AiQ Consulting has recently signed a three-year framework agreement with HAL for the annual maintenance of Airside Traffic Simulations, Ground Service Equipment (GSE) & Unit Load Device (ULD) models for Airside Operations at Heathrow Airport.
As part of this framework we will maintain an airport process, demand and capacity model with a reportable database and 2D visual vehicle simulation of all Airside Passenger Terminal & Cargo areas of Heathrow. Read More »
Adrian Todd, CEO, and Mevin Varghese, Airport Planner, delivered an Airport Planning and Capacity Management course to senior airport managers within development and design departments late last year. Taking place in Singapore, delegates travelled from Angkasa Pura Airport in Indonesia for a course that provided an understanding of the key aspects and elements of ACM as well as its relevance within variety of operations including airfield, apron, terminal including baggage.
The Airport Planning Capacity Management Course, facilitated by EquipGlobal and based on IATA standards, was extremely well received by attendees, who highlighted in the course feedback the focused approach, wealth of knowledge and excellent coaches from AiQ Consulting. Read More »
AiQ Consulting is now working in collaboration with aviation experts NATS to deliver end-to-end capacity planning assessments involving passengers, baggage, vehicles, flights, GSE and airspace to airports worldwide.
The Benefits
This ‘one-stop-shop’ for clients brings many benefits. As one team providing a full airport capacity and operational efficiency analysis and simulation of the passenger journey, we can present to the airport the most efficient transition of passengers from arriving, through the terminal, onto the aircraft and arriving at their destination. We are able to solve complex capacity problems, validate processes or designs and optimise operational efficiency, whilst provide crucial stakeholder management throughout the decision making process. Read More »
It’s been another high growth year for AiQ Consulting. With groundbreaking projects, including undertaking an independent assessment of declaration capacity at Schiphol Airport; pioneering strategic relationships with trusted and respected partners in the aviation industry NATS and IATA; and further expanding our team with specialists in airport capacity, VR and more; we’ve improved our services and products to provide intelligent, holistic end to end support to our clients.
Adrian Todd, our CEO, explores how the team at AiQ Consulting uses technology, simulations and thinking holistically to create smart airports and realise capacity worldwide.
Airports become constrained in one or two or all three areas – runway, stands and terminal – because the nature of the industry is to expand to use every available space. Even if you solve your capacity problems today, in a few years you will find yourself in a similar position. So how can you find, and keep finding, capacity in your airport?
Constrained and saturated airports are becoming increasingly common. Rising demand for air travel, larger aircraft, as well as restrictions for airport building and a lack of available space can create complex airport capacity challenges.
Adrian Todd, CEO of AiQ Consulting explains the challenges facing constrained and saturated airports worldwide and how AiQ helps airports realise their capacity. Read More »
Asset replacement is an essential and continuous task for airports to remain secure and efficient. Hold Baggage Screening (HBS) replacement has been driven by new security standards with ECAC Standard 3 requiring much of the existing screening equipment to be replaced. An increase in demand for Early Bags Storage (EBS) may force the requirement to upgrade for increased efficiency and capacity. Whilst adopting new technologies for check-in and baggage systems have created the need to replace older equipment and updated processes. Read More »
Ian MacKinnon, Technical Director, was part of the founding team of AiQ Consulting, using his unique skills of project management, computer aided design and data analysis, as well as his game design background, to create TransvisionAiR™ our bespoke modeling tool. In this Meet the Team blog we find out more about what projects he’s found challenging, his background and what the future holds for the company.
What was your background before joining AiQ? Read More »
We have been working with airports for many years increasing capacity using the airport’s existing infrastructure and resources. Making small changes to layout or queue management or working patterns can have a large impact on the overall system. So often ‘working the asset’ more efficiently can delay the need to upgrade it or replace it. This is a more cost effective and lower risk approach to increasing airport capacity.
Airport Demand Forecasting and Management
The rise of self-service check in and baggage handling technologies has changed the rhythms of an airport. Demand forecasting and management is therefore crucial to efficient use of capacity. Working closely with airports to better understand their existing and potential capacity, spreading demand peaks and supporting their decision-making.
Airport demand forecasting is a key AiQ service. We have developed software tools to generate and forecast future annual and peak hour traffic for airports, using regression analysis, a more accurate and realistic method than trend forecasts. It predicts traffic using additional variables that could influence statistics, such as GDP, exchange rate, fuel price, unemployment figures, and much more. It tells us which variables affect the traffic and how, in a much more robust, holistic approach. We can then efficiently use and apply this scientific methodology, creating scenario forecasting models that make future airports aware of change and able to adapt to it.
Airport Capacity Planning
Our approach to airport capacity planning is based on IATA standards, to provide optimum passenger experience. Our updated IATA Tool is a development of our existing IATA software using the new LoS requirements with sections covering processes from check-in desks and security lanes to emigration. Using IATA standards, we believe our clients can not only understand how their future airport will comply with the guidance, but it also allows us to highlight capacity and operational efficiency improvements.
We can tell airports the optimum space required per passenger at all processes and optimum waiting time per passenger at each process, a valuable device in order to understand how their airport is working and what can be done to improve it, whilst retaining existing infrastructure and resources.
Modelling Simulations
Mathematical modelling and simulations can be a massive advantage to airports wishing to increase capacity whilst using existing infrastructure and resources. Through our bespoke modelling tool, TransvisionAiR™, our AiQ team uses modelling and simulations to find out, for example, how large airport check in areas should be, whether passengers are travelling through departures in an acceptable amount of time, and if arrivals procedures are up to scratch.
The flow of passengers is critical to the success of an airport. This flow interconnects with airport operational efficiency and management, and therefore realising capacity. We use typical human behaviour in all passengers for our simulations to focus on how passengers are moving realistically through the airport. This allows us to understand how they move and therefore how to improve both their experience and the use of airport capacity.
Crucially we have a range of methods to report the results. Every project has a different treatment. The simulation output may be a simple pivot graph in a spreadsheet, a minimal 2D model or a fully realised Virtual Reality 3D simulation. The scale of the model is dependent on the scale of the decision to be made.
Understanding the options allows better management decisions, better cost benefit analysis and it reduces risk, keeping the stakeholders engaged.
Innovation
Using operational and technological innovations also has its part to play in improving airport capacity. Airports are investing more and more into new technologies that enhance and improve the passenger journey, and for good reason. Not only can these new technologies increase efficiency, but passengers also have now come to expect these types of technology in their daily lives. For example, the introduction of bio metric security can reduce congestion and improve passenger flow whilst self service bag drop and early bag stores allow passengers more flexibility about when and where they check in.
We invest in both our knowledge and application of these new technologies, including Autonomous Electric Vehicles, Self Service check-in, Robotic Baggage Build, Self Service Bag Drop & Early Bag Stores and more, in order to understand the implications for airport capacity for the installation and use of such new innovations throughout airports.
If you wish to increase airport capacity through efficient use of existing airport infrastructure and resources, take a look at our case studies to find out more about our approach, or contact us today to talk about our services.
Time is running out for airports to comply with Hold Baggage Screening Standard 3, which comes into force September this year in the United Kingdom. In Europe the deadline for compliance is September 2020.
The EU regulation No. 1087/2011 calls for compliance to the framework, defined and regulated by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), that sets the minimum required levels of detection. ECAC Standard 3 level of Hold Baggage Screening applies to hold baggage screening systems (HBS) explosive detection systems (EDS), liquid explosive detection systems (LEDS) and security scanners. It requires airports to achieve detection levels only provided by CAT (Computed Axial Tomography) type detectors.
The upgrades to hold baggage screening equipment are seen to be most difficult and costly challenges to be faced by airports in recent years. This equipment is not only expensive, but also large, adding increased stress on existing airport capacity. It may mean a complete re-build of baggage halls and facilities for many airports.
How can you upgrade to ECAC Standard 3 without a negative impact on your airport? Read More »
This month the AiQ Consulting team has welcomed Anushka Padhye, a Cranfield University MSc Management student who has joined us for three months to carry out an academic research study using real life examples and data. Read More »
With record-breaking passenger numbers moving through airports and high expectations from today’s passengers, their journey experience is a very important development area for AiQ Consulting’s work with airports throughout the world.
As global experts in constrained and saturated airports, we place immense focus on passenger experience in airports. When we approach operational efficiency and capacity planning, we do so with not only a scientific approach to big data and innovation, but also a strong emphasis on the passenger journey.
IATA Standards
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