Airport operations to take centre stage at IASEA conference in Singapore

Singapore: Themed “Airport Operations for Tomorrow”, inter airport Southeast Asia 2025 (IASEA) curated a lineup of conference sessions and the latest innovations to drive conversations on what a sustainable tomorrow looks like for Asia’s airport operations and  ground handling industry.  

From 25-27 March 2025, the 8^th edition of IASEA is expected to gather over 4,000 attendees, 150 notable global brands and some 50 industry experts as speakers at the iconic Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. 

IASEA 2025 Conference – Mastermind keynotes on shaping the future of airports Setting the stage for this conference on day 1 (25 March) is the fireside chat titled Reshaping Global Airport Operations by Patrick Ky, CEO, International Centre for Aviation Innovation (ICAI), an industry leader with nearly three decades worth of aviation experience. 

Moderated by Glory Wee, Senior Director, Aviation Development Group, Civil Aviation Authority Singapore (CAAS), the session will discuss solutions that improve operational efficiencies and lay the foundation for resilient and future-proof airports. 

“Globally, Asia Pacific takes the lead as the region with 60% of the total number of airport projects, and the region’s carriers handled 31 million international passengers, which was a 19.8% increase in November 2024 compared to November 2023. Recognising the need to address ground and airspace capacity constraints and manpower shortages, while keeping up with increasing passenger footfall in the region, the International Centre for Aviation Innovation was established in Singapore,” said Patrick Ky, CEO, International Centre for Aviation Innovation (ICAI). 

“ICAI focuses on research and development projects for next-generation air  navigation services, automated and smart airports, unmanned aviation systems and sustainable aviation. At the upcoming IASEA 2025, I’m excited to share insights into new innovations that will be tested in Singapore before being deployed globally.” 

This will be followed by keynote sessions led by two of the top 5 airports according to Skytrax’s World Top Airport List 2024. The first keynote, Airports of The Next Decade & Beyond with Shinichiro Motomiya, General Manager, Narita International Airport Corporation, will provide insights into the master plan of Narita International Airport – a case study of the airport of the future, and Airport in Brief: Incheon Airport with Soonil Hwang, Deputy Director of Fast Travel Team, Incheon International Airport Corporation, will cover a deep dive into the airport’s Digital Transformation Project. 

Shinichiro Motomiya, General Manager, Narita International Airport Corporation, shared, “To ensure that airports can keep up with this surging demand in air traffic today, it’s become  paramount for the industry to accelerate conversations on what will make airports sustainable, improve operational resilience and passenger experience. 

“Take the ‘New Narita Airport’ expansion project as a case in point, which we will share about during the keynote session. The  airport development project for the 2030s is looking at consolidating terminals and building a new cargo area to allow for the expected increase of passenger capacity from 57 to 75 million and cargo capacity from 2.4 to 3.5 million tons at Narita International Airport.”

Soonil Hwang, Deputy Director of the Fast Travel Team, Incheon International Airport Corporation commented, “We should not shun away from the use of Artificial Intelligence technologies, especially in the aviation industry. At Incheon International Airport, we believe that technology will strike a fine balance between passenger experience and operational efficiency. Hence, we’ve analysed customer demands and drawn a Persona Journey Map to design solutions around it. As we complete Phase 4 of the transformation of Incheon International Airport, it is my pleasure to share at the upcoming IASEA how we’ve identified values such as ‘Convenient Journey’ or ‘Time’ and utilised them to elevate the customer experience.” 

The morning of the opening day will also see Nguyen Dang Minh, Head of Airport Operations  Department, Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) spearhead the next keynote, Vietnam Airport Development Masterplan 2030. Vietnam stands as a leader in the aviation landscape, aiming to expand its airport network to 30 airports by 2030 and a long-term vision extending to 2050 that includes upgrades to increase annual passenger capacity by over 80%. As new airports are being built and existing ones upgraded, Minh will cover the solutions needed to address challenges in ground management, security, and resource allocation that will enable  airport operations to evolve alongside Vietnam’s expanding aviation network. 

Day 2 of the conference will open with the keynote Global Action Plan for the Prevention of  Runway Incursion. With safety as a top priority for the aviation industry, and runway incursions as one of the top five high-risk categories of aviation risks, the session will be led by Mitch Fox, Director, Asia Pacific Centre for Aviation Safety, Flight Safety Foundation, who will cover recommendations from the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Incursions (GAPRI) that go beyond simple regulatory compliance. 

Aside from safety, efficiency and sustainability are the next priorities to drive airports of tomorrow. Brad Moore, CEO, APAC, Swissport International AG, will lead the next keynote Redefining Ground Support Excellence in Asia  Pacific to examine how transformative technology, greener practices, and strategic innovation  are unlocking new opportunities for ground handling – a critical backbone of the aviation system. 

Other industry experts and thought leaders from the airport industry will join the conference, sharing their groundbreaking strategies for transforming terminal and ramp operations to address the challenges of today’s demanding and rapidly changing aviation landscape. 

Some of the conference highlights include: 

• Using Data Analytics to Optimise Airport Operations 

• Rethinking Passenger Flow: Unravelling the Knot of Terminal Congestion 

• Transforming Baggage Handling: Best Practices for Modern Airports 

• Future-Proofing Airport Security: Balancing Safety, Technology & Passenger Experience • Boosting Operational Resilience: Preparing for the Unexpected 

The full list of speakers can be found here. 

State-of-the-art solutions at inter airport Southeast Asia exhibition  

As the reference point for the future of airports, IASEA 2025 will stand as a platform to unveil the latest aviation technologies aimed at streamlining workflows, improving sustainability and  elevating operational capabilities.

Automation will continue to play a pivotal role in ever-growing passenger expectations. SITA’s  2024 Baggage IT Insights reveal that 80% of airports and 66% of airlines have put touchless self service baggage handling in place, and more investments will continue in 2025. 

Aligned with  this transformation, industry expert Smith Detection will introduce to the Asia market the SDX  10060 XDi, a ground-breaking X-ray scanner, offering highly accurate material discrimination and substance identification based on an object’s molecular structure. 

Separately, biometrics and digital identity leader NEC will showcase its facial recognition technology, ranked the  world’s most accurate in a benchmark test conducted by the U.S. National Institute of  Standards and Technology in 2024. 

ADB Safegate Singapore, who recently clinched awards for  Environmental Initiatives, Innovation, Safety, and Business Expansion at the Airport Technology Excellence Awards 2024, will present their award-winning airport management software. 

Other notable brands to expect on the exhibition floor: 

Aviaco GSE, CIAS, Colibri Energy, Cobus Industries, Datalogic, ewo, FAAC, Fastcharge, FibreFENCE by Fibre Net Spa, FLEX Industries, GRP Iluminacion, Honeywell, ITW GSE, Japan  Radio Co., LEONARDO, Mallaghan, Mototok, NEC, OCEM Airfield, Oshkosh AeroTech, Poltrona  Frau, Roypow Technology GmbH, SICK AG, ShinMaywa, Thales, TCR, TLD Asia, Toyota Industries Corporation, TREPEL and Weihai Guangtai.  All registered professionals for inter airport Southeast Asia 2025 will be granted free access to  exhibition and conference floors. For the latest information on inter airport Southeast Asia,  please visit the event website, LinkedIn, or Facebook pages.