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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - Airport IQ (Situation-Aware Mobile Platform for Airport Collaborative Decision-Making)

Teaser

Summary

Airport IQ developed a mobile information sharing system connecting existing airport systems with mobile devices (smartphones, tablets and other wearable devices) carried by ground staff. The system provides the right information at the right place and time to the right people, making it easier for planners to make optimal use of resources.
This reduces primary and reactionary delays, improves the reliability of estimates, and allows airlines to make smarter decisions about turnaround buffers, that will be shorter than before. Airport IQ also offers a simple way to simulate turnaround activities, making it possible to run operational exercises using the same mobile tools, which will simplify and improve the quality of training, as well as providing the basis for designing longer-term improvements in ground handling processes.
The projectâ€™s objectives and results have been structured into 3 key areas:
Objective 1 (turnaround efficiency): the project increases the efficiency of the ground handing process by tracking each sub-process in real-time at the individual ground staff level; the resulting activity dashboard will allow turnaround coordinator to predict more accurately the turnaround time and to take preemptive action in case a time breach is identified in a specific sub-process, therefore reducing or eliminating reactionary delays.
Objective 2 (turnaround environmental impact): the project reduces the environmental impact of the turnaround process by minimizing aircraft holding or queuing with engines on, as well as reducing unnecessary ground movements and activation of auxiliary power units; the turnaround coordinator will be able to display an aggregate â€œsustainabilityâ€ indicator resulting from his turnaround performance, and learn how to minimize it.
Objective 3 (turnaround staff training): the project accelerates the pace of training for ground staff by introducing mobile applications that reduce the need for paper and voice-communication, while providing user-friendly interfaces and simulation tools allowing each ground staff to understand his contribution to the economic and environmental performance of turnarounds.

Work performed

The Airport IQ systems main functions are ready they function perfectly. Mobile applications were developed for nearly all of the ground handling activities and they are connected through a middleware to the back-end of the system, where the turnaround related forecasts and calculations are made. The system can provide and accurate TOBT (target off-block time) and many other important values. It can be connected to a A-CDM (Airport Collaborative Decision Making) or AODB (Airport Operational Database) and may also serve as the FIDS (Flight Information Display System) in case of smaller airports.
A new more user friendly layer was designed and partially implemented in the period. Further tests were executed at Heviz Airport, Targu Mures Airport and Belgrade Airport. Additional functionalities and features were identified during the demonstrations and tests and they were partially developed. Preparation for a more active commercial and communication campaign was started and initial talks were executed with stakeholders. A new project promotion video was created and an active social media campaign is ongoing.

Final results

The new approach to information management introduced by Airport IQ is a real game-changer, and the efficiency of airports using it will improve dramatically: delays will be shorter and less common, handling operations are more resource-efficient, and everyone (including passengers) receives more detailed and up-to-date information. This creates significant economic and environmental savings for the entire air transport value chain.
This will be possible because the old point-to-point messaging approach has been replaced by an information sharing approach based on SWIM (System Wide Information Management) principles. All turnaround information needed by all stakeholders is now available simultaneously to all of them online, without any delay and without the need to explicitly request or send it.
The Airport IQ benefits start bottom-up, with the ground workforce. The staff benefit from mobile technology mean that much of the position and status information they need to report is now done completely automatically. Where full automation is not possible, customised apps make status reporting fast and simple.
Airport IQ can be introduced step-by-step, adding one new stakeholder/external system at a time. This contrasts with traditional A-CDM systems where the need for high-level agreement between all stakeholders is a major barrier to adoption. In airports where adoption of Airport IQ has been more extensive, the greater benefits arise in part because it has been easy to integrate Airport IQ with existing legacy systems.
The benefits of Airport IQ will go beyond day-to-day operations, extending into staff training and work process improvement.