Bulgaria has awarded its best mayors for 11th year in a row
Almost 140 000 people have cast their vote in the national contest for Mayor of the Year
ACI Europe announced the winners in various categories
The Airports Council International (ACI) Europe announced the winners of its Best Airport Awards at an annual conference congress, which took place in Geneva (Switzerland). This year’s 17th edition of the celebrated accolades was held with a particular focus on the many ways in which airports are not only responding but innovating during the COVID-19 pandemic while focusing on the airport industry’s sustainability goals.
The ACI is a global trade representative of the world’s airport authorities. Its mission is to lobby and represent the interests of that sector when dealing with governments and international organizations.
The awards were categorized by airport capacity sizes.
This year’s Award in the ‘under 5 million passengers’ category went to Romania’s Cluj Avram Iancu International Airport for its unswerving focus on safeguarding jobs throughout the COVID-19 crisis, with significant measures taken to repurpose the workforce to adapt to the pandemic conditions. The airport was also praised for its swift recovery of passenger traffic. The airport’s efforts to bring in new airlines and new routes with its strong incentives programme have resulted in Cluj now boasting more routes than pre-pandemic.
The winner of the ‘5-10 million passengers’ category was Falcone Borsellino Palermo Airport. The airport secured the Award for its strong sustainability credentials, with the achievement of Level 2 ‘reduction’ of Airport Carbon Accreditation this year, as well as the introduction of sustainability-oriented projects including an environmentally sustainable car park extension, a natural reserve project, a scheme to reuse wastewater, and electrifying GPUs and vehicles.
This year’s Award in the ‘10-25 million passenger’ category went to Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow. The airport was singled out for its array of initiatives and innovations, in particular its continued investments in digital and contactless technologies, including new security equipment.
The winner of the ’25-40 million passengers’ category was Athens International Airport. The busiest airport in Greece won the judges over by producing a plan for recovery that focuses on improving customer and passenger experience through the implementation of the Greek concept of philoxenia or hospitality. The judges particularly liked the way Athens Airport embraces AI and virtual reality (such as measuring passengers’ emotional engagement, offering a virtual assistant and a 3D virtual airport tour) in its bid to bring passenger experience to the next level.
This year’s Award in the ‘over 40 million passengers’ category went to iGA Istanbul Grand Airport in recognition of its leadership position among the continent’s hubs.
This year’s Eco-Innovation Award went to Stockholm Arlanda Airport, the busiest airport operated by Swedavia, the world’s first airport operator to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions.
Examples of the airport’s initiatives include: procurement of 100% renewable electricity and district heating, replacing of regular diesel with 100% fossil-free diesel (HVO100), phasing out vehicles and equipment that can’t run on fossil-free fuels or replacing them with electrical alternatives, and more efficient lighting (including LEDs, motion detectors, and automatic systems).
In the field of Digital Transformation, this year’s winner is Aeroporti di Roma S.p.A., the operator of Rome Fiumicino and Ciampino airports. The judges recognised that the focus on innovation and digital solutions has become an inextricable part of the Italian airport operator’s DNA. In particular, the judging panel appreciated the airport’s investment in the brand new Airport Operations Centre, opened earlier this year and deploying the most advanced technological fittings to improve and streamline airport operations.
The airport also garnered acclaim for its plans to set up an Innovation Hub to nurture technological and processual breakthroughs directly at the airport, and for launching a Call for Ideas, encouraging start-ups around the world to submit their projects for later deployment at the Roman hubs.
Almost 140 000 people have cast their vote in the national contest for Mayor of the Year
The planned public transit service will be completed somewhere in 2035
Almost 140 000 people have cast their vote in the national contest for Mayor of the Year
The technology differs from maglev in that it allows the usage of already existing infrastructure, with only slight modifications
Floya will be one hell of a helpful tool next time you’re in the Belgian capital
Almost 140 000 people have cast their vote in the national contest for Mayor of the Year
City officials invite residents to meet in person for valuable consultations on greening transformations of their living environment
Almost 140 000 people have cast their vote in the national contest for Mayor of the Year
The main focus of the festivities is a ‘miracle’, which involves the liquefaction of the saint’s blood
Se Poate Association led the training sessions in several cities and engaged over 150 young people
This one could be a real game-changer for our built environments and the way they look
The practical art objects are competing for one of the 2023 New European Bauhaus Prizes
Cast your vote before 24 May and do your part in promoting the NEB values
An interview with a member of the No Hate Speech Network team
A talk with the first man to circumnavigate the globe with a solar plane, on whether sustainability can also be profitable
An interview with the president of the European Federation of Journalists