ACI EUROPE sets out a strategic and all‑encompassing vision for capacity and performance management at Europe’s airports
ACI EUROPE has set out a strategic and all‑encompassing vision for capacity and performance management at Europe’s airports, with the release of two new publications – the Airport Operations Centres Guidebook and the Airport Capacity Position Paper.
The Airport Capacity Position Paper sets out how airports go about optimising increasingly needed capacity: with a clear focus on maximising the use of existing facilities and unlocking latent capacity wherever possible. The key measures outlined include the optimisation of existing airport facilities, the deployment of new technology and procedures, better integration between ground operations and Air Traffic Management as well as strong community relations programmes. The Paper also stresses the urgency of revamping outdated airport slot allocation rules as well as the important role of airport charges modulation in incentivising more efficient behaviour from airport users.
Airport Operation Centres, or APOCs, can serve as the operations nerve centre of an airport – facilitating cooperation between different airport stakeholders in order to make operations more flexible, efficient and transparent. By providing a point of collaboration and data-sharing, stakeholders who oversee different processes at the airports, such as baggage handling, passenger flow, security and aircraft processes, can mitigate problems quickly and reduce recovery time after disruptions.
The Airport Operations Centres Guidebook, produced in collaboration with Airport Intelligence, provides:
• Insights from real case studies on how to set up an APOC, with a specific focus on the definition of commonly used terms in the context of APOC, general principles, location, key functions involved in APOC, systems, implementation plan and timeline;
• How an APOC can add value to airport operations, including the opportunities and challenges linked to the implementation and use of an APOC;
• An overview of several concrete examples of APOC implementations throughout Europe, from a range of airports of varying sizes.
Together, these documents provide a unified vision of how airport operators can become masters of their own capacity, driving improved efficiency and performance with a focus on improving the passenger experience, maximising air connectivity and sustainability.
Both documents can be found below.
