Passenger experience starts at your front door
Simon Swan
Airports are increasingly recognised as mobility ecosystems, yet the passenger journey often remains fragmented beyond the terminal. The future passenger experience, says Simon Swan, Global Director – New Mobility & Airports at Arcadis, depends on creating a seamless journey from origin to destination. Here Simon explores how emerging technologies such as Automated Transit Networks could transform access to airports
The aviation industry has spent decades improving the experience of flying. Aircraft have become more efficient, airports more sophisticated, and digital technology has streamlined everything from check-in to baggage handling. Yet for many passengers, the most frustrating part of air travel still happens before they reach the airport and after they leave it.
Congested access roads, fragmented public transport connections, unreliable transfer times and poor last-mile links continue to undermine the passenger experience. As airports face growing demand, higher sustainability expectations and pressure to optimise land use, it is clear that the future of aviation is not just about what happens airside. It is about a seamless journey from origin to destination.
That requires a shift in thinking. Airports should no longer be viewed as transport infrastructure assets. They must be seen as integrated mobility ecosystems.
image: Glydways
“The most frustrating part of air travel still happens before passengers reach the airport and after they leave it”
Today's major airports resemble small cities, encompassing terminals, hotels, logistics facilities, commercial developments, rail stations, car parks and employment zones across extensive campuses. Moving people efficiently between them is a growing challenge. At the same time, airports must cut emissions, improve accessibility and support regional economic growth. Expanding road capacity is not an effective long-term answer, for congestion or the environment. Smarter, more flexible mobility systems are needed.
One technology attracting attention is Automated Transit Networks (ATN): small autonomous electric vehicles running on dedicated guideways, providing direct, on-demand journeys. Unlike traditional mass transit built around fixed routes and timetables, ATNs offer a personalised experience. Travellers move directly from car park to terminal, from station to hotel, or between terminals, non-stop to destination and with perhaps only the shortest of waiting time to board a vehicle. The ambition in general for ATN is the privacy and directness of a taxi ride at closer to the price of a bus ticket.
The economics are equally distinctive. Lightweight, narrow vehicles need far less costly infrastructure than tram or fixed rail, and the absence of drivers and timetables allows high asset utilisation. Together, these characteristics mean automated transit can be designed to operate commercially, without the ongoing subsidy most mass transit requires — and some suppliers will take revenue risk themselves under concession models. For operators weighing capital programmes against constrained budgets, that changes the conversation.
The ambition for ATN is the privacy and directness of a taxi ride at closer to the price of a bus ticket
The wider benefits extend beyond convenience. Reliable campus-wide connections reduce vehicle movements, congestion and emissions, and can unlock valuable land currently given to roads and parking. For passengers especially those with luggage, the greatest benefit may be certainty: predictable journeys, easier navigation, and better accessibility for elderly passengers, families and those with reduced mobility. Imagine living within walking distance of an ATN terminal, walking out your front door and having the trust in the ATN system that it will take you seamlessly and safely to the terminal in your own personalised vehicle.
It is worth being candid about maturity. Automated transit is an emerging option, with the first systems only now moving from feasibility into deployment and real technical, regulatory and commercial questions still to resolve.
Technology alone is not enough. Success depends on integration — rail, metro, bus, cycling, walking and shared mobility working as one, supported by digital platforms, ticketing and information. Equally, it depends on trust, designed in from the outset through transparent governance and robust safety frameworks.
Passengers do not experience transport modes. They experience journeys. The opportunity for aviation is to make that journey seamless from beginning to end.
Simon Swan is Global Director – New Mobility & Airports at Arcadis. Simon will be exploring the potential applications of automated transit networks as part of the Passenger Experience stream at AIR, running at London ExCel on 29/30 September. AIR is free to attend, but you must register in advance