Airports worldwide are struggling with soaring customer dissatisfaction rates due to complaints over flight cancellations, ground servicing delays, mishandled baggage, and more. The rapid increase in post-COVID-19 air passenger and freight loads has only intensified these current problems. There is no sign of slowing down: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) projects that passenger traffic and freight volumes will double by 2035.

At the same time, airports are also facing a severe labor shortage: In its 20-year fleet forecast for 2019 to 2038, Boeing projected that 769,000 new maintenance technicians will be needed to maintain the world’s fleet. But, with 30 percent of aircraft mechanics in the U.S. alone at or near retirement age, and with the number of qualified replacements failing to meet that gap, airports must ensure a way for the current workforce to continue to provide the skills and capabilities necessary to service older-generation aircraft.

This labor shortage is exacerbated by a high turnover rate, driven by on-the-job injuries and the need to perform highly physical and repetitive tasks for long hours—often in hazardous environments. Even with aerial lifts and mobile stairs, some workers must still step directly onto planes to clean and inspect contoured areas of the aircraft. In addition to the inherent risks these tasks involve, these methods lack efficiency; the timeline to completion can delay flights or take airplanes off the runway for as long as six weeks.

Such challenges expose a critical need for new strategies and technologies to modernize and scale operations both in and outside the airport, including apron-servicing areas and aircraft hangars. In addition, enabling airlines and airport facilities to manage larger quantities of ground handling equipment, luggage handling, aircraft maintenance, and other ground services will be critical to optimizing the flow of travel.