IATA seminar held in Yangzhou

An IATA (International Air Transport Association) seminar on airports and the overall experience of passengers took place in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu province on March 27.

The seminar convened more than 300 people from over 70 aviation related enterprises and departments to discuss the development of global aviation, new technologies and services, and make suggestions for the improvement of Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport (YTIA).

Delegations look at a model of a smart baggage tracing system which will be applied at Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport, on March 27. [Photo/yznews.com.cn]

"Yangzhou and the YTIA left us with a good impression of the beautiful scenery of Yangzhou and the airport's upcoming smart baggage tracing system," said Hou Kan, an official of the IATA North Asia region, when being asked why they chose Yangzhou to hold the seminar.

According to Hou, IATA used to pay more attention to large airlines and airports in the applications of new technology. But through the communication with YTIA and other small and medium-sized airports in China, IATA found that many of these airports have already applied some of the world's leading technologies.

YTIA opened in May 2012 and upgraded to being an international airport in February 2016. To date, 45 domestic and foreign routes have been launched. In 2018, the annual passenger throughput was 2.384 million and cargo throughput was 11,000 tons.

The airport will be the first in China to use the smart baggage tracing system.