Aéroports de Lyon is renowned the world over for its expertise in the development, operation and management of airport services. Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport is making a €180 million investment in the redesign of its Terminal 1 and innovation increasingly influences its exemplary service culture.

Since 2010, through Aéroports de Lyon Management & Services (ADLMS), Lyon Airport has shared its mastery of the air transport business, and imparted its knowledge to broaden the development other airports around the world. Through the subsidiary, skilled teams with extensive grounding in the airport environment pass on their real experience for training, advice, management, engineering and airport operations, to enhance the activities of other international gateways.

In 2013, ADLMS made an agreement with Aéroports du Cameroun to share its learnings with the operator’s seven West African airports – including Douala International and Yaoundé Nsimalen International airports, delivering customised services tailored to their needs.

Denis Fontanel, who heads ADLMS, explained that the partnership between the two operators will provide Aéroports du Cameroun with support to better integrate its environmental concerns; assistance with the methodology and tools dedicated to developing and operating a business plan and financial reporting; technical assistance in preparing the installation of a Geographic Information System; and with a strategy to enhance the freight operations across its airports, in accordance with the operator’s priorities.

“The programme is a transfer of skills and expertise, and over the course of the next three years we will work with Aéroports du Cameroun to help them in reaching a sufficient level,” Fontanel explained.

Over the last four years ADLMS has assisted in the development of airports in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo and Mali, as well as the developing and operating the modern new Prishtina International Airport in Kosovo, and the programme, Fontanel explained, enables a two-way learning, which facilitates the continued growth of all the airports involved within the programme.

“For Aéroports de Lyon,” he said, “it is a strategic way to develop, because it offers our Project Managers the opportunity to see different airports, different countries and the realities of operation there. And what better way to improve the skills and the knowledge of the airport activities?”