed to create a common strategy for communication and so has become an easy target.

“In reality, the industry only emits about two per cent of global CO2, but listening to the debate you would think that it was 20 per cent. Many companies have started to change course however. Airports account for only a small proportion of the CO2 emissions from air traffic, while the aircraft themselves account for 90-95 per cent. But it is important that airports do their bit to keep emissions down, so they help correct the bad image the industry has acquired,” states Ejner Christensen.

The Danish Airport Group was founded in 2005 and has been busy from the start. When the group was founded, Danish companies were already able to supply practically all the products and services that are needed in an airport – from the consulting engineering work to helping disabled people round the airport and getting runways quickly repaired.

“Working together is new to us. Some of the companies are also competitors, but we have cleared that hurdle. All members of the group take part in developing a consistent idea of how airports should evolve,” says group chairman Michael Niels Thorsen.


You can find a full list of all the members of the Danish Airport Group on www.dk-export.dk

This article is from Focus Denmark Magazine (December  2009)