With rapid commercialization, increase in competition and heightened safety and security concerns, airport operations today is much more complicated than it used to be even a couple of decades back. Airports today are no longer considered as a mere transit point for passengers who are travelling from A to B. Passengers are no longer passengers today, they are customers for the airports, at least in some of the top global airports like Incheon or Changi. The focus today is on providing an ‘experience’ to the customer and pampering him, right from his journey to the airport till he takes off to his destination. And for providing this ultimate experience, airports have to get everything right, at both the airside and the landside. Technology is a great enabler and can help the airports achieve great levels of operational efficiency, address the safety and security concerns and enables quick and correct decision making. Modern day airports, big or small deploy advanced airport management systems that integrates various operational segments of the airport and provides actionable intelligence to enable a smooth, fail proof and niggle free management of the airport. This assumes great importance as it helps to gain an upper hand over the competitor airports and improve the customer experience and satisfaction.
The operations of an airport can be broadly categorized into three areas- ground access, landside and airside. An airport management system should integrate the various functionalities under these areas like vehicle parking management, transportation management, terminal operations, security management, baggage management, terminal allocation, resource planning, ground handling, information guidance, air traffic control operations, dispatch staff, airline operations centers, etc. . This essay will focus on explaining the role of technology in some of the key aspects of airport operations management that helps in improving overall efficiency and customer satisfaction. The areas considered include- baggage management, airport surveillance radar, security management and air traffic forecasting.
Baggage Management
Baggage handling is one of the most critical jobs in an airport as its performance in this front will have a direct impact on the airport’s image, be it good or bad. Passengers often cite baggage handling as one of the key parameters in evaluating the performance of the airport and the airline, hence it is critical for the airports to have a failsafe mechanism in baggage handling in order to ensure a smooth and fast flow of baggage, both inbound and outbound. It may not be a huge problem in smaller airports, but for those who handles multi million passengers in a year, it can get really complicated. Cases of baggage loss may have come down when compared to the past, but baggage handling remains as a vulnerable point for many large airports across the world. It is estimated that baggage mishandling accounts for an annual loss of $2.9 billion for the aviation industry . Proper and correct handling of the baggage helps the industry save not just time and money but customer’s confidence as well. Some of the common issues faced by the airports in baggage handling include-
Sheer volume of passengers and their baggage
Transfer baggage between international and domestic terminals
Inter-flight baggage transfer
Size of airports also matter as larger the airport, the more the time required for transporting the baggage between aircrafts and terminals
Involvement of multiple teams and the coordination (lack of) between them
Security concerns and time taken for screening each baggage
Balancing between investment, quality, customer satisfaction and turnaround times
Fortunately, the process has been automated these days and modern day airports have the technologically advanced baggage handling systems available, which can handle hundreds of baggage in a matter of minutes. Some of the major components of the baggage handling system include- check-in system, conveyor systems, sortation systems, transportation systems, early baggage storage, baggage loader, baggage unloader, forklifts, etc. . All these components can be grouped under three major tasks -
Baggage movement from the check-in counter to the departure gate
Movement of baggage from one gate to another during transfers
Movement of baggage from aircrafts to the claim area
In the background, destination coded vehicles, induction motor driven rail carts performs the loading and unloading function, scanners planted on the path scans the baggage and re-routes them automatically to the correct gates. The step by step process involved after the passenger hands over the baggage at the check-in counter is as explained below-
Step 1: The baggage is tagged with a bar-code or an implanted RFID. The bar code or the RFID will contain all the information regarding the baggage like the ticket to which it is tagged and the destination .
Step 2: The tagged baggage kept in the conveyor belt first stops for a bar code/RFID scan and are then re-routed according to the destination. In some airports, the scanned baggage destined for international travel are routed to a security scanner before proceeding to the gate. The baggage missed by the wayside scanner takes another route where they will be manually scanned and put back on the conveyor belt .
Step 3: Once scanned, the baggage will be under constant monitor, and will be rerouted at the conveyor junction by a pusher .
Step 4: Once the baggage reaches the destination, the conveyor automatically loads the baggage onto a DCV .
Step 5: Once the DCV is loaded, it quickly moves to the sorting station at the gate .
Step 6: At the sorting station, workers manually load the baggage onto the correct containers that are to be transported and loaded into the aircrafts .
A similar mechanism will be at work at the time of transfers and unloading.
Airport Surveillance Radar
Air travel is considered to be the safest mode of transportation, in spite of the several accidents and loss of lives happening every year. This is mainly due to the fact that the probability of an accident in air travel is far less compared to any other modes of transportation, be it on land or in the sea. A major part of this credit should naturally go to the air traffic control rooms and the controllers working there, who meticulously guide hundreds of aircrafts in the air as well as on the ground to ensure a safe take-off, cruise and landing. Air Traffic Control has this capability as they are equipped with their most prized equipment- the Radar, which accurately pin points the location including distance from the airport, altitude, speed etc. of each aircraft and other flying objects under its surveillance range and conveys the positions back to the air traffic controllers.
So, what are the essential technologies behind an Airport Surveillance Radar? An overview of the basic technologies that goes into the ASR are provided below-
Digital Processing Technologies - To enable noise free output through ground and weather noise cancellation
Solid state transmitter - To ensure system stability
Dual beam antenna - To enable noise cancellation and ensure clutter free transmission
Multi Doppler filter - To enable noise cancellation and ensure clutter free transmission
Sliding window technique - To ensure high data availability in the form of multiple information like aircraft data as well as weather data
In addition to ensuring safety of the aircrafts and their passengers, an efficient Airport Surveillance Radar also helps the airports to achieve optimal operational limits, reduce congestion and ensure all weather operation.
Airport Security Technology
Security is one of the top concerns of airports across the world, particularly in today’s politically volatile environment. Airports have no other options than to get smarter as they face increasing levels of threats of all forms and sizes. The traditional security apparatus may not be sufficient enough to ward off the modern day threats. There have been many radical changes happened in the airport security across the world, particularly during the post 9/11 era. Modern innovations focus primarily on passengers, right from whole body scan to behavioral analytics. In this section, the essay will focus on some of the modern apparatus in place to address the security concerns of the airport.
Whole body scanners - These machines use either X-rays or non-ionizing waves to scan the body of passengers. These were incorporated as a part of enhancing the security as well as to reduce the queue at the security gates.
Iris Scanners - Iris scanners have been developed with the intention to keep track of the passengers and preventing them from performing any unauthorized entry. This technology also helps the airlines to quickly verify the boarding status and save considerable amount of time.
Screen and Walk - To perform checks on passengers to find out if they are hiding any devices while walking into the aircraft.
MagRay - Combining the X-ray and MRI to detect the properties of a liquid, this new technology will make the screening of liquid cargo much easier and less time consuming. This helps to detect the presence of any explosives in the liquid and thus ward off any security threats.
Behavioral Analytics - Surveillance cameras sweeps the entire airport concourse and other areas and alerts of any suspicious behavior based on any pre-fed parameters. Based on the inputs, the security personnel can locate the suspicious movements.
Facial Scanning - Technology to identify persons with criminal background. Upon scanning, the machine browse through the database and identifies any similarity which helps the security personnel to block that individual.
Raman Scanners - One of the latest technology innovations in the area of airport security is the handheld Raman Scanners, where the security personnel literally carries the scanning device in their hands to screen through the baggage.
Cyber Security - Apart from the passengers with malicious intents, the other major security threat that the airports are facing is with regard to the security of their IT network. Cyber security has become an important aspect in an airport’s operations and software specialists deployed at the airport are in constant watch on any instances of hacking attempts.
Integrated security apparatus - Information sharing is the buzzword in airport security. Intelligence reports and threat heat maps are analyzed and camera feeds are constantly monitored. Security officers on ground are provided with handheld multimedia devices in order to facilitate quick actions. Information from various sources pertaining to a potential threat are dissected and analyzed to arrive at a conclusion.
Air Traffic Forecasting
Almost all the major airports in the world are brimming to their limits handling millions of passengers and thousands of flights every year. It is important for them to keep up the rhythm and let the flow go undisturbed. Gaining a slot in any of the world’s major airports is a major challenge for the global airline industry. This problem accentuates during the peak season during when the airlines jostle for space at the major hubs. This is a key factor for the airports as well as they cannot afford to let their expensive space vacant. This calls for scientific methods of traffic planning in order to ensure optimal operating efficiency for the airports, minimal disruption in traffic and avoidance of inconvenience to the passengers.
There are many forecasting methods and techniques available which helps the airports in predicting the expected traffic during various seasons. This also holds importance when the slots are allotted for adverse climatic seasons like winter during when the chances of disruptions are more. Advance computing software are available that performs the predictions accurately using the data gathered. This section will focus on understanding some of the forecasting techniques used by airports across the world.
The forecasting practice at airports can either be for long term, medium term or short term. Long term forecasts are made typically during the airport design stages or later when planning for expansion. For all other operational reasons, either medium or short term planning is ideal as it helps to ensure achievement of optimal operational levels . Short term traffic forecasting can range from just a day to up till 10 months. Forecasting is a three step process. The first is forecasting with IT, where forecasting is done with the help of software based on various parameters like historical data, weather pattern, airline health, unknown disruptions, economic conditions etc. This is used more as a preliminary level forecast method. The next stage involves forecasting with intelligence which tries to improve upon the results gained from the first stage. In the second stage, the factors considered include load factor, airline data, passenger volume, holidays, special events, transfer percentage etc. Here the results of the first stage are fine-tuned using intuition, intelligence and past experience . The third stage- forecasting with facts involves shaping up the final forecast after making necessary adjustments to the results of the second stage. In the third stage, the focus shifts away from historical facts to current facts. The real-time data is gathered from airlines, other airports, ticketing agents, passengers, news dailies etc. All these data gathered are analyzed using mathematical models, with the help of analytical software outputting the predictive values. One important factor that should be considered in the third stage is that the number of passengers’ equivalent to at least 50% of the terminal capacity should be covered for analysis, else the prediction can give erroneous results .
Yet another important factor to be considered for forecasting is the period of disruptions. Disruptions can happen due to various factors like climatic conditions, volcanic eruptions, political upheavals, industrial factors etc. Sufficient warning and adequate preparation is necessary to anticipate disruptions and forecast the air and passenger traffic at the airports.
Other Technologies in an Airport
Some of the other prominent technology areas at an airport include airfield safety systems, runway safety systems, communication systems, wireless applications, airport perimeter control systems, runway and apron cleaning/maintenance mechanisms, asset management systems, cargo handling equipment, cargo management software, HVAC control systems, water management systems, de-icing mechanism, washing and cleaning systems, fire protection equipment, ground handling and support equipment, fuel management system, re-fuelling system, power generation systems/power management systems, landing aids, guiding lights, public address systems, emergency handling systems, noise monitoring and control systems, self-service kiosks, self-check in systems, etc. .
Conclusion
Technology has been a great enabler in multiple areas and industries and airports are no exception. In fact airports have been in the forefront of technology adoption even during the early days. In fact the urge to adopt technology was driven by necessity as it is one area where precision and timeliness assumes greater importance than anywhere else. This characteristic of airports continues even today and the ever evolving technologies adopted by the airports are driven more by necessity. The ever evolving technology adoption helps the airports to function optimally and safely and it helps them to ensure customer satisfaction. A satisfied customer drives the business and acts as the ultimate growth engine for the airports across the world.
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