Xavier HÜRSTEL on Groupe ADP's Vision on Leading the Airport Industry Toward Sustainability and Innovation

Xavier HÜRSTEL, Deputy Executive Officer, Groupe ADP in charge of international development tells us more about its activities and strategy.

The post-COVID crisis period shows that the appetite for air travel is still very strong. How does this dynamic impact your airports?

Xavier Hürstel: ” Last year, we handled a total of 280.4 million passengers across our airport’s network, 80.9% of the pre-crisis level covid. All our airports witnessed a strong traffic recovery that has been an operational and human challenge, but we’ve been able to manage it without any capacity restriction. At the group level, passenger traffic this year should get closer to the 2019 levels: between 95% to 105%.

That being said, we’re now evolving in a context marked by growing environmental concerns. That’s why we need to build a new airport model, that is aligned with the sustainable and societal concerns of our stakeholders”.

In France, your CEO Augustin de Romanet made the buzz as you said that Europeans should fly less and that if traffic were to decrease in Paris, it wouldn’t be an existential crisis. Do you stand by that?

” If we look at global figures, only 5% of the of worldwide population have ever flown. Air demand from emerging countries will therefore keep growing, as hundreds of millions of people, as their standard of living rises, will want to travel. So, we need to anticipate this demand by reducing the ecological impact of our activities. However, decarbonizing aviation will take as much time as the development and industrialization of the technologies that will allow it.

Consequently, to balance development and decarbonization, the pace of growth of air transport will have to increase less quickly in developed countries. As Europeans, we should tend towards a moderate use of planes as a mode of transport. That’s why in France, we’re working to develop intermodality and make easier use of trains for shorter distances. The future of aviation lies not necessarily in more travel but in an enhanced and adapted travel built in conjunction with all industry partners, mobility stakeholders and local communities .”

What commitments are you looking at regarding low-carbon and sustainable air transport?

” Air-transport accounts for 2 to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and airports for almost 5% of this impact. However, the roll out of Carbon-free aviation as part of the energy transition is by far the greatest challenge for the next two decades. From our end, 16 airports within our network are involved in the ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation program. In addition, we’re aiming for carbon neutrality at all our airports by 2030, and zero net emissions, including half-cruise aircrafts, by 2050. To achieve this, we need to accelerate our innovation programs and transform airports into energy hubs.

Groupe ADP was one of the first players to support the surge of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) which emit at least 75% less CO2 than normal kerosene. Although aircraft engines can tolerate up to 50% sustainable fuels, the main obstacle is the cost,4 to 5 times more expensive than kerosene. But the growing interest and the start of industrial production will bring costs down.

Regarding hydrogen, it may be a game-changer for ground operations, because our goal is not just to refuel future hydrogen aircrafts – which may come earlier, in 2035 -, but to foster a circular hydrogen economy, generalizing its uses for new ground mobilities. So, we’ve just launched “Hydrogen Airport”, a joint venture with Air Liquide, to provide a full range of engineering and consulting services to help airports switch to hydrogen; some 200 international and regional airports could be interested.

Last but not least, we are promoting electric motors for small aircrafts dedicated to pilot training or short-haul routes. We are also electrifying all our taxiway vehicles and ground operations around aircraft”.

As a leader in airport industry, what cutting-edge technology are you implementing in your airports, both in France and in the MENA?

“Innovation is part of Groupe ADP’s DNA as we were the first major airport operator to setup a global open innovation approach, labeled “Innovation Hub”, to spread the innovation culture throughout our ecosystem, experiment with innovative solutions, invest in startups or incubators and anticipate the disruption of both our economic and operational models.

With regard to our innovations, and on the Smart Airport field, we work on providing the best possible comfort and fluidity to our passengers. For instance, we use biometrics for passport control and checking. Passengers no longer need to remove their shoes in our Parisian airports, thanks to Shoes Scan system. We are currently testing new intelligent scanners at the security checkpoints for cabin baggage which, by rotating around suitcases and bags, are able to detect the nature of what’s inside : this means that passengers would no longer need to remove electronic devices and liquids from baggage, saving roughly 30 seconds per passenger at the checkpoints. In two years’ time, we hope to have knives and sharp objects detection devises, which will further reduce the preparation time required for inspections., On the flow management aspects, we work with a French startup Outsight deploying radar Lidar technology to monitor all the flows (passengers, baggage, etc.) within the terminal in real-time.

These are just a few concrete examples, but our “2025 Pioneers” strategic roadmap sets a target of 120 experiments, including 30 industrializations by 2025. Our innovation strategy is deeply rooted into the Paris ecosystem in France, and we are now looking to spread it internationally. Innovation also involves all the airports of our network in the Middle East managed by TAV Airports. In 2019, an “Airport Startup Day” – a pitch competition for startups- was held simultaneously at Paris-CDG and Izmir airport in Turkey. Other Innovation Days will be held by 2024 in three countries of our network.

As a multi-local global player, our aim remains to unleash innovation experiments and adapt to new challenges, as a privileged partner for local innovation ecosystems wherever we are present.

What partnerships is Groupe ADP looking at to boost its presence in the MENA? Can you give us some concretes achievements made in the UAE or elsewhere in the region?

” MENA is one of the most emblematic regions for us in term of business development as we operate, under concession, two major airports: Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan, and the new Jeddah Hajj terminal in Saudi Arabia. Our Turkish partner TAV Airports is also present in the region, by investing in and operating Medina Airport.

To answer to the transformation needs of airports worldwide, we renewed our global consulting and engineering offer in airport development, operations and management under the banner “Groupe ADP Airport Services” with a permanent office and dedicated teams based in Dubai, Hong-Kong and New York.

Regarding the United Arab Emirates, we have been a partner of the authorities for more than 40 years on multiple airports development projects. We are fully aware of the country’s significant fast-growing potential. A number of examples can illustrate our historic presence in the country and also our commitment to new and innovative developments: we led the design of the first terminal and the control Tower of Abu Dhabi Airport, the implementation of Terminal 3, Terminal 2 and of the Emirates maintenance center in Dubai International Airport as well as the terminal extension for Sharjah.

We have recently launched multiple projects in the UAE and in particular signed an agreement with the Airports of Abu Dhabi to explore together the feasibility of Advanced Air Mobility. As part of this collaboration, Groupe ADP Airport Services will be looking into the planning, design, development, and operations of Advanced Air Mobility ground infrastructure, leveraging their unique expertise and learnings from the Parisian ecosystem and other leading projects.

Saudi Arabia is also a strategic country for us since 2007. We have led the architectural design of the new Jeddah terminal and supported the operation of the Hajj1 Terminal in Jeddah, under concession to the Saudi Bin Laden group. In 2011, we have setup a long-term partnership with the authorities, following the award of the concession contract for the management of the Medina airport. We provide council and advice to the Kingdom’s authorities on the design, assistance, and monitoring of some of their most important projects and, more recently, in the provision of IT services. To foster, improve and simplify our cooperation, we have set up ADP Arabia Airport Services as a dedicated entity with a registered office in Riyad.”

With your indian partner GMR Airport, you plan to list a pure player airport operator by the first half of 2024 on the Indian Stock Exchanges. How may this operation mark a new phase of your presence in Asia? How does it fit with Groupe ADP’s international strategy?

“We are very pleased with our industrial cooperation with GMR Airports, which runs a world-class portfolio of assets including Delhi, Hyderabad and Goa airports in India. The recent win-win agreement will reveal the true value of our holdings [Groupe ADP owns 49% of GMR] – already raised from 1,2 to 3 billion euros. This operation will also enable GMR to reduce its debt. As you know, India’s population is growing fast, especially the middle class, and Indian airlines are preparing for this growth by ordering large-capacity aircrafts. We want to be ready, and we are convinced that New GIL, the future company listed, will be in a prime position on the Indian market during the forthcoming privatizations and by seizing new opportunities in South-East Asia and other target markets.”

More broadly, our international strategy relies on a unique airports network and a multi local approach built of strengths and synergies between Groupe ADP, TAV Airports and GMR Airports: both complement each over and cover all the geographical areas where demographic and economic patterns show significant growth potential. As a global player at a local level, our ambition is to create value and decarbonize our platforms for all our stakeholders.”

You’ve launched a few months ago a new brand-franchise called Extime dedicated to passenger experience and satisfaction. What are your ambitions with this new brand?

“Our core mission is to welcome all passengers in the best possible hospitality: informing, welcoming and directing, while offering a unique experience. Hospitality is played out at all times and stages of the passenger journey in our airports and is shaped daily with the entire airport community and our partners. Over the last 10 year, we have made huge progress in service quality to passengers at Paris airports : Paris-CDG is now the 5th best worldwide airport in the Skytrax 2023 ranking, and six of our network’s airports feature in the TOP 100.

We have to continue to strive for excellence and our new hospitality brand, Extime, will help us, delivering the highest standards of design, comfort, retail (shops and F&B) and services to departures zones. It works like a “boutique-hotel” with a dedicated ‘maître de maison’. While Extime currently only exists in Paris – in particular at Paris-CDG terminal 1 – we are keen to export this franchise model to airports looking to enhance the passenger experience in restricted areas. Extime complements Airport Services offer to maintain world class economic performance and customer satisfaction.

Congrats on becoming the Official Partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. What inspired such a partnership and what will be the mission for Groupe ADP?

” Partnering up with Paris 2024 seemed like a natural idea as hosting the Olympics and Paralympics Games brings us back to very essence of our mission: to host the world in the best way possible. Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports are going to be the first and last impression that most of the athletes will have of France. So, we want to provide the best hosting quality from the beginning to the end of the games.

On arrivals, we will have to be very thorough in luggage treatment, as we will be handling atypical luggage formats such as kayaks, bikes, horses… Another operational challenge will be to implement temporary arrangements within the airport for accredited athletes and passengers. We will have to be very attentive to waiting times at the border because at the end of the games, 15,000 athletes will be leaving Paris in 48h.

Finally, the Paralympic Games will be an opportunity for us to significantly improve airport accessibility for disabled people.”