Science and Technology: Airports

In this 21st century, science and technology are anticipated from daily life. While talking about people’s connection, travel is one of the significant parts that includes various modes of travel. The aviation sector is one of the significant sectors in India that covers the major portion of traveling and it connects every corner of the country with another. When it comes to airports and science and technology, it is primarily dependent on both science and technology. As the engine of the plane and all other mechanical equipment that is used in the airport area is developed by using science and technology. Moreover, science and technology also have a significant impact on the infrastructure of the airports from various aspects. Science and technology have wide uses to compromise the passenger experience, ensuring the safety and seamless journey. Further, we will discuss these aspects in more detail in this study.    

Role of Science and Technology in the Infrastructure of Airports 

Technology is developed from science, hence science and technology are interrelated with each other. Technology has a significant role in forming the innovative infrastructure for airports. Starting from the “component tracking system” to modelling the building information airports are rapidly moving towards the new technologies to facilitate large project construction.

Airport infrastructure is different from normal workplace infrastructure, as the airport infrastructure requires it to be highly secured and productive at the same time. Hence the basic infrastructure requirements for the airports are generally related to science and technology rather than the physical materials. Biometrics is also another important technical tool to facilitate self-service for a better travel experience.

Along with that it also helps to make the safety process stronger. Airport security has remained a top priority for the government and aviation officers. Hence airport technology needs to enhance the travel experience by automating airport operational processes while ensuring more security measures inside the infrastructure with minimal disruption. 

Hence science and technology is none other than an option to build highly secured infrastructure. Here behavioural profiling is one of the significant examples, behavioral profiling involves robotic interaction to determine any unstable safety measure that can cause potential risk. This brief discussion has implied some of the significant areas of airport infrastructure that are completely impossible to process without the involvement of science and technology. However, the airport and aviation industry also lacks at some points where the infrastructure can be developed by applying science and technology. 

The travel bans imposed by the government at the time of the Covid pandemic and the nationwide lockdown were not enough to persuade travelers to return to the skies. In this scenario regaining the confidence among the passengers is a critical factor for the aviation sector. In this present year the most trending technologies that are on their way to be implemented or have been implemented to some extent are mentioned below:

• Advancement of self-service and biometrics: This digitally optimized process helps to facilitate touchless processing embedded with various digital self-service devices to encourage passengers
• Innovation of SDN and evolving the airport operations in respect to Covid-19: Through this technology, the airport staff can monitor the “passenger flow management” and “airport management” in real-time
• Machine learning and artificial intelligence: The internet of things (IoT) helps to create a network of data-generating devices and resources that helps to communicate and enhance efficiency across airports
• Developing digital identity: The Indian airlines are expecting to develop a digital identity that will replace the traditional identity needed for air travelling such as passports

International Airports in India

In India, there are a total of 487 airports out of which 36 are internationally connected with other countries. Some of them are named as below with their located city:

• Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata
• Arignar Anna  International Airport, Chennai
• Thiruvananthapuram International Airport”
• Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad
• Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Amritsar
• Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati
• Goa International Airport (Civil Enclave)
• Srinagar International Airport, Srinagar (Civil Enclave)
• Jaipur International Airport
• Kozhikode Airport, Calicut
• Veer Savarkar International Airport (Civil Enclave), Port Blair, A&N Islands (UT)
• Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi
• Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai
• GMR Hyderabad International Airport, Hyderabad
• Bangalore International Airport Limited, Bengaluru
• Cochin International Airport, Kochi (Private)
• Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur (Maharashtra)

These “international airports in India” are managed by the “Airports Authority of India (AAI)”. 

Domestic Airports in India 

As already mentioned earlier there are total 103 domestic airports, which are majorly located in the below-mentioned state:

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Andhra Pradesh
• Arunachal Pradesh
• Bihar
• Chhattisgarh
• Daman and Diu
• Delhi
• Assam
• Gujarat
• Haryana
• Himachal Pradesh
• Jammu & Kashmir
• Jharkhand
• Karnataka
• Kerala
• Lakshadweep
• Madhya Pradesh
• Maharashtra
• Meghalaya
• Mizoram
• Nagaland
• Odisha
• Puducherry
• Punjab
• Rajasthan
• Sikkim
• Tamil Nadu
• Telangana
• Tripura
• Uttar Pradesh
• Uttrakhand
• West Bengal

Conclusion   

Concluding the study describes the impact of science and technology in the airport area. Hence to develop the operation in the infrastructure study knowing the core mechanism is important. This study will be helpful to provide an overview of the same.