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Suggested Citation:"Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Introduction to Blockchain and Airport Operations in a COVID-19 Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26036.
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Page 13
Page 14
Suggested Citation:"Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Introduction to Blockchain and Airport Operations in a COVID-19 Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26036.
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Page 14

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1 Introduction  “Introduction to Blockchain and Airport Operations in a COVID-19 Environment” was organized by the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) under ACRP Project 11-08/19-01 as part of its series of convening activities, “ACRP Insight Events.” This event focused on use cases and potential applications for blockchain technology at airports and key challenges and opportunities associated with blockchain that are relevant to the airport sector, with a particular focus on impacts from COVID-19. The concept of blockchain emerged approximately 10 years ago as the architecture underlying the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The idea of blockchain is to create open, distributed ledgers or data that can be shared across many different nodes (i.e., each computer within the network of computers). “Block” refers to the aggregated transactions initiated by a user, which are then verified and validated through complex consensus rules (which differ from node to node). Once each node comes to a consensus on the validity of the transaction, it is encoded in the ledger that the nodes share and subsequently stored by all other nodes within the transaction network. Each node within the system retains an encrypted version of a ledger, which shows all transactions and is updated any time that a transaction occurs. Blockchains can be public, or nonpermissioned (anyone can initiate and validate a transaction on that blockchain), or private/permissioned (only certain parties can initiate and validate a transaction). Since the concept emerged, blockchain has been recognized for its potentially broad applicability beyond financial or currency transactions—for example, to set up “smart contracts” that use a highly complex and contingent set of criteria and conditions that, when met, automatically and rapidly trigger a transaction. Blockchain offers several key advantages, including increased security and control over transactions, increased speed of transactions, decreased cost of transactions and data sharing, and expanded opportunities for more complex transactions. Blockchain could also be used to incentivize efficiency, transparency, and good behavior across parties. In the airport industry, potential applications for blockchain include security and identification, flight data management, safety and maintenance, baggage and cargo tracking, regulatory compliance, and more. Promising blockchain applications specific to COVID-19 include passenger health verification and contact tracing, facilitating a contactless passenger experience, and tracking the movement of healthcare supplies and pharmaceuticals (including vaccines) from origin to final destination.

2 “Introduction to Blockchain and Airport Operations in a COVID-19 Environment” sought to bring together representatives from the airport sector and the blockchain industry along with other experts engaged in airport operations, information technology, and blockchain. This ACRP Insight Event took place virtually on August 4–5, 2020. Preparations included a thorough literature review, which served to define the state of understanding of blockchain and its application in the airport industry and to identify notable thought leaders and practitioners in the industry. Several of these thought leaders and practitioners were then selected to serve on the planning committee for the event. The event led off with an overview of blockchain technology, including opportunities and challenges for the airport industry, and was followed by a series of presentations and panel discussions on operations- and customer-facing blockchain applications at airports, provenance tracking, privacy concerns, and data sharing. The program agenda for the event is provided in Appendix A. More than 350 people from around the world registered for the event. Registrants’ professional affiliations included airports; airlines; federal, state, and local government; consulting; law; finance; technology; and more. The full list of registrants is provided in Appendix B. At the conclusion of the event, participants were asked to complete a feedback survey. A summary of the responses is provided in Appendix C. Presentations from “Introduction to Blockchain and Airport Operations in a COVID-19 Environment” and the results of the literature search are available on the ACRP Insight Event web page at http://www.trb.org/ACRP/ACRP-Insight-Events.aspx. Readers who are interested in more information can e-mail the ACRP Senior Program Officer for the event, Theresia Schatz, at TSchatz@nas.edu. ACRP is an industry-driven, applied research program that develops near-term, practical solutions to problems faced by airport operators. ACRP is managed by TRB, a part of the National Academies, and is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). ACRP Insight Events are forums that foster dialogue between professionals across sectors, institutions, and industries. ACRP Insight Events convene airport industry leaders and subject matter experts in various fields to encourage discussion and promote broader and deeper insight on topics of significance to airport operators. These in-depth, face-to-face gatherings are designed to promote communication and collaboration, foster innovation, and help identify areas of future interest and research, especially for topics of emerging importance.

Next: Session 1: What Is Blockchain and How Is It Relevant to the Airport Industry? »
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In the airport industry, potential applications for blockchain include security and identification, flight data management, safety and maintenance, baggage and cargo tracking, regulatory compliance, and more. Promising blockchain applications specific to COVID-19 include passenger health verification and contact tracing, facilitating a contactless passenger experience, and tracking the movement of healthcare supplies and pharmaceuticals (including vaccines) from origin to final destination.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's Conference Proceedings on the Web 28: Introduction to Blockchain and Airport Operations in a COVID-19 Environment brings together conference proceedings of representatives from the airport sector and the blockchain industry along with other experts engaged in airport operations, information technology, and blockchain.

This ACRP Insight Event took place virtually on August 4–5, 2020. More information is available at http://www.trb.org/ACRP/ACRP-Insight-Events.aspx.

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