Transforming Airside Operations

by Shantanu Gangakhedkar - Senior Consultant and Airports Lead, Frost & Sullivan

Airside, the crucial piece of the complex airport ecosystem is continuously put under tremendous pressure as air traffic increases exponentially, airports continue to expand and the growing expectations of airlines and passengers to have even shorter turnaround times with increased efficiency requirements makes airside operations for airport operators so much more challenging.

Airside operations have no doubt come a long way in the past 20-30 years but as traffic demand is forecasted to increase in double digits and with the number of aircraft expected to double in the next 20+ years, airport operators have already began facing challenges in managing this growing demand.

There are a few key challenges that operators are looking to address to be able to efficiently and effectively support the increasing demand now and in the future.

Workforce Shortage – Airports in Asia as well as globally face challenges with shortage of skilled workforce with difficulties in hiring and retaining the required personnel coupled with the added complexity of regular training/ certification. This is leading to reduced capacity handling capabilities for airports.

Adverse Weather Disruptions – Adverse weather conditions, such as heavy rain, or high winds impacts airside operations. Disruptions due to adverse weather can lead to reduced visibility resulting in inefficient GSE movements with increased risks of incidents. These disruptions can lead to costly flight delays/ cancelations impacting airlines and passenger satisfaction at airports.

Safety Concerns – Operators regular need to deal with minor or major incidents at the airside mainly caused due to human errors. These incidents risk the safety of the ground staff as well as of the passengers and the crew. These incidents can lead to costly damages and severely impact operational efficiency.

Airports Expand in Size – airports are constantly expanding in size whether through the addition of new runways, terminals, or expanded apron space leading to several challenges, including longer wait times for ground services, and resource allocations. Thus, for larger airports to keep maintaining or even reduce the turnaround times it may require increase in resources both equipment and manpower which may not always be feasible.

Increasing Emissions – With increasing demand, the emissions from GSE as well as aircraft ground movement continues to increase and is one of the key emission sources at airports. Aircraft currently use with the engines for taxing as well as majority of GSE currently are powered by diesel leading to high amounts of emissions.

Airports are experiencing tremendous levels of innovations across Terminal and Landside but especially Airside. The rapid pace of changes in passenger requirements, travel patterns and growth trend dynamics is leading not only large hub airports but also smaller city/regional airports to explore adopting technology innovations to address some of the challenges but also to future proof operations and enhance efficiency.

Some of the key innovations include: -

Automation & Robotics

Drones for Aircraft Inspection - Drones are being used for routine inspections of aircraft, especially for turn-around checks. These drones are capable of detecting surface damage, cracks, or signs of wear and tear. These solutions which are further integrated with AI enhance the veracity/quality of the inspection while reducing manual intervention and speeding up turn-around times.

Automated FOD Detection & Removal – Solutions are being developed capable of detecting, identifying and removing foreign object debris from runways, taxiways and apron. These systems are able to provide airport personnel with immediate FOD alerts and even provide specific information on where the object is located in various operational situations and adverse weather conditions.

Automated Baggage Loading/ Unloading – Technology developers are working on developing end-to-end baggage automation solutions that involve integrating internet of things (IoT), radio-frequency identification (RFID), robotics and blockchain to automate baggage handling including baggage loading and offloading to and from the aircraft as well as on and off the baggage carousels.

Autonomous & Sustainable GSE

Autonomous GSE – Use of automated GSE such as automated aircraft tugs, baggage tractors/ Dollys as well as automated people movers for passengers or ground staff on the airside supports in increasing speed and efficiency of operations by requiring fewer personnel and reducing human errors leading to speeding up of turn-around times and reducing the risk of incidents.

Autonomous Baggage Carts - Autonomous baggage carts which are usually electric powered and combine the function of a baggage tractor and baggage dolly leveraging advanced geolocation technology supported by AI and Big Data to navigate and move baggage between holding area and the aircraft and back supporting airport operations to address workforce shortages, increase capacity and safety at the airside.

Electric/ Hydrogen GSE – Airports looking at addressing Scope 1 emissions of which one of the major sources are GSE be it GPUs, Aircon units or tugs, thus effort is being made to use alternate fuel source to power majority of GSE. Technology suppliers and airports operators are exploring use of hydrogen while few airports across the globe are already using electric GSE to an extent.

Digitalization

Smart Airfield Lighting – Lighting on the airside consumes high amounts of power further contributing to the high Scope 1 airport emissions. To address these smart lighting solutions are being developed that have the ability to adjust the brightness based on activity and requirement thus supporting in reducing energy consumption. Additionally, these smart lighting are being developed to make airside much more efficient and safer by using these lights to support aircraft movements at the airside.

Auto Docking Solutions – Aircraft docking and parking in adverse weather conditions makes it challenging for ground operators as well as for pilots and there is always a safety risk. To enhance docking operations, fully automated guidance and docking systems are being developed and implemented. These solutions offer visual ques to pilots in real-time while minimizing need for marshals.

Digital Twin for Airside Operations - Airport operators, in collaboration with technology providers, are working on implementing comprehensive Digital Twin solutions that can support airport operators in having a comprehensive real-time situational awareness of the entire airside with the ability to integrate it with terminal and landside operations to support in achieving TAM. Digital twin solutions along with supporting in increase operational efficiency also provides operators the ability to simulate various scenarios, assess their impacts, and select the best option for deployment.

Support for Future Aircraft

Electric/ Hydrogen Aircraft – As adoption of Hybrid/Electric aircraft is being planned, crucial aspect will be airports’ capability to provide ground services for these aircraft which will include charging and/ or swapping of batteries before each flight. This will require airports to have battery charging & storage facility which would require a standalone power generation/ supply network. A few OEMs are in the process of developing Hybrid/ Hydrogen aircraft in the mid-long term and these aircraft will require airports to have liquid hydrogen storage and refuelling infrastructure in place.

Next Generation Aircraft Platforms – Innovative platforms such as Blended Wing Body (BWB), Truss Braced Wing (TBW) and even supersonic aircraft are in advanced level of development and aimed at development in the next 10-15 years. These aircraft will require complete revamp of airside operations to support these new designs.

Technology innovations will be critical in transforming airports, addressing current and future challenges and enable increased capacity handling capability. There will be increased collaboration between airport operators and technology suppliers to develop, test and deeply innovative solutions with increased demand from not only Tier 1 airports but Tier 2 and Tier 3 airports as well.

There will be need for increased involvement and support from stakeholder across the value-chain to support in timely development and deployment of new technology solutions while minimizing downtime/ disruption and to distribute cost of implementation. The ultimate focus will be to achieve high level of operational efficiency across the airport ecosystem both for operations and passenger processing while offering enhanced experience.