Delivering smooth operations at the airport involves hundreds of different contributors working closely together to ensure flights depart on time and travellers enjoy a rewarding experience. This joint effort is even more important during times of disruption, when unexpected events such as bad weather, medical emergencies, threats, etc., can trigger an immediate reaction or need for change, and airports must react quickly to reallocate resources like stands and gates.
According to a recent Amadeus survey of 150 senior aviation leaders, 67% of airlines are experiencing more or similar levels of disruption than in 2019, and a ‘lack of common technology that brings stakeholders together’ is the key barrier preventing better disruption management.
In relation to this, Amadeus has developed an entirely new approach to managing airport operations using Microsoft solutions. The introduction of the Amadeus Virtual Airport Operations Centre (APOC) allows a wide range of stakeholders, such as airlines, airports, border control, and service providers, to co-operate in a fully digitalised airport operations centre.
The Amadeus solution is designed as an app on Microsoft Teams, bringing involved parties together to better manage daily airport operations more efficiently and, therefore, enable quicker responses to disruptions. It utilises Microsoft Azure Machine Learning to simulate potential plans, allowing stakeholders to continuously refine them.
Rudy Daniello, Executive Vice President, Airport and Airlines Operations at Amadeus, stated: “The aviation industry is working hard to deliver flights on time with minimal disruption, often in challenging circumstances. Yet we know data silos and outdated communications channels are making the job even harder. That’s why we’ve invested and worked with Microsoft to deliver a virtual operations centre that can super-charge collaboration and improve decision-making at the airport. APOC represents our second joint venture with Microsoft and is testament to the robustness of our partnership.”
Julie Shainock, Managing Director of Travel, Transport & Logistics at Microsoft, added: “Information silos in aviation are preventing the industry from reaching its operational potential. Everyday opportunities to better optimise operations are missed because stakeholders can’t access a single source of information and haven’t had the necessary decision-support tools. The combination of our experience in cloud computing and user experience, with Amadeus’ deep understanding of aviation processes, means we’ve been able to accelerate development to answer the industry’s need for a comprehensive, shared operations management tool.” 
Image: Supplied by Amadeus
