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E-mobility is a key pillar of Budapest Airport’s sustainability strategy, which is why the airport operator has for years placed special emphasis on expanding its electric vehicle fleet and building an e-charger network, both inside and outside the airport fence.
In 2022, Budapest Airport applied for the European Union’s CEF 2 Transport – Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility funding program with its Net Zero Airport project, and a grant contract for the installation of 83 charging stations and 102 charging points was recently signed. The chargers will be installed inside the airport fence, and will be available for use by partner companies operating at the airport, in addition to vehicles belonging to the airport operator’s fleet.
Budapest Airport is fully committed to reducing emissions from its operations, and in 2021 set the primary goal of achieving net zero emissions 15 years earlier than previously committed, by 2035 at the latest, along its so-called zero carbon roadmap. The development of e-mobility at the airport is one of the ways in which this will be achieved.
At the end of 2021, the Hungarian government included the airport operator on the list of projects to be implemented from the European Network Financial Instrument, to significantly improve the electric charging infrastructure, with a total budget of 1.3 billion HUF (nearly 3.2 million EUR) to install new e-charging points for ground service equipment, airport service vehicles and the vehicles of airport partners. The development, which will be implemented in three phases by 31 August 2025, will involve the installation of 102 new e-charging points at the airport, half of which will be financed by Budapest Airport from its own budget and half from EU funds. The EU support contributes to the construction of the 83 charging stations with nearly 650 million HUF (1 594 250 EUR, to be precise), which accounts for the 50% of the budget. The other 50% will be financed by Budapest Airport from own sources.
The infrastructure constructed as part of the project will support several points in the aircraft handling process: catering vehicles, water trucks and lavatory service vehicles, baggage dollies and other air cargo vehicles, ramp passenger buses, passenger boarding stairs and tow vehicles.ADVERTISEMENTBudapest Airport has been continuously developing its electric vehicle charging infrastructure for years, and has also been encouraging its partner companies to develop e-mobility. A total of 134 ground handling vehicles and 24 fleet and management vehicles have been replaced recently, from conventional to electric or hybrid models, saving 412 000 liters of fuel and 1080 tons of carbon dioxide emission per year. Budapest Airport has installed 66 electric vehicle charging points so far, 35 of which are located on the airside and 31 on the landside of the airport. Budapest Airport has assisted in the installation of a further 35 electric charging points at the airport for its partners involved in ground passenger transportation. Főtaxi, Budapest Airport’s contracted taxi partner, also prioritizes the promotion of e-mobility, and has already replaced 30% of its fleet with electric or hybrid vehicles. There are already six ultra-fast electric charging points in the airport buffer car park of Főtaxi, which is expected to increase by 26 charging points by the end of 2025.
The most effective way for Budapest Airport to reduce the environmental impact of the airport is to work with its airport partners, which is why it launched the Greenairport program in 2015. The aim of the more than 40 partners involved in the initiative is for the airport and the organizations operating there to work together and help each other reduce their own carbon footprint and the overall environmental impact of their operations. The program has led to continuous improvements in energy efficiency, the switch to electric vehicles and equipment, increased waste recycling rates, responsible water consumption, the potential for green energy use and a growing number of joint digitalization projects. In 2022, the company produced its first Sustainability Report for the year 2021, recounting, among other things, its consumption and emissions results.

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A Spaceport transformation requires two things: the right facilities and legislation. Cornwall Airport Newquay now meets every need. As a commercially regulated aerodrome CAN already had many of the relevant facilities and infrastructure in place: a 2,744 x 45 metre long runway with surveillance systems and a secure perimeter to facilitate safe horizontal satellite launches, navigation aids, fuel storage and runway lighting. There were minimal infrastructure changes needed to make the site fully operational for space activity.
And with Spaceport’s sustainability values at the heart of their activities, CAN’s location made it the perfect contender for “the world’s responsible launch” site, offering uncongested airspace and low residential density. Its direct access to the Atlantic Ocean and segregated airspace, as well as the close proximity to world-leading satellite communications provider Goonhilly Earth Station (25 miles south) made this the ultimate launchpad for the UK’s newest space ventures.
Ian Jones, CEO of Goonhilly Earth Station, believes Cornwall is the perfect place to propel the UK Space scene towards global renown: “we’re on a peninsula, surrounded by the ocean with the ability to get into, and communicate, with space. It’s like living on our own little spaceship here. It’s also the sort of environment that makes our services exportable to the rest of the world. Like we exported mining over 200 years ago, we’re now exporting highly effective communications and that is the way forward.”CAN’s transformation from a regional passenger airport to the UK’s first licensed Space and Air port was no easy feat. There were some key operational measures and procedures needed to get the project off the ground (and into space!) – the most challenging and integral being legislation and the CAA licensing.
The team were involved in multiple aspects of the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s licensing process. Operationally, they prepared Echo Apron for the upcoming launch activities, provided the specialist Ground servicing equipment, handled the inbound Cosmic Girl (a modified Boeing 747) carrying the equipment for launch preparations, as well as handling and offloading the Launcher One rocket upon its arrival from the United States.
Thanks to their teams’ aerodrome support, marshalling, guidance, security and air traffic control provision, both the Echo Apron and the Space Systems Integration Facility are ready for launch. With safety underpinning all launch preparations, Cornwall Airport Newquay has received the UK CAA’s approval. – On 16th November 2022 they reached a new frontier, becoming the UK’s very first airport to hold a Spaceport licence.ADVERTISEMENTSpeaking about the transformation, Managing Director of Cornwall Airport Newquay, Sam O’Dwyer says: “We are incredibly proud to be involved in this innovative project to enable space launch from Cornwall Airport Newquay with Spaceport Cornwall and Virgin Orbit. The team effort that has gone into developing a fully licensed Spaceport facility which will deliver safe and secure space operations for the UK’s first ever space launch has been simply inspiring and I’d like to say a massive well done to my team.”Delivering twice as much.
CAN says the aerodrome will continue to provide quality commercial airport services, after their teams worked hard across the business to develop safe Spaceport facilities alongside a busy summer schedule. The fantastic display of teamwork ensured business targets were met – with a wide range of flight destinations on offer this summer. With 7 new destinations and 3 further airline partnerships on the way – Bringing their offering up to a huge 21 destinations, with 10 airlines in total for 2023. – CAN’s significant network expansion is a solid foundation on which they hope to build successes far exceeding their pre-pandemic status.
A symbiotic relationship borne to benefit life on Earth:
Underlining the importance of deep collaboration, communication and trust when it comes to delivering such an ambitious project. CAN worked with a number of key stakeholders within the Spaceport Cornwall consortium, whilst keeping much of their activity in-house –
a distinctive feature of the organisation’s operational processes across the board. CAN is proud to be so self-sufficient and says this unique framework reduces their need to subcontract, thus increasing work efficiency and speed.
A training plan was developed for all Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) to ensure new terminologies (for types of fuel, new roles, responsibilities and regulations) were clearly understood. The Rescue & Fire Fighting Service (RFFS) also supported Spaceport activities throughout, managing staffing levels and fire appliances in preparation for the arrival of Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl and Californian colleagues. Various in-house teams also revised the Spaceport Cornwall Safety Case for CAA licensing requirements and developed the Launch Day Airspace Plan. – Alongside updating the Hazardous Operations Procedures & Checklists, Spaceport Manual, Aerodrome Manual and Emergency Response.Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport Cornwall added, ‘Working with our partners at Cornwall Airport Newquay is key to the success of this mission. The collaborative spirit between our teams and the sharing of expertise will result in history being made, and we couldn’t be more proud!’
Looking to the future – what happens once we’ve claimed our place in space?
Access to Space for all, commercial small satellite launch activities, and sub-orbital spaceflight operations define the UK’s National Space Strategy. Working in tandem with Spaceport Cornwall and Virgin Orbit, it’s hoped that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (CIoS) Space Enterprise Zone will lead the way, exploiting “physical, digital and intellectual assets and using satellite data to overcome local and global challenges such as the impact of climate change.” According to CIoS LEP, the region will have “contributed to an additional £1 billion of economic value for CIoS through increased productivity, jobs, and turnover” by 2030.
Spaceport Cornwall has the power to propel socio-economic benefits into infinity and beyond…
Valued at £16.5 billion, the innovative space sector already supports 47,000 jobs and it’s not going to stop there. From inspiring young people, tackling the digital skills gap and enhancing academic research, to monitoring climate change, attracting further investment and supporting the county beyond seasonal tourism, the projected socio-economic impacts are bountiful. Here’s to a new and exciting chapter in Cornwall Airport Newquay’s 88 years of operations! And most importantly, here’s to Cornwall, home of the nation’s first Spaceport.

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2022 saw Trip.com Group help drive the long-awaited recovery of the embattled global travel and tourism sector as it revived from the pandemic.
The company delivered resilient results in the third quarter of the past year, despite the continued disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 resurgence in China.Throughout the year, the global travel industry continued to make good progress towards full recovery, with Europe and the US leading the restoration of travel and Asia Pacific picking up the pace.
While the international market made steady progress and faced the challenges being posed to the sector, the Chinese domestic market also saw signs of a rebound with hotel bookings surpassing 2019 levels by the end of June as restrictions were relaxed.
During 2022, Trip.com Group took the opportunity to launch a range of new products, celebrated key milestones, implemented a raft of service enhancements and encouraged travellers with new and unique inspirational content. 
Trip.com Group’s app-first strategy contributed to Trip.com being named the 10th most downloaded OTA app globally in the first half of 2022, boosting bookings and travel.ADVERTISEMENTTrip.com’s highly successful app-first strategy has steadily driven app instals, which have grown to more than 6.2 million downloads. App installs reached a record high in South Korea and the UK during 2022. Recovery is further evidenced in travel bookings with Air ticket bookings on Trip.com Group’s global platforms increasing more than 100% year-over-year.
Flight bookings in EMEA and American markets continued to show double-digit year-over-year growth and in Asia Pacific, the growth was stellar at over 400% above the same period in 2021. Trip.com Group expects to see such momentum extend into the fourth quarter hopefully surpassing 2019 level.
Hotel bookings on Trip.com Group’s global platforms increased by 45% compared to Q3 in 2019 with domestic hotel bookings in non-China markets increasing by 300% versus Q3 2019 and other major markets including the US, UK, UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia all witnessing triple-digit growth over the Q3 2019 levels.
UK TrainPal was on track to reach a new record in the number of orders processed during the year as it continues to challenge its competitors to offer British rail users even better deals.Jane Sun, Trip.com Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “Trip.com Group has continued to outperform expectations in a year defined by the recovery of the international travel and tourism sector, led by the pent-up demand to travel.
“Traveller confidence has grown as restrictions have relaxed and so we too are confident and positive in the long-term growth profile of the travel industry.
“Trip.com Group has innovated as post-pandemic travellers’ needs have evolved, to offer them unique product offerings while improving our competitiveness and service capabilities.
“We are dedicated to supporting and sustaining the prosperity and healthy development of the global travel sector, by leveraging our platform to provide products and services for our customers and an ever more sustainable travel experience as we pursue the perfect trip for a better world.”
Trip.com Group’s performance over the past year, shows the value of its investment in the future as it continually innovates and adapts to meet the needs of the new generation of post-pandemic travellers.
In May, the Group launched its first global podcast series, TRIPCAST. The thought-provoking podcast delves deep into the challenges and initiatives undertaken to drive growth across the travel industry.
The new series focuses on business highlights, technological innovation and services which help improve the performance of its business partners destinations, while it serves global travellers and shapes the future of travel.
Later that month, as part of its sustainability initiative, Trip.com Group partnered with CHOOOSE to help customers adjust their CO2 emissions by contributing towards highly effective CO2 migrating projects around the world. Its corporate travel teams outperformed 85% of other global companies and was awarded a silver rating by EcoVadis, an internationally recognised CSR rating platform.
As part of its commitment to innovation, Trip.com launched its ‘Trip.Best’ list in June to enable global users to choose specially curated country-specific ‘very best hotel experiences’. This new ‘Trip.Best’ feature will be rolled out across various markets to include the most popular destinations around the world.
In October, Trip.com marked its fifth anniversary as it continued its ambitious expansion plans, driven by its mission to be the most trusted trip companion for travellers worldwide. Since it was acquired in 2017, Trip.com has become the mainstay global travel brand of Trip.com Group and accelerated a step change in the companies’ culture, product offering and strategy.
October also saw the Trip.com Group join the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s global network as a member, as part of its commitment to sustainability.
The same month it announced its green tourism goals, covering three key areas: firstly, to launch over 10,000 low-carbon travel products; secondly to promote sustainable travel and engage 100 million travellers in low-carbon practices; and thirdly, to further reduce carbon emissions across its own operations.
In November, Trip.com was named Contact Center of the Year 2022 at the International Customer Relationship Excellence Awards. The top accolade marked a major achievement for Trip.com, as the International award is given to organisations which showcase and excel in World-Class standards, Best Practices and the Customer Service Quality Standard (CSQS) categories.
In December, Trip.com Group held its 2022 Global Partner Summit in Macao, which brought together tourism boards, international airlines, hotel groups and industry representatives from across the whole travel industry on the theme of ‘Journey into the Future Together’, providing insights on the industry’s growth and the future opportunities ahead.
Sustainability initiatives were a key focus across the year in all markets and throughout the year Trip.com Group used business resources to support those in need, in aspects such as emergency response services and sustainable tourism in rural regions.
Throughout the year Trip.com Group has been dedicated to contributing to the communities served all over the world and this includes over the Christmas period.
In Hong Kong, Trip.com and Save the Children Hong Kong invited 60 people from 17 grassroots families living in Sham Shui Po community to enjoy a trip to Hong Kong Ocean Park. In South Korea, warm winter blankets and donations were made for families in need, and in Japan an employee voluntary donation initiative was launched which saw Christmas presents gifted to children in Tokyo. Looking to 2023, Trip.com Group will continue to strengthen its content to inspire customers to travel and use the Trip.com app to explore the world through their fingertips alongside continuing work to be an excellent corporate citizen in the world.
Trip.com has also positioned itself as the world’s leading and most trusted family of online travel brands which aims to deliver the perfect trip at the best price for every traveller.

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Global smart hospitality solutions provider, Hudini, is set to close a record year for the business having witnessed unprecedented growth in 2022.Hudini enables hotels to provide a connected guest journey from pre-arrival to post departure, ensuring a faster, contactless, and hyper-personalized service delivery. The company’s hospitality middleware platform connects over 100 hospitality applications in one single guest interface. Driven by data and AI, Hudini’s proprietary software works across all touch points of the guest journey from online booking, mobile check-in and digital room keys to in-room services, communication, check-out, and payments.  With over 300 hotels across 25 countries, Hudini is fast becoming the industry benchmark for digital transformation in the hospitality industry.
The hospitality industry relies on its ability to connect people and the places they visit to create memorable experiences for its guests. In its revitalization post-pandemic, the industry is realizing the impact that technology can have on a guest’s stay, and the potential it holds to increase customer loyalty and create additional revenue. In fact, a recent study found that 62% of hotel executives said they would have “a fully contactless experience” by 2025.“It’s been an incredibly exciting year for us and we have evolved in so many ways over the past twelve months, from our product offering and team to our partners and customers,” said Prince Thampi, Founder and CEO of Hudini. “The global pandemic has not just accelerated the demand for contactless technology to provide a safe and seamless guest experience, but more importantly, has caused a significant shift in mindset when it comes to digital transformation in hospitality. Hoteliers are increasingly looking for ways to differentiate and personalize their guest experience, achieve better efficiency and productivity, and generate additional revenues through technology, and we help them do that.”Product was a major focus for the business in 2022, which saw the launch of Hudini 2.0, the company’s future-ready product set to enhance every aspect of hotel operations and elevate guest experiences. This year also saw the announcement of several new strategic partnerships, including Incode Technologies for facial recognition, Alcatel’s collaboration, Schneider for guest room controls and communication platform Message Bird.
Trusted by some of the world’s leading hotel groups across multiple segments and continents, Hudini has doubled its hotel partner portfolio over the past twelve months including Taj Hotels and The Leela group in India, SH Hotels & Resorts in the United States, RCD Hotels in Mexico and the Caribbean and Accor,  in addition to signing a partnership agreement with the Institute of Hotel Technology (ITH), the body that represents Spain’s national accommodation sector encompassing over 16,000 hotels.Through its offices in the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia, Hudini is able to serve its global customers locally on the ground. To support the company’s record growth, the team in India moved into new premises this year, the team in Europe expanded with the addition of a permanent base in France. Looking ahead to 2023, Thampi said: “After an incredibly strong year in 2022, we are very well placed to further propel our growth next year. A series of product enhancements is already in the works, and we look to expand our presence in the US and European markets in 2023 and beyond.”
To learn more about Hudini, visit www.hudini.io

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Renovation work gets under way at Munich Airport’s Terminal 2: The central security checkpoint at Munich Airport’s Terminal 2 is being modernized and equipped with state-of-the-art technology, with completion scheduled for fall 2024As a result, passengers of Lufthansa and its partner airlines will benefit from faster, more effective procedures and much greater convenience.
Instead of the familiar traditional checkpoints, lanes with innovative technology will be used in the future. First of all, in the week commencing Monday, December 12, 2022, Lufthansa’s Service Center on Departures level 04 will be sealed off and dismantled to create the required space. A newly designed Service Center will be opened in the southern part of the check-in level. During the renovation phase of the screening lanes starting in January, passengers will be rerouted, and the number of screening lanes will be reduced at times.
Once the work is complete, passengers will benefit from a total of 15 new security screening lanes that meet the highest standards in terms of convenience and ergonomics. The Southern Air Office of the regional government of Upper Bavaria, the body responsible for passenger checkpoints at Munich Airport, is installing special CT scanners here.
As well as checking all items of carry-on baggage for solid and liquid explosives, the CT scanners provide the screening staff with a three-dimensional view of each carry-on baggage item on a screen. These new CT scanners mean that electronic devices and liquids will no longer have to be removed from passengers’ baggage. All personal items will be placed in large trays at the four preparation points of each lane and returned on a long output conveyor with lots of individual space. Passengers can take as much time as they need, and can even overtake slower passengers. As the modern screening lanes are so efficient, the passenger flow per screening lane can be increased significantly compared with the conventional screening lanes.
From now on, the central passenger checkpoint in Terminal 2 is being converted to the new technology in six construction phases. Upgrading of the first three screening lanes in Terminal 1 will start in the first quarter of 2023. In periods with high traffic volume, e.g. at Pentecost or during the Oktoberfest, the renovation work will be temporarily suspended in order to ensure availability of sufficient screening lanes and smooth handling of screening during these busy periods with particularly large numbers of passengers. Munich Airport will then be the first airport in Germany to be almost entirely equipped with the new security technology and convenient screening lanes.ADVERTISEMENT

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Travalyst, have joined forces with the aim of providing consumers with a consistent, accurate and widely available calculation of their carbon footprint from air travel.As all sectors of the aviation and travel industries come together in pursuit of net zero CO2 goals, this new and major collaboration effort will bring even greater transparency, accuracy and consistency to how a traveler’s carbon footprint is calculated.
Travalyst and IATA both possess a deep understanding of the traveller as well as relevant technical and operational expertise, which will enable the two organisations to collaborate closely to align CO2 emission calculations. This collaboration will focus on both data and standard methodology for route-based passenger CO2 emissions calculations for aviation at scale. This will include a shared position on how to account for sustainable aviation fuel.
“Consumers want to understand the environmental impact of their travels. Both Travalyst and IATA are continuously working to improve their methodologies by incorporating emerging knowledge of climate impacts. So we are working together to provide the consumer with easy access to consistent calculations of the environmental cost of their travel,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Sally Davey, CEO, Travalyst said, “This is the first time that airlines and the travel technology sector have come together in this way. As such it is a milestone moment in the decarbonisation of the sector. In the face of the climate emergency, travellers want and need clear and unequivocal information about their carbon footprint on which to base travel decisions. Today we are bringing some of the leading travel brands around the table with the world’s leading airline association, with the aim of easily providing consumers with the most accurate carbon calculations.”

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The best airport experience in London is about to get even better from April 2023. London City Airport is investing in replacing its existing conventional security X-ray machines with new, state of the art, CT scanners, provided by Leidos.With close to 4 million passengers expected through London’s most central airport in 2023, the upgrade will mean travellers can leave everything in their hand luggage, as the new scanners eliminate the need to remove items, such as laptops and approved liquids, before going through the X-ray machine.
And for LCY, already renowned for its unique passenger proposition of speed and convenience, the new CT scanners will mean an even faster and improved experience at the airport for passengers, which follows the separate £12 million departure lounge investment.
Commenting on the upgrade, the airport’s Chief Operating Officer, Alison FitzGerald, said:
“Following our one-lane trial this year, we know the new CT scanners are high performing and our passengers love them.
“We are always challenging ourselves to make the LCY experience even better, so this, alongside the £12 million upgrade in the departure lounge will mean the journey through the airport in 2023 will be even slicker, with more space and better food & beverage and retail options.ADVERTISEMENT“Thanks to the Leidos solution, alongside speed, it also delivers the highest security specifications.”
Commenting on the partnership, Leidos’ Jonathan Stone, Division Manager and Director of Aviation, said:
“We’re excited to expand our partnership with London City Airport and enhance their security checkpoints.”
“Leidos focuses on constant innovation and discovery. Through our next-generation technology, airports can achieve high security levels, while providing a better travel experience for their passengers.”
FitzGerald added: “Speed, convenience and consistency of service are qualities that we know are so important to our passengers, especially now. So we also hope the results from the recent Which? survey will encourage more people to use London City Airport this Christmas and through 2023.”
London City will be amongst the first UK airports to offer a full CT security proposition.

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