WESTERN SYDNEY AIRPORTCreating a smart, citizen-centric airport

Airports are no longer sterile, transactional places for waiting and passing through. In many respects, the modern airport experience for passengers and other users is morphing into something akin to being in a city, with a diversity of places and spaces both in and around the terminal for gathering, entertainment and accessing customized personal information.

The smart airport of the future will be the centerpiece of an interconnected city region with associated smart infrastructure and smart mobility. It will be a dense, compact, mixed-use gateway that is well integrated with regional transportation. Importantly, it will be a catalyst for aviation- related economic development, high-value employment and regional competitiveness in its hinterland.

Can the new Western Sydney Airport set a benchmark for a connected and customer-centric application of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and technology? Can it seize the opportunity to develop and embed digital infrastructure to create a seamless passenger experience from day one?

Heralded as a ‘once-in-a-century opportunity’, the Western Sydney Airport will have a great impact not only on greater Sydney but also on the state’s

economy, including tourism, trade and business services. As we know, planning for the development of Western Sydney Airport to go beyond merely a runway and associated airside and landside infrastructure is not a new idea, with all levels of government coming together and collaborating towards achieving a broader vision.

With operations expected to commence in 2026, things are now progressing in earnest at Western Sydney Airport. Planning and environmental approvals for Western Sydney Airport were secured in 2016 through the Environmental Impact Statement and the Airport Plan. The Stage 1 initial earthworks to level the site for construction was awarded to a joint venture of Australian contractors, CPB Contractors and Lendlease. Bechtel was also recently appointed as delivery partner and project manager for the Western Sydney Airport.

With development now underway and a significant program of investment to be catalysed, will Western Sydney Airport become not just a gateway but a hub of innovation and opportunity? Planning to date clearly articulates that it will be an airport that connects advanced technologies, innovation and industry in an integrated region or ‘aerotropolis’.

Given that western Sydney’s population is forecast to grow more than 50% to over 3 million people by the early 2030s, the planning task needs to be more than a ‘set and forget’ airport plan. It should, by necessity, be iterative and integrated with the surrounding region. Done right, Western Sydney Airport will not only address our burgeoning aviation demand but also facilitate wider or regional economic benefits for future generations to come.

CONSIDERING THE CITIZENAs we embark on an era of hyper-personalization, what will this mean for the end user – for the traveler, for the employee, for the student and for the resident?

Through the lens of the citizen in 2026, it is important to develop a collective understanding of the key areas to consider in reaching that vision for the game-changing aerotropolis. What will it be like to work, live and travel there, and what steps can and should be taken now to secure it? How will the future smart airport drive and support technology-based economic development within a surrounding smart city region?

In this paper, we look at new and emerging technologies and examine what the future smart airport and its surrounding city region could become in terms of airport functionality, identity and mobility. We need to articulate and imagine this end state to ensure that we create both a smart airport and a smart city region. The path is not a linear process and the reality is that without strong planning oversight and committing to the delivery of an aerotropolis, Western Sydney Airport is likely to become a bland secondary airport accompanied by an industrial precinct with large warehouses and limited employment opportunities. We owe our future generations more than that.

CREATING A SMART AIRPORT AND REGION

1.

Reflecting on the smart airport

experience of the future,

what will Western Sydney

Airport and its surrounding

region have to offer?

03 CREATING A SMART AIRPORT AND REGION

04 THE AIRPORT

06 CATALYSING THE WESTERN PARKLANDS CITY

08 MOVEMENT AND CONNECTIVITY

10 CONCLUSION

11 RELATED REPORTS

CONTENTS

02 03

Aviation capacity in the Sydney region is constrained. With the projected increase in domestic and international passengers in the next 20 years, more than double the number of people will be traveling by air in the Sydney region (i.e. 87 million). Underpinning its development, Western Sydney Airport provides a much-needed capacity solution to the forecast increase in passenger numbers. Addressing airport capacity is one thing, but ensuring the airport itself goes beyond a functional and transactional transport hub to deliver an engaging, high-quality experience for citizens is the real opportunity to be harnessed.

AN AUTHENTIC, SEAMLESS PASSENGER EXPERIENCEThe challenge at Western Sydney Airport is to deliver a smart airport that is not only efficient but also provides authentic, unique and seamless customer experiences. Moving beyond point-to-point passenger movement to an interactive, inspiring and personalized experience is at the heart of the smart airport. The customer experience bar is continually being raised by airports globally. Renowned as one of the best airports in the world, Singapore’s Changi Airport is an inspiring example of an airport that has embraced not just the traditional shop and dine offerings for passengers, but also an array of interactive entertainment and immersive activities such as movie theatres, a butterfly garden and the interactive ‘social tree’. As a gateway, the terminal at Western Sydney Airport will be the shopfront – the focal point in selling the local product and providing an authentic passenger experience.

THE AIRPORT2.

• Baggage• Lights

• Cooling• IT

Commercial aviation is a very competitive business, and the airports that offer the most attractive facilities and amenities – along with operational excellence – tend to win out in the competition for routes and travelers (Richard van Wijk, Head of Aviation Practice, Nokia, 2018).

The airports of the future will fully exploit the power of new technologies, including sensors, processors, mobile apps, gamification and behavioural analytics (Vincenzo Sinibaldi, 2018).

CREATING A DIGITAL AIRPORTHow can ICT infrastructure and digital technology facilitate the growth of the airport and what processes could benefit from digitization? As a greenfield airport, Western Sydney Airport has a unique opportunity to embrace emerging ICT infrastructure and digital technology. Connectedness and opportunity are the prerequisites for a smart airport. There are a range of sophisticated digital tools and approaches to transform information to insights and enhance the airport user’s experience.

How data is captured and used to deliver a more personalized and targeted service for the user will be integral to the development and operation of Western Sydney Airport. The seamless integration of ICT infrastructure and digital technology in the airport-built environment is occurring at a rapid rate, and it could be argued that the digital master plan (i.e. strategically planning the customer and operations digital journey) will soon accompany the traditional physical airport master plan with associated airside, landside, environmental and ground transport strategies.

Airport ICT infrastructure and digital technologies must be designed to ‘reduce friction’ and increase user interactivity. For example:

• Engaging customer terminals – a key part of the hyper-personalized travel experience in the digital age is the terminal. A range of opportunities exist to embed a personalized customer journey and reduce stress through fully integrated digital platforms.

• Ever-increasing usage of mobile apps and wearable technology – passengers want to be able to access flight information and booking details from their own personal devices in real time. Several airports already have their own mobile apps, including Changi, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Heathrow and Incheon.

• Smart technology delivering improved wayfinding – digital and interactive methods enable passengers to navigate an airport with real-time translation services.

• Automation driving airport operational efficiency and minimizing costs – optimizing passenger flows through improved security screening using digital travel document scanning and biometrics/facial recognition thereby reduces queues, alleviates bottlenecks and enhances commercial opportunities.

• Entertainment options – this is entertainment that switches seamlessly between the terminal and aircraft.

• Car parking – this involves the geolocation of vehicles.

• Digitization of shopping – it is evident in the augmented reality (AR) of stores and facilities and online ‘click and collect’ duty free shopping.

In the airport context, technology must make the citizen safer and improve their overall experience. End-to-end biometrics are an integral part of the future smart airport – recent trials are already being undertaken between London Gatwick Airport and Dubai Airport. Similar technology-driven outcomes are occurring in baggage check-in and reclaim to enhance the pre- and post-flight processes for passengers.

Hong Kong, famous for being one of three biggest aviation interchanges in Asia, has an ‘in-city check-in’ that forms part of Hong Kong’s MTR subway system. Travelers can check their luggage in the city and receive their boarding pass then and there, proceeding to the airport bag-free or spend the day in the city. Similarly, baggage reclaims outside the airport boundary, for example at railway stations or with direct services to hotels, are expected to increase. For the future smart airport, luggage handling completely separated from the passenger is one way to make the entire process more convenient and efficient for the end user.

Western Sydney Airport has a unique opportunity to integrate both physical and digital assets. Can the airport set a benchmark for a connected and customer-centric application of ICT infrastructure and digital technology?

DIVERSIFYING AND GREENING AIRPORT ENERGYIncreasingly, there is a dual focus by airport operators on reducing their energy costs and greening their energy supplies to reduce CO2 emissions. Terminal buildings are unequivocally the airport’s greatest energy consuming assets, including heating and cooling as well as lighting. The greatest energy consuming elements in the terminal building are:

04 05

In seeking to reduce energy loads, terminal buildings are therefore the primary target for energy efficiency measures. A greenfield airport such as Western Sydney Airport has a significant opportunity to get the energy equation right from day one. Will it become a driving force and a benchmark in sustainability? You might expect that sustainable design and operational features will be embedded in the terminal building.

For new terminal buildings, incorporating sustainability is far easier given they can be designed with the newest, most efficient technology. For older terminal buildings, the task of retrofitting is somewhat more difficult. Brisbane Airport and Mildura Regional Airport are two domestic airports that have recently installed major rooftop solar systems. The AUD11 million Brisbane Airport investment incorporates a 6MW system, consisting of 22,000 panels spanning an area of 36,000 square metres across six sites. The terminal building is a tangible way for airport operators to create energy independence as well as demonstrate and showcase their sustainability credentials.

Given the increasing demand for electricity, airports are introducing more resilient utility operations through improved energy storage technology, smart metering and smart grids to build resilience against major outages. What can Western Sydney Airport deliver as we undergo a broader transition to a low carbon economy?

By mid-century, greater western Sydney will be home to around four million people, roughly the size of Melbourne or Sydney now, with around two-thirds of the newest residents opting to live west of Parramatta. The Greater Sydney Commission in its 2018 Greater Sydney Region Plan, A Metropolis of Three Cities – Connecting People identified that the metropolis of Sydney will comprise three cities: Western Parklands City, Central River City and Eastern Harbour City.

WESTERN PARKLANDS CITYSet against this future population growth and planning context, what will emerge in terms of ‘identity’ and ‘urban form’ in the region surrounding Western Sydney Airport? How will the airport shape the city? Can it help to rebalance Sydney’s growth and deliver an economic game changer in terms of trade, logistics, advanced manufacturing, health, education and science? Equally as important, how will the airport respond to the landscape and culture of western Sydney as a gateway to Australia and the world?

The area described by the Greater Sydney Commission as the Parkland City has two important north-south oriented green corridors. The Western Parklands, which has steadily been rolled out since the 1970s, is emerging as a world-class recreational parkland. The

other corridor is the degraded but important South Creek corridor and its catchment. Much of the new Western Parklands City will sit within the South Creek catchment. Also, next door to the airport is the world heritage area of Blue Mountains National Park. With a strong backbone of high-quality open spaces and potential green links, the Western Parklands concept is an easy one to understand. A major opportunity is to celebrate this and the multicultural make-up of western Sydney through the airport planning and design. The airport is one of many major infrastructure investments for this region, but it is a significant one that help create the first impression for many visitors to western Sydney and Australia more broadly.

CATALYSING THE WESTERN PARKLANDS CITY

3. THE AEROTROPOLISThe future smart airport and region for Western Sydney Airport must necessarily focus on the placemaking principles and creating the physical, cultural and social identities of a place. Successful places are discernible by a number of key qualities, including activation by people, safety and comfort, accessibility, and social interaction and collective experiences.

In terms of delivering a connected, liveable, productive and sustainable region, what type of activities, places and spaces might we see in and around Western Sydney Airport? In broader terms, this is the aerotropolis, a region where the layout, infrastructure, and economy are centered on the airport. An aerotropolis is underpinned by the rationale of maximizing the value of the asset through mixed-use development.

The commercial core of an aerotropolis is often referred to as the ‘airport city’. An airport city is typically a city built around an airport with a strategic focus on industrial and commercial land uses that offer speedy connectivity to suppliers, customers and enterprise partners nationally and worldwide. Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, like many airports, derives up to 80 percent of its operating revenue as part of an airport city from non-aeronautical mixed-use development such as retail, hotels, leisure and entertainment, R&D parks, light industry and logistics.

Although it is a major contributor, an airport city is not the sole driver of growth in the region. The main purpose of the airport city is to provide all necessary support functions to the airport and leverage the transportation node functionality of the airport and connections to its surroundings. To reflect on the potential future urban form, what might we see as we move out concentrically from Western Sydney Airport?

WITHIN 5-MINUTE DRIVEThe areas within a 5-minute radius, just outside the inner core and typically existent at airports with less than 10 million annual passengers, should focus on accommodating just-in-time logistics companies, warehousing and cold storage, ground-side air logistics and single-tenant distribution facilities. The sizes of these tenancies are significant and they currently need large landholdings to attract modern industrial investment and to function properly. Additionally, the integration of ICT and dedicated shipping transport corridors will help to move cargo more quickly, especially through customs and between shipping modes of air to truck and air to rail. Large and contiguous land parcels for growth, efficient access to air cargo, critical business mass, basic services and the high-quality multimodal infrastructure, including facilities and routes, are needed to support these activities.

WITHIN 10-MINUTE DRIVEThese uses are those that need to be close to the airport, but do not need to be immediately adjacent to it. These uses include major employers such as advanced high technology and heavy manufacturing, single-tenant light industrial, single-tenant flexible space, multi-tenant flexible space, as well as research and development buildings in a campus format. Uses include: defence and aerospace industries, bio-logistics, pharmaceutical, healthcare services and training, single-tenant flexible space, multi-tenant flexible space, ground-side air logistics, incubator/office parks and job training facilities. This group of uses requires immediate access/adjacency to air cargo facilities, immediate access to cold storage facilities, availability of flexible space formats, presence of business incubators/accelerators, contiguous land parcels, scalable spaces, basic amenities, transportation linkages and the presence of nearby mixed-use amenities, including hotels, retail, food and beverage, and potentially housing.

20-MINUTE DRIVE AND BEYOND (UP TO 50 KM)In some airport regions, there are large peripheral areas where agricultural lands currently exist. Here, technological infrastructure could accelerate growth and manage crops more efficiently. Specific agribusinesses that can thrive include cash crops, renewables and food. In order for agribusiness to work, crop land and production areas should be linked with high-speed infrastructure connections to the airport and adjacent storage areas. These land uses need security, a skilled labour force, land and water management, financial development incentives, immediate access to specialized packing and cold storage facilities, access to intermodal facilities and routes, proximity to bio-life sciences firms plus research and development, and proximity to advanced manufacturing.

06 07

The Western Parklands City encompasses the fast-growing western Sydney region and the Western Sydney Airport. The airport is expected to be the catalyst for a city-shaping aerotropolis and tourism gateway.

How people and goods move to, from and around Western Sydney Airport and its region as well as the overall efficiency of this movement will be critical to defining the broader international and domestic perception of the airport as an integrated transport hub. Potential options identified today in the initial planning for Western Sydney Airport and its surrounding region may change rapidly with emerging technologies. Connected passengers will seek out the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to their destination. Achieving a reputation as an efficient, delay-free airport is hard won and easily lost.

Ground transportation into and out of the airport needs to be considered creatively, sustainably and necessarily long term. It is important to design the movement experience from the lens of the customer, not just capital cost efficiency. Single-point failure resilience is a significant distinguishing mark in any congestion-prone transport environment and is unacceptable for any airport connection set-up. In an increasingly disrupted world, modal choice is critical for airport transit solutions.

MOVEMENT AND CONNECTIVITY

4.EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TRANSFORMING MOBILITYWe know that automated people movers have allowed airports to expand their overall footprints in terms of distance between facilities and the number of aircraft gates while still maintaining service thresholds. Internationally, automated people movers have helped reduce airport roadway congestion and emissions. They have also enabled large-scale airline hubbing operations (connecting separate landside terminals) and convenient connections to landside facilities such as parking and rental car facilities and ground transport centers.

What planning changes might emerging technologies bring to Western Sydney Airport and future ground transport connectivity? Potential mobility considerations include:

• There is the need to cater for increased demand from ‘kiss and fly’.

• Due to the level of accuracy and precision with automated vehicles, parking will occur in smaller car spaces thereby freeing up valuable land at the airport and surrounding region for alternative uses. Aligned with this, the need for parking close to the destination will become smaller, as vehicles can park themselves in remote locations.

• Autonomous vehicles will drive demand for point-to-point services. Many expect that by 2030 we will have achieved widespread Level 5 AV autonomy (fully autonomous vehicles). Autonomous vehicles will increase the capacity of our road infrastructure network.

• Mass transit, such as trains, will remain part of the total system, as road infrastructure will not be able to accommodate for all future mobility demand.

• It will be important to consider what technology-induced mobility changes could impact future road circulation, connections, parking, intersections, access, public transport, freight and logistics, walking and cycling, construction staging and traffic management at Western Sydney Airport.

RESPONDING TO FUTURE FREIGHT AND LOGISTICS NEEDSA secure freight precinct will be constructed to meet the stage one capacity requirements with access to aprons and taxiways as well as landside access. Beyond this, limited additional detail is contained in the Airport Plan – Western Sydney Airport (2016).

Air freight transport is often considered late in the airport planning process.. In most cases, air freight is initially assumed to function using road traffic only. Air freight is generally suited to time-critical, low-density and high-value commodities such as fresh produce, electronics, medical supplies and fast package deliveries. It typically relies on a high degree of ground transport connectivity. In the context of Western Sydney Airport, the air cargo market for fresh food is an important and potentially significant one. Food-based air freight, for example, requires cold stores and warehouse or distribution centers, as well as security and customs facilities.

The freight planning task requires multi-faceted, early strategic planning. It is therefore essential to understand the future freight and logistics needs, including the express sector and what the physical and operational implications will be for the airport’s freight task in 2026.

The general demand for air freight in Australia is increasing, and associated with this is a technologically driven redesign of the logistics flow. The movement towards faster, small-scale freight is likely to favor air freight operators in the future. In fact, technologies are converging to create a transport and logistics industry where systems are tracked, optimized and constantly improved. Next-generation warehousing facilities include vertical warehousing, and are being developed by companies such as Toll and Goodman, leveraging technology to drive new customer-driven logistics solutions.

What does this mean for Western Sydney Airport? Change is omnipresent and rapid, with large investments occurring in supply chain automation. The airport will need to pursue a freight and logistics strategy that is underpinned by agility and adaptable facilities to cope with changing circumstances. E-commerce changes, for example, are having a significant impact on the design of supply chains. Consumer demand is driving e-commerce changes and consumers expect greater levels of service and faster delivery of products. Associated with this is the rapid development of the express sector, that is express parcel deliveries.

08 09

A transformative disruptor in the freight and logistics sector are drones. Drones are likely to help with first and last-mile access for freight without the need to use the road network. Airspace management to one side, consideration should be given now to what this will mean for future freight corridors and movements at Western Sydney Airport.

Western Sydney Airport will necessarily have a gateway role in the domestic and international air freight sector. It is therefore critical that the ongoing planning and design processes address and respond to the future freight and logistics needs, origins and destinations.

As a capital-intensive, nationally significant infrastructure project, will the investment in Western Sydney Airport deliver a citizen-centric, smart airport that captures innovation and opportunity? Will it fully exploit the power of new technologies and provide authentic, unique and seamless customer experiences? This paper has focussed on potential features and where we need to go for the long term to get the investment right to create both a smart airport and smart region in western Sydney.

Options identified today in the initial planning for Western Sydney Airport and its surrounding region may change rapidly with emerging and disruptive technologies. There are major lessons to be learnt internationally about what the airport of the future could be. Will Western Sydney Airport capture these learnings?

Among the key questions to be answered in the planning, design and operation of Western Sydney Airport are:

• Can it seize the opportunity to develop and embed digital infrastructure to create a seamless, hyper-personalized passenger experience from day one?

• Can it become a driving force, and a benchmark in, sustainable airport design and operations?

CONCLUSION RELATED REPORTS5. 6.

• Can it deliver modal choice, a critical element in optimizing airport transit solutions?

• Can it encompass supply chain automation and new customer-driven air freight and logistics solutions?

The future smart airport and region for Western Sydney Airport must also necessarily embed the physical, cultural and social identities of a place. Successful places are discernible by several key qualities including activation, security and comfort, and accessibility, and encompass social interaction and collective experiences. Can the place potential of the airport asset be unlocked by leveraging an ongoing investment in the aerotropolis, thereby securing the best outcomes and widest possible socio-economic benefits?

Done right, Western Sydney Airport will not only address our burgeoning aviation demand but also deliver significant economic benefits in the form of tourism, trade and business services. The potential of the asset is significant, but can it become a hub of innovation and opportunity as well as a gateway? We owe it to our future generations to get the planning and design right.

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10 11

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Greg HarrisonBusiness Leader - Advisory and Sustainability Advisory+61 (0) 3 8623 4081greg.harrison@arcadis.com

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Justine KinchClient and Operations Director Property, Energy and Resources+ 61 (0) 439 142 531justine.kinch@arcadis.com

Stephen TaylorCity Executive - Sydney Global Cities ExecutiveT +61 (0) 2 8907 9084stephen.taylor@arcadis.com

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