Building on technological innovations, the airports of future have arrived

Two of the biggest airports in the world - Istanbul and Beijing - aim to make travel easier and faster for the passengers who use them

Air travel is growing in popularity across the world, and the global aviation system is undergoing projects big and small to keep up.

“We’re forecasting that traffic will double in the next 17 years,” said Angela Gittens, director general for Airports Council International (A.C.I. World). “Millions more people will be traveling.”

And those people, she said, won’t just be in places where flying is already popular. “An emerging economy now will be an advanced economy later,” Ms. Gittens said.

New and expanded airports are needed to meet that demand. Istanbul, for example, has already begun opening its new airport in