The core lessons we learn building tomorrow's airports

In the past few years at DXC Technology, we have been deeply involved in several transformative airport projects, including Western Sydney International Airport, Aeroporti Di Roma, and Hong Kong International Airport.

These collaborations have provided invaluable insights into navigating the most challenging aspects of modernising existing structures or building entirely new airports.

Anyone who has led or participated in projects like these knows that long before paperless boarding systems and smooth passenger journeys become a reality, you face an extensive list of challenges. These range from capital allocation and technological integration to orchestrating stakeholders while minimising operational disruptions.

It's complex work, but if done well, it can transform both the passenger experience and airport operations.

The perennial challenge: money

One of the biggest hurdles to this technology transformation remains consistent across projects - financial limitations. Building new airports or terminals is expensive, and investment in physical infrastructure, such as runways and buildings, typically weighs heavily on the budget.

Tight operating margins, inflationary pressures, and regulatory burdens add to these difficulties, often requiring leaders to make tough technology decisions.

A critical question is how to balance all these limitations with the need for technology that delivers a seamless customer experience, long-term value, addresses IT integration issues, meets stakeholder expectations, minimises disruption, fulfils cybersecurity requirements, and, most importantly, factors in the needs of airports and passengers for the future.

Treating technology like construction

Historically, airports have prioritised building over technology planning. This is understandable, as the physical infrastructure is fundamental, but this model often results in systems that don't work well together. Worse still, this approach inevitably leads to ballooning costs when integration becomes a problem, which in turn impacts operations.

The model of engaging construction organisations and letting non-experts define technology deployment is one of the reasons many technology budgets end up being overblown, or why systems have higher maintenance or update costs than they should.

So, what is the option? The answer lies in treating technology with the same strategic importance as construction. At DXC, we've been pioneering a Strategic Technology Partnership model. Rather than relying solely on construction companies for technology decisions, airport partners engage us early to ensure that technology choices align with long-term operational and maintainability goals, preventing disparate, non-integrated systems or cost blowouts.

In this model, the master systems integrator is involved in non-commercial procurement tasks for each technology system. In some of our projects, this meant providing critical services, including technical architecture, security, data management, and testing.

Core systems are...core

One significant advantage of having a strategic technology partner is the ability to focus on optimal solutions at the best cost, including making informed decisions about core systems that directly impact airport operations and the overall passenger experience.

Defining and upgrading core systems is particularly challenging for airports that are expanding, as integrating with legacy technology can be uniquely complex, and they must do so while continuing to operate.

For brownfield projects, applying solutions like an Integration Platform as a Service becomes critical. These platforms act as a broker, translating messages and protocols between legacy systems and new ones. In some cases, we had to use them to connect over 60 disparate mission-critical systems.

Effective collaboration

Technology integration is so vital to airports because they integrate multiple services. Within any airport ecosystem, you'll find airlines, ground handlers, border security agencies, retail operators, baggage handling companies, car rental firms, and countless other service providers, each with their own technology systems, priorities, and operational requirements.

Aligning different priorities and securing buy-in from all parties for new technologies can be difficult and time-consuming. When an airport operator implements new technology, such as facial recognition gates, airlines must integrate their systems, and government border agencies must approve the use of biometric data, for example.

Making all these stakeholders communicate effectively and share a unified vision requires deliberate effort and cannot be left to chance. On the upside, a new project offers an unparalleled opportunity to reimagine operations collaboratively with all stakeholders.

Embedding security as foundation

Given that airports are critical infrastructure, robust cybersecurity and information security management systems are a fundamental pillar of their technological infrastructure. With a multitude of third parties connected and communicating with each other, they face unique vulnerabilities.

To make matters worse, the frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks on aviation are increasing in frequency and sophistication, making the lives of operators tougher.

This is another area where implementing the right core systems, integration protocols, and latest solutions — such as zero-trust models and AI-based threat detection — makes a difference. All systems, legacy or not, must be able to withstand the challenges bad actors are imposing today.

That is why cybersecurity is a non-trivial core foundational pillar in the technological architecture of an airport.

Achieving the vision

With these critical pillars in place, airports can achieve transformational results.

A new strategic approach to building the airports of the future can overcome the inherent complexities of both greenfield developments and brownfield expansions, positioning them as leading examples of smart, resilient, and passenger-centric airports for decades to come.

The future of aviation infrastructure lies not just in building bigger and more stylish terminals, but in creating innovative and integrated ecosystems that pave the way for the future of air travel.