The impact of Digital Transformation on Airports PhD
Sugandhi Jayaraman [PhD year 3]
Supervisors: Nigel Dennis, Frances Kremarik & Anne Graham (Emeritus Professor)
This research aims to evaluate the impact of ‘digital transformation’ on airports, its users (i.e. passengers and staff), and associated stakeholders (i.e. airlines, regulators, service/technology providers and logistics/operational experts). The research objectives are:
- To analyse (quantitatively and qualitatively) the extent to which digital transformation has penetrated the airport industry and explore how it can promote efficiency.
- To conduct an ‘order of magnitude’ cost-benefit analysis (short/ medium/ long term) through a couple of case studies of airports and associated stakeholders i.e. airlines, technology service providers, etc., across two or three geographical regions to gauge success levels.
- To recommend strategies for multi-disciplinary (terminal, airfield etc.) digital synergies to ensure sustainability, service resilience and business continuity at airports. This has specific relevance in situations like Covid-19, where touchless / socially distanced travel options, flexible deployment of resources and utilising common data platforms for collaborative decision making would become essential.
As airports struggle internationally with capacity, fluctuating demand, funding constraints, global political unrest and environmental sustainability, investigating how digital technology can help alleviate some of these challenges offers an appropriate avenue of research, leading to this topic.
The study is being conducted using a mixed methods approach with the data collection and initial analysis stage completed.
KEY WORDS: airport technology; airport digital transformation; airport digitalisation