Airport Management Software Helps Airports Adapt to COVID-19

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The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the vast majority of industries worldwide, with the aviation sector suffering one of the biggest blows. Mandatory quarantine and social distancing measures have greatly disrupted air travel as some airports report a 95% reduction in passenger traffic. In addition, airports are having to limit the number of onsite personnel, adding further complications in managing day-to-day operations. To help sustain operations, airports have found the use of Airport Management Software (AMS) to be critical during this global outbreak. With AMS solutions, airports have been able to maximize their limited personnel and resources as well as provide a tool to allow for remote collaboration on airport business.

To maintain efficient operations, airports are utilizing AMS solutions to manage property, safety, maintenance, airside operations and other critical processes. As some airport personnel continue to work remotely, AMS solutions provide the capability to easily retrieve and/or submit documents/forms from anywhere using a mobile phone, laptop, tablet or any other internet-enabled device. This has been crucial in maintaining efficient operations as airport personnel easily access and submit airport data while they work remotely. Furthermore, airports are maintaining effective communication as they are able to automatically share pertinent data through automated alerting and real-time analytics dashboards. An additional area where AMS solutions have helped during this crisis is in optimizing utilization of an airport’s aircraft parking stands. Research shows that 62% of passenger jets worldwide have been grounded, leaving airports with complex aircraft parking challenges. Utilizing AMS, airports have been able to quickly and efficiently optimize use of their aircraft parking spaces. These solutions have provided the capability of enhancing the visibility of aircraft parking spots as well as help utilize airport facilities to the fullest.

With the various benefits that AMS solutions provide, airports have been able to sustain their operations with their limited resources and personnel. Although the global pandemic has greatly disrupted the day-to-day operations of airports worldwide, airports have luckily been able to get through this difficult time through leveraging AMS.

 

Sources –  https://aci.aero/news/2020/04/01/economic-analysis-shows-covid-19-is-an-existential-threat-to-airport-business/

https://www.internationalairportreview.com/article/114585/aviation-industry-covid-19-pandemic/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-04-16/coronavirus-travel-what-happens-to-planes-grounded-by-covid-19

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Digital Solutions – A Gateway to Long-Term Environmental Sustainability for Airports

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One of the biggest challenges that airports currently face is long-term environmental sustainability. According to a recent study, airports are one of the major contributors to the world’s global carbon emissions. Considering that air traffic is expected to nearly double by the Year 2037, airports will continue to be one of the world’s major contributors to carbon emissions, unless proper sustainability initiatives are taken.

Investing in technology, such as digital solutions can be a great first step in making an airport more sustainable. An airport’s operations, safety management and training processes have traditionally been very paper-intensive. Considering the amount of required inspections, operations reports, daily logs, training records, safety reports and investigation findings that are documented on paper, it is easy to see how the digitization and automation of these processes can help airports significantly decrease their carbon footprint. Thus, making themselves more sustainable.

In addition, some airports heavily rely on the use of paper to document important information for their leases. Airports typically need to document and monitor lease terms, lessee information, plots, insurance requirements, security deposits, rent, etc. Utilizing digital solutions to electronically document this information can increase an airport’s sustainability.

More than reducing paper usage, the use of a Resource Management System can also greatly decrease an airport’s carbon footprint. Resource management systems offer airports various benefits such as optimized gate utilization, increased efficiency and maximization of current infrastructure. More importantly, it can reduce an airport’s carbon footprint by reducing jet fuel usage. By fully optimizing the gate assignment process, airports will limit the amount of time aircraft spend taxiing on the runway. One study suggests that 18 tons of CO2 are released into the atmosphere during taxiing operations alone. Lastly, one additional benefit of optimized gate utilization is increased customer satisfaction by reducing time spent on the tarmac.

In conclusion, investing in digital solutions can greatly align with an airport’s sustainability goals by decreasing CO2 emissions and eliminating the need for paper usage. Certain government agencies are also willing to offer funding for certain projects that assist with long-term environmental sustainability efforts.

 

 

Sources – https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49349566

https://www.greenaironline.com/news.php?viewStory=2342

https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2018-10-24-02/

Airside and Safety Automation: Planning for Sustainability

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Through the Airport Carbon Accreditation program, 133 European Airports have taken on the challenge to reduce their airport’s carbon footprint.  The program has set ambitious goals and is currently working towards 67 of its member airports to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. While a portion of European Airports have met their goals, the majority of program members will need to find innovative and cost-effective solutions to help them meet their objectives.

In today’s day and age, the new world of technology provides a plethora of innovative solutions which enable airports to meet mission-critical objectives. Increased productivity, streamlining business processes, reducing costs, enhanced communications, increased operational insights are all major benefits of technology, but a major benefit that is sometimes overlooked is increased sustainability.

European airports looking to improve their airport’s sustainability efforts can begin by further enhancing their most critical operations by utilizing software. Software is an ideal solution to improving sustainability in that it is a solution that pays for itself.  European airports that have tight budgets can invest in software knowing that by eliminating process deficiencies and increasing productivity, the cost savings will ensure a complete ROI. Critical areas which can greatly impact airport sustainability when automated include airside operations, safety management, and resource management. In addition to increasing sustainability, automating these processes can also increase airport safety and enhance operational efficiencies.

Documentation and tracking of information relating to airside operations has traditionally been very paper intensive. Automation of these processes can reduce an airport’s carbon footprint by drastically reducing paper usage. Research shows that airports can reduce paper printing and consumption by up to 50 percent by automating the majority of airside operations processes alone. This helps airports achieve quantifiable and measurable success in becoming eco-friendly.

Safety management operations are also very paper intensive. From safety reports to submission of investigative findings, tracking of safety data can consume a tremendous amount of paper.  In providing a digital platform to submit and archive this information, it will help to further reduce paper usage at airports.

The use of resource management software is also an excellent way to reduce carbon emissions. Resource management software allows airports to optimize their gate and resource assignments to maximize the use of the airport’s current infrastructure. By optimizing these processes, the system would decrease time aircraft spend taxiing to a gate, thus reducing jet fuel usage. According to a recent study, it is estimated that around 18 million tons of CO2 are emitted annually during aircraft taxiing operations and, for Heathrow Airport, aircraft taxiing contributes to 30% of the airport’s total CO2 emissions. In addition to improving sustainability, resource management software can also help to improve other critical airport priorities including customer satisfaction, due to decreased aircraft congestion, and reduction of labor costs.

In conclusion, implementation of airside operations, safety management, and resource management software is an innovative way to help make airports “green”. Software implementation in these areas provides a multidimensional solution that provides various benefits which can help European Airports meet their sustainability goals.

 

Works Cited

Surgenor, Christopher. “Early promise of green aircraft taxiing solutions has yet to materialize although progress on regulatory approvals.” Green Air, Green Air Communications, February 24, 2017

https://www.greenaironline.com/news.php?viewStory=2342

 

Koumelis, Theodore. “Europe’s airport industry commits to set new vision of sustainability.” Travel Daily News, Travel Daily News, June 20, 2018

https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/europes-airport-industry-commits-to-set-new-vision-of-sustainability

 

 

 

GIS Now And Into The Future

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Geographic Information Systems (GIS) capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographic data. This evolving technology has been adapting into the airport space since the FAA launched the Airports GIS program in 2009 for the gathering and storage of airport data. This put the spotlight on GIS as an available data tracking platform to improve how airports currently store and manage various data sets for a range of reasons.

GIS has many benefits with present technology and will continue to become even more valuable with future advancements. Investing in GIS is critical to optimizing an airport’s operational processes and in doing so now will not only improve current procedures but also set an airport up for success in the future.

GIS allows airports to improve a range of processes including asset tracking, lease management, maintenance management, and everyday operations. GIS provides a unique way for airports to map/visualize any important assets as well as visualize airport properties.

GIS is extremely helpful for airports due to the “drill down” capabilities. Not only are you able to map and visualize assets and properties using GIS, but the added benefit is associating helpful data which provides insights into the particular property/asset. With a single click, one could pull up information such as:

  • Lease records regarding a specific plot.
  • Manuals and maintenance records associated with a particular asset.
  • Current inventory of specific parts associated with an asset.

Currently, GIS is an incredibly useful tool for an airport’s operations and, with future improvements, will be even more critical to further enhancing an airport’s operational efficiencies. Aniruddha Banerjee, Ph.D., an expert in GIS technology, explains that advances in predictive digital mapping will help to provide more in-depth operational insights than is currently possible. This technology could potentially analyze GIS data to identify and notify airport stakeholders of problem areas/assets at airports. For example, if an asset needed to be continuously replaced, in a non-random fashion, GIS would be able to identify that there may be underlying issues that are causing this issue and then notify airport personnel of the problem.

Another prospective innovation of GIS is its simulation/modeling capabilities, otherwise known as Simulation GIS.  Advances in Simulation GIS will allow for more accurate modeling of various airport specific scenarios. One relevant example would be the modeling of air or ground transport systems. With the potential for mass drone usage at airports, airports will have to prepare for new safety concerns regarding organizing operations for not only manned but unmanned aircraft. Specific safety scenarios through Simulation GIS will be more easily predicted and will assist with informed decision making and strategizing.

When put into action, Simulation GIS can assist an airport in implementing new and improved policies/procedures, an example being the decision on what wind speed should trigger a no-fly zone aided by simulating different wind speed scenarios with Simulation GIS. This technology can also be used for optimizing of ground transport to maximize resource usage, like finding the most efficient routes for taxiing aircraft to their gates.

Additionally, the advancement of light detection and ranging technology, also known as LIDAR, will help provide an accurate 3D measurement of factors that can become part of GIS maps.  Many studies, like the LIDAR Deployment for Airport Obstruction Survey from 2010, have shown that using LIDAR technology to map trees allows an airport to accurately plan maintenance, such as tree trimming, using growth simulations. Adding trees, fences, new construction, etc. can allow an airport to have a precise look at every part of the airports’ dynamics.

Utilization of GIS maps supports airport procedures in a variety of ways. Being able to associate data to specific layers and future improvements in predictive mapping and simulation add a resource that increases not only an airports efficiency but also reduces cost. Utilizing GIS is not just critical for present-day functions, but it is essential for future productivity.

Optimization with Gate Management Systems

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With limited gate resources, airport traffic constraints, and dynamic flight schedules, it can be challenging to manage gate availability. When confronting this challenge, more and more airports have switched to a Gate Management System (GMS) as a way to manage their Gate and Aircraft Parking assignment process.

GMS offers an intuitive solution for allocating gates according to flight schedules and arrival times. Not only does the GMS reduce the complexity of managing aircraft parking and gate assignments, but it also detects potential issues, in real-time, by monitoring aircraft scheduling and resource allocation to find conflicts and report discrepancies.

GMS also helps to enhance communication between airports and airlines regarding changed gate assignments as well as alerting of erroneous gate assignment discrepancies. GMS solutions offer automatic alerting capabilities which eliminate back and forth email/phone communication for automated alerts that send in various ways.  

By using airlines’ flight schedules to assign equipment and parking space for aircraft effectively, the GMS also automizes the gate assignment process. Using an algorithm to automatically calculate the gates to be scheduled for an aircraft based on size and type of aircraft, the GMS correctly assigns boarding gates and manages gate assignments. Since all flight schedules upload into an airport’s GMS, historical information regarding gate assignments is captured to provide insightful information such as airline gate usage, etc.   

With a GMS Airports can significantly increase their operational efficiencies and enhance communication between stakeholders.  But more than streamlining the gate assignment process, airports can also improve their passengers’ travel experience and provide airlines with cost savings by minimizing the time aircraft spend taxiing on the runway. As airports are seeing all the benefits of having a GMS, it is becoming more and more a necessary tool needed for the modern day airport.

Critical Aspects of an Effective Safety Management System

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In the Aviation Industry, organization is crucial to FAA compliance. In the past, when tracking information regarding safety issues such as incident documentation, event response, and follow-up procedures, the most common method to capturing this critical information had been through paper and pen.

However, a new alternative has been surfacing. Recently, more and more airports are moving towards an online system to automate their safety management process. For airports, these systems allow them to proactively address safety issues, document and avoid potential hazards, and improve their incident response procedures.

There are 3 key attributes crucial to a Safety Management System (SMS) Solution.

Data Sharing and Documentation

Airports understand that incident documentation is critical to gaining operational insights which can help in the prevention of accidents and incidents. One of the key benefits of using software to manage SMS is the ability to provide various stakeholders with the ability to document safety information anywhere through the use of mobile devices. Airport stakeholders now have the capability to report safety issues, attach images to reports, and alert airport personnel regarding safety events, straight from the field. Not only can they submit reports more efficiently, but the information can be easily distributed and shared to relevant stakeholders. SMS solutions offer automated alerting capabilities that will automatically alert designated personnel of any safety events that have been reported.  

Using transaction logs to track development of a report or event provides clarity and organization to a system. From start to finish, transaction logs document the entire progress of a form, enabling the user to view any revisions, additions, or amendments that have occurred.

Configurability

Using a configurable reporting system allows for ease of adaptation to changing events. Reports, submissions, and incidents are always developing, so keeping up with the associated documentation can be challenging. Configurable reporting systems provide a simple solution to this by offering user friendly forms that can adapt to the various changes airports face.

One way to permit dynamic access to the system is by using customizable rules and privileges. In having the ability to create specialized privileges, different access levels can be assigned to users that help divide labor and create a more organized safety management environment.

Queryable Data and Trend Analytics

Having queryable data makes trend analysis easy. By using a queryable system, critical details of an event such as description, causes, and severity can be searched by keywords or phrases that detect the similarities in various safety events. Additionally, this data can be visualized by specific fields to help provide a holistic representation of trends. These trends can be downloaded and shared to bring attention to important events.

Conclusion

As the aviation industry is transitioning to increased digitization, airports are starting to see the benefits that intuitive online solutions provide. These solutions allow a more efficient data gathering process, provide the flexibility to adapt with a constantly evolving airport, and revolutionize the safety management process for the better.

 

 

Mobile Apps: The New Solution to Public Demand

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Data Analysis: the Future of Airport Efficiency

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In our modern age, data is collected everywhere – from customer satisfaction reports to records of a website’s clicks per day – and airports are no exception. Just as with any other business, an airport’s success depends on its ability to use data analysis as a tool to innovate and keep in stride with the needs of customers.

Airports already have feedback at their fingertips in the form of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Records of KPIs include information such as the numbers of on-time departures, numbers of runway incursions, and the revenue per enplaned passenger. Unfortunately, many airports do not use KPIs to their highest potential.

The shear volume of data that airports hold can make useful analysis challenging. Efforts to manually analyze data through spreadsheets and other basic programs are slow and ineffective. Monthly data reports are simply not consistent enough to allow an airport to recognize patterns.

Data analysis must be preformed on a regular basis, in order to provide airports with enough accurate information to show trends. Taking advantage of KPIs through effective data analysis can prove to be enlightening, as airports gain the ability to identify problem zones or inefficiencies that may not be evident at first glance.

However, most airports do not have personnel on hand to analyze daily data inputs. Nonetheless, the task of arranging, monitoring, and analyzing data can be made efficient and simple, even without hiring data-analyzers – a switch to software can be the solution!

Data analysis software has the capacity to adapt to an airport’s individual needs, show trends, locate problem areas, and discover inefficiencies in the airport’s functions. Most importantly, software streamlines the data analysis, making the information easily accessible and usable by the airport; a spreadsheet of numbers and dates becomes a map pinpointing a problematic segment of the runway. A virtual Dashboard displays an airport’s data in a centralized and intuitive manner with maps, graphs, and charts. In other words, airports can observe, react, and fix problems faster, leading to increasing revenues and decreasing costs.

And the best news? Increased insight into the running of an airport allows for an all-around increase in efficiency, resulting in increased satisfaction for employers, employees, and customers alike.

Increasing Airport Security Through Software – Security Management Software

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It is incredible to believe security remains an issue while traveling with today’s safety requirements for airline passengers. From full body scanners to restriction of liquids and possibly the prevention of laptop use during flights, passengers are put through rigorous tests to ensure they are safe to fly. Yet what if major threats are actually entering elsewhere than security checkpoints? This is what happened on April 20th, 2014 when San Jose transient, Yahya Abdi, jumped a perimeter fence onto the tarmac and climbed into the wheel well embarking on a journey across the Pacific to Hawaii.

Thankfully Abdi was found alive on the tarmac but this presents a larger issue: how secure are our airports? Since Abdi, there have been 10 reported “stowaways” aboard flights internationally. One teenager breached the perimeter at JFK but was caught taking a selfie before he could enter a plane. Additionally, the Chicago Tribune reports that “intruders breach U.S. airport fences about every 10 days” since 2012. “Five intruders brought knives and one a loaded gun.” Airports such as JFK and San Jose International both exceed FAA safety regulations and the TSA provides additional regulations regarding the security of secured areas, however, breaches occur. Given the current political tide it is not ill-conceived to believe that security regulations may become stricter with the inclusion of perimeter and gate security reporting. Regardless of the regulations airports should proactively utilize intelligent security software to enhance the safety of their customers, employees, and tenants.

Security management software is available today to automate and facilitate the inspecting and reporting of airport gates, perimeters and other vulnerable assets. Software can be customized for individual gates and perimeters. Furthermore, today’s user friendly software will facilitate the jobs of inspectors and administrators resulting in increased productivity and job satisfaction. The use of software for security reporting can be done from airside locations to landside locations by an inspector in the field on his tablet or smartphone. Submissions into a centralized system may alert necessary personnel of security incidences in real-time while also allowing airports to digitize and archive all inspections and incident report forms. Lastly, security management software will allow tracking of security breaches and detection of vulnerabilities to prevent further occurrences through the use of heat maps and trend analysis allowing authorities to pinpoint problem areas and address security issues.

It is clear that airports should be actively using innovative security software solutions for their airport needs. Those who take action promptly will be benefitted through favorable standing with the FAA, higher productivity, and most importantly—safer customers, employees, and tenants.

Runway Lighting: How’s the Maintenance?

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Lights are easily one of the most important fixtures present on a runway. Runway lights guide pilots during the takeoff and landing procedures, and for this reason, airports have to keep their runway lights up to standard. After a few instances where poorly maintained runway lights damaged aircraft, the FAA tightened its requirements for the maintenance of all airport visual aid facilities in Part 139 certificated airports.

The current version of Advisory Circular, (AC) 150/5340-26, Maintenance of Airport Visual Aid Facilities, outlines all changes that the FAA made in its policies. The FAA requires airports to establish a program to keep careful records of the maintenance of runway lights. One specific change in FAA policy was to emphasize the importance of checking the bolts of in-pavement lights. This special consideration comes from an instance where an in-pavement light came loose, and damaged an airplane during take off. Now, the FAA requires airport personnel to check the torque of the bolts regularly, and completely replace all bolts that are not up to standard. Considering the sheer volume of requirements, it is not surprising that the FAA suggests a program “tailored to suit each airport’s particular needs”. Such a program can be created with the help of software.

According to the FAA, a maintenance record of runway lighting should “provide a service history of each piece of equipment, ensure regular maintenance […], and provide a data base for statistical analysis of lighting system performance.” The task of keeping track of “each piece of equipment” of a runway light system is challenging, while keeping all the information in an organized and understandable format can be just plain cumbersome. Software can simplify the task by providing one convenient place to input data, as well as the tools necessary to track the continual maintenance of any given piece of equipment. It can also aid in generating reports on the bolt torque records, when required internally or by the FAA. With a simple switch to software, airports can make the maintenance of their runway lighting systems efficient and reliable.

To view Maintenance of Airport Visual Aid Facilities: 150/5340-26C