Published Articles
How Rainwater is Reused at San Diego Airport
Water stewardship means using less water, wasting less water and protecting water quality. At San Diego Airport, all are vitally important. The airport is uniquely situated in a borderline arid climate and on the edge of San Diego Bay.
A new Parking Plaza slated to open in late Spring 2018 will do all three at the same time. Besides enhancing customer service and meeting growing demand for close-in parking, the Parking Plaza will capture rain that falls on the 7.6-acre structure, routing it into a below-ground storage system with a capacity of nearly 100,000 gallons. Instead of becoming stormwater runoff, potentially impacting San Diego Bay, the collected rainwater will be used by the immediately adjacent central utility plant that houses the HVAC system.
Airport Workforce Development is Hotter Than Ever
Some time back, I wrote Airports Compete for New Talent about the challenges presented to today’s airport industry by the continuing need to attract, retain and develop airport talent.
Whereas most people think the biggest airport challenge is security or air service (important, of course), what really occupies the minds and conversations of airport executives is meeting this challenge. As Dan Parsons said in the first of his excellent three article series, “At some point, the job (of airport executive) becomes less about technical expertise and more about leading people.”
The question has become, where are those people coming from? Why are they different than what I am used to? And, how do I deal with all this? THOSE are the questions I most hear airport leaders discussing in the bars and restaurants – places where they can feel free to talk about any subject on their minds.
As I wrote back then, this was once an industry in which most talent came through certain pipelines and tended to stay through their careers. All of that has been upended. Many of those pipelines exist, certain schools still have good programs, and many people still obtain certain certifications. But the overall picture is uncertain and unsure.
Airport Collaborative Decision Making in Europe
Imagine yourself sitting at the gate, waiting to embark your flight. You’re early, and you see the aircraft arriving at the stand. It barely came to halt when different rolling stock and teams aim for the aircraft doors, almost in perfect unison. Almost, because those different vehicles and teams often belong to different aircraft handling companies and most of the time, airport players operate in ‘perfect isolation’, not necessarily taking the needs or restraints of the other into consideration.