Just weeks after implementing SITA’s Airport Management tool, London Luton Airport (LLA) in the UK says it is seeing the benefits.
The air transportation IT provider’s tool is designed to reduce the time and cost required to manage and plan routine operations, through automating aircraft bus schedules and weekly aircraft stand planning.
Automating the seven-day aircraft stand capacity planning has reduced the LLA’s time required for this task by 80%. This is achieved by automatically calculating numerous data variables such as aircraft arrival and departure time, available gates and aircraft type. Similarly, LLA reported that enabling bus drivers to input time records directly into the airport management system using an iPad – rather than relying on radio communications and spreadsheets – has reduced the time needed to record these bus movements by 90%.
Kamal Patel, head of IT at LLA, said, “These small but significant improvements mean that our planning is more efficient and proactive. We can deploy our people where we need them most and reduce the overall cost of our operations. This, in turn, has a positive impact for the passenger, through a smoother passenger experience.”
Sergio Colella, president of SITA Europe, said, “Over the past two years we have seen airports and airlines increasingly focus on digitalizing their operations and it is paying dividends. By digitalizing key processes across the airport, as we were able to do with LLA, we are able to simplify key tasks, better allocate resources and make more informed decisions across all stakeholders – airlines, ground handlers and government agencies.”