Airport Experience® News - Retail & Amenities Issue 2023

BEFORE YOU TAKE OFF

AI’S BOLD AIRPORT VISION AI Image Generation Suggests Airports Will Be Unrecognizable In 2050

BY C AROL WARD

will have terminals scattered further afield to allow for more biophilic designs, incorporating green spaces into its many floors. The airport’s iconic peaked roofs of the main terminal, currently made from Teflon-coated fiberglass and steel, will be swapped for more energy-efficient glass structures to harness the sun’s solar power. At Orlando International Airport (MCO), the AI prediction envisions a central artificial river that flows through the airport, providing convenient transportation to various terminals. The image generated also depicts an array of aircraft types, hinting at potential advancements in aircraft technology. Upward and outward expansion could be in the cards for O’Hare International Airport (ORD). Icelandair’s AI image generation tool transformed the airport’s multiple terminals into sky-high structures complete with domes and expansive internal roads, providing seamless connectivity across the airport.

hat may look like fantasy lands from futuristic movies is in fact what artificial intelligence (AI)

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Above: An AI-image-generation tool suggests airports of the future will have little resemblance to today’s campuses. Pictured are AI images for Orlando International Airport, Denver International Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

is predicting North American airports could look like in a quarter of a century. Elevated pods, rivers running through airport campuses and runway-less airports could be some of the attributes built into airports in the coming decades, according to Icelandair research. Driven by an interest in how technology and AI will transform the face of air travel, Icelandair, Iceland’s flagship airline, utilized an AI-image-generation tool to predict what the 10 largest airports in the U.S. could look like by 2050. AI predicts how the 10 airports will look and function in the coming years based on the current patterns in technological advancements and their perceived trajectory. The results are astonishing. For example, AI predicts that the sprawling Denver International Airport (DEN) campus, covering 33,531 acres,

AI’s prediction for John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is remarkable due to a lack of runways. The airport’s architectural projection for 2050 includes two glass dome terminals at the airport core, linked to the mainland by a network of roads. In the surrounding waters, there are hints of innovative aircraft designs that appear capable of taking off from the water, reinforced by the absence of runways. Similar to other airports, AI suggests an emphasis on glass structures and green elements at JFK. More futuristic images of how airports might evolve can be found at https://www. icelandair.com/ .

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