Smart Safe Secure Skies, India

22 OCTOBER 2019 I NEW DELHI

Thales has joined hands with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) to organise an event* on the theme ‘Smart Safe Secure Skies’ on 22 October 2019 at Le Meridien, New Delhi. This event, focussing on the civilian market, seeks to bring together all key air space stakeholders to discuss and share views on how they see the evolution of air space safety and efficiency; how digital technologies and new products/services can impact air space safety and efficiency.

The event would have plenary sessions with varied speakers from the industry in India with case studies from countries like Australia (Air Services). Thales would also have a dedicated marketplace (demos) on the sidelines of the conference – showcasing the seamless journey of the passenger from the time of booking the travel, entering the airport, taking the flight and reaching the destination.

Some of the topics to be delved on at this event include dynamic Indian civil aviation market, operations efficiency between airlines, airports and ANSPs, ensuring smart safe secure skies, smart secure airports and staying connected in the sky, among others.

In line with Smart Safe Secure Skies 2019, we will be showcasing some of these solutions in the dedicated demo area. You can find list of these demos below:

• ECOsystem UTM: Airspace management dedicated web portal for national authorities to manage the presence of drones in the airspace
• SOARIZON®: Digital platform designed to simplify drone operations by enabling users to register their drone missions
• Holoport: Augmented Reality Tower Operations
• Live Face Identification System (LFIS) Watch: LIVE Face detection in a crowd in real-time
• Biometric Boarding: Seamless flight on-boarding using facial authentication
• Airport Passenger In-Flow Management: Prediction tool to support decision-making to optimize resource allocations and point out impacted flights

Air travel is growing rapidly around the world and with hundreds of millions of people joining the global middle class; International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) predicts that global air travel will double by 2030, which requires a commensurate doubling of the entire aviation ecosystem. Aviation being a zero error, zero tolerance industry, fuelled with the double-digit growth, safety becomes ever more imperative across an increasingly complex and sophisticated aviation ecosystem. The session deliberates on the futuristic solutions backed by technology, artificial intelligence, big data and advanced analytics in making the skies safe and smart.

Moderator: Mr. Kapil Kaul, CEO & Director - South Asia, CAPA

• Mr. Vineet Gulati, Member (ANS), AAI
• Mr. Jean Ferre, VP Airspace Mobility Solutions, Thales
• Mr. Ashish Saraf, Head, Helicopters – Airbus India
• Mr. Ankit Mehta, Co-Founder – ideaForge

To cater to the growing passenger traffic, Airport capacity across the world needs to grow dramatically. India alone will require investments worth US$ 50-60 billion to meet the demand of a billion trips per year across 200 airports. The session will highlight the need for development and modernization of aviation infrastructure in making it more passenger friendly.

Moderator: Mr. Vedamuthu Somasundaram, Aireon

• Captain Raj K. Malik, ED, Airports Authority of India
• Mr. Sidharth Kapur, Infrastructure and Airports Expert

*by invite only

Media Coverage: The event has been well covered by various media publications. Some of the coverage hyperlinks are given below for your reference:

• Anti-drone regulations to be issued within week's time: BCAS official

• Airports Authority of India (AAI) requests airlines to inform it if aircraft acquisition plans are being changed

• More airports to be privatised soon

Some of the quotes worth noting are as given below:

• "Government is, for the first time, talking about disinvestment of Air India and Pawan Hans Ltd. We have already privatised some airports and more airports are in line. Three have been awarded, few more are in line. It is a continuous trend," said Ms Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India
• "BCAS is about to release anti-drone specifications. The technical specifications of all the gadgets and systems at Indian airports are issued by BCAS. So, for anti-drone, we are about to release the specifications in less than a week's time," said Mr. Maheshwar Dayal, Deputy Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
• Smart Safe Secure Skies' is a global event and the decision to select India as its venue this year reflects India's importance on the global landscape", said Mr Anand Stanley, Chairman, FICCI Civil Aviation Committee and President & MD, India and South Asia, Airbus. "The spirit of aerospace has always been innovation, but the soul of aviation is in its safety. No one in this industry (OEM, company or player), breaks the code of honor that we have on safety. It is this sanctity we have to present and preserve today," he added.
• "Since the start of commercial aviation, the sector is at another major juncture where it is entering the drone age. The existing infrastructure will not be adequate as the skies will be getting busier. Also, the regulatory framework of international standards will be needed to police these," said Mr Alex Cresswell, Executive Vice President, Land & Air Systems, Thales. 
• "We know the Modi government has an ambition of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024. A company like Thales is here to help meet those ambitions", said Mr Emmanuel de Roquefeuil, VP and Country Director, Thales in India.

Source: Press release by FICCI - More airports to be privatised: Civil Aviation Joint Secretary Usha Padhee

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