Unlocking airport capacity through data and AI

With global air traffic now matching or exceeding pre-pandemic levels, airports face growing pressure to optimise existing resources. Ahead of the International Airport Summit (IAS) in Berlin this November, International Airport Review (IAR) editor Holly Miles spoke with Chris Miles (Calgary Airport Authority) and Marco Rueckert (Searidge Technologies) about why this challenge is so urgent, the possible solutions, and what’s on the horizon.

Chris kicked off the session by discussing traffic growth at Calgary Airport and what challenges it faces with airside operations.

“For us, trying to drive additional capacity begins before the aircraft is even here – it’s in the data exchange, understanding common structures and goals, making sure we’re talking the same language with our carrier, our partners, and our regulatory agencies,” explained Chris. “One of the biggest challenges within airports and data exchange is that data is not all in a common format and, ultimately, it is a little ‘dirty’.”

Like all airports, Calgary wants to have a reputation for resilience, operating to the schedule in all weather conditions. “We’re constantly looking at gate performance, understanding how our partners perform, and then enabling, through either innovation or technology, opportunities to shave time off,” Chris added.

But what are some of the invisible inefficiencies holding airports back with their airside operations? For Marco, it all goes back to better collaboration and the role of data as key enabler:   are still silos of data, even between the three major stakeholders – ANSPs, airports, and airlines. Everybody has their own data system, their own enterprise architecture. If you have a capability of automatically detecting turnaround events, and you then feed that into a stand allocation system such as Intelligent Stand Manager and you don’t have the data model correct, you can be missing certain things and not speaking the same language.”

And what about the role of AI and predictive analytics? Both Chris and Marco highlighted the role of technology in assisting human experts and operations teams, and how this may evolve in the coming years.

Perhaps the biggest benefit is through “what if” scenarios. With the assistance of technology, multiple possible scenarios and choices can be calculated, with the human expert then choosing the best option, saving the time and effort needed to crunch all the data and optimise on-the-fly. This kind of digital twin technology is already being used in other areas of ATM, for example, Demand Capacity Balancer uses live and historical data to provide evidence-based predictions to help airports anticipate demand and mitigate disruption.

Chris said: “Fundamentally, we’re looking at AI and predictive tools as enablers for the humans to make that decision and take away some of the work that, while exceptionally value-added, takes a long time to do in the traditional method. AI allows us to fast track some of that.”

For Marco, airports need to have a clear understanding of where they are on their digital transformation journey, with operational outcomes at its very heart: “Technology and AI alone cannot immediately help you achieve operational outcomes or a happier passenger experience, you must link that technology adoption to outcomes that matter to the passengers and guests.” IT teams are increasingly becoming an enabler of a successful airport operation, ensuring technologies are secure and data integrates well.

Looking ahead to Berlin, both Chris and Marco were excited at the prospect of engaging with other industry leaders from around the world. “I’m looking forward to encouraging other airports to look at things differently. To build runway assets is exceptionally expensive, whereas a digital solution where you can capture even one extra movement in an hour at a very busy hub translates into millions of dollars of economic benefit for the communities that we serve. For airside optimisation, the right time to start was yesterday, but a great time to discuss it is definitely at the summit, leveraging the opportunity to connect with fellow professionals.”

Marco added: “I’m excited to learn about different airports’ operations and where they sit in their digital transformation journeys. We all need to play together in the interest of sharing data and that is something that is really important to get out and explore with people. How can we as an industry come together and set certain standards that enable us to be more successful?”

See you in Berlin?

Hear more from Marco and Chris at International Airport Summit in November.

Join the session ‘Unlocking hidden airside capacity without new infrastructure’ at 11:35 – 12:05 CET on 19 November at IAS in Berlin, Germany.

And in the meantime, watch Chris and Marco’s conversation with Holly in full on International Airport Review.