Accelerating innovation

Richard Davies tells us more about the digital platform helping enhance operational efficiency at Copenhagen Airport.

Airports are complex ecosystems with different environments, services, and vehicles, requiring both energy and resources. They are also facing more and more complex challenges, from fragmented legacy IT systems and fluctuating fuel prices to the pressure to reduce their climate impact.

As a result, it has become even more pressing to make airport operations more innovative, more efficient, and more climate-friendly.

Copenhagen Airport, in partnership with Netcompany, is adapting to this narrative. In 2019, Copenhagen Airport and Netcompany launched Smarter Airports, a joint venture to develop a solution in Total Airport Management (TAM), called AIRHART.

AIRHART is a digital platform integrating Copenhagen Airport’s operations into a ‘single source of truth’ platform.

By 2022, AIRHART acted as Copenhagen Airport’s central nervous system, unifying operations across 4,500 users, 42 organisations, and operations around the airport into one accessible hub.

Crucially, Copenhagen Airport’s use of AIRHART goes beyond the incremental improvements that define how most other airports have approached digital transformation. Instead, it represents a comprehensive shift in airport operations and a platform to accelerate innovation.

How it works

Netcompany and Copenhagen Airport replaced more than 100 legacy systems with a single platform that serves as a centralised data hub for the airport.

The platform connects the whole airport and its operations, from flight traffic management, air traffic control, passenger and baggage flow, and commercial activities to back office and business operations, into a single interface, allowing for streamlined decision-making and co ordination.

This allows staff to react quickly to unforeseen events, minimising delays and improving the overall passenger experience while reducing manual workloads, increasing team efficiency and boosting job satisfaction.

The AIRHART platform has resulted in significant improvements to Copenhagen Airport’s operations. Access to real-time data has reduced manual processes by 50%, improved forecasting and planning accuracy by 15%, and CO2 emissions by 10%. As a result, staff are free to focus more on strategic tasks, passenger journeys have been made more seamless, and the airport is aligned with the global push for greener aviation.

A scalable solution

The Copenhagen Airport model is also scalable by demonstrating that it can facilitate gradual digital transformation without overwhelming existing systems. This means the airport can quickly implement features in phases whether that’s from new providers and their technology, or to respond to regulatory requirements.

As a result, the platform has streamlined operations practically and offered a way to synergise the airport’s digital and IT strategies with business demands. For example, video recognition technology can automatically recognise the timings of stages in an aircraft turnaround.

These alerts are then fed immediately to relevant teams around the airport so they can quickly adapt and react to delays or unanticipated changes in scheduling.

These efficiencies are then fed back into the airport’s front-of-house operations, allowing commercial teams and airport staff to react precisely to what is happening rather than the unknown or what they expect to happen. Over time, this data allows the airport to better staff its operations and manoeuvre in a more agile way, contributing to the overall performance of its balance sheet.

To respond to the growing need for AI-enabled and predictive supply chain technology, a tool like AIRHART can also provide more accurate forecasts on passenger trends and maintenance needs, enabling more proactive adjustments around airport performance in real-time.

Additionally, the automation of manual inspections frees up time for personnel across an airport.

This ability to constantly optimise the airport’s operations on a practical day-to-day level and on a longer-term strategic level was crucial to AIRHART’s initial briefing.

It marked a step change from adopting a new system that would need to be replaced at some point in time to one that can continually be upgraded.

As anyone involved with the running of an airport knows, the demands of modern aviation change quickly and you must be ready to adapt.

About the author

Richard Davies is Netcompany’s UK country manager.