Preparing Ground Handling Ops Now for the Challenges of Winter
The busiest airports around the world face ground handling challenges every day, so when winter approaches and delivers a completely new set of challenges, teams need to be ready to handle whatever the weather throws at them, on top of everything else. Airport operations must keep on running, and with ground delays costing airlines millions of Euros every year, it is no surprise that ground handling teams never really stop preparing for winter.
Although the winter weather produces the obvious challenges in terms of ice and snow, which have to be removed from both runways and aircraft to maintain safety, teams also find additional operational challenges in fuel, energy, resource and aircraft turnaround management too. Managing ground handling operations in difficult conditions is leading operators to look towards the latest technology and solutions to help improve operational capability, productivity and cost-efficiency.
Streamlining aircraft turnaround management with the latest tech
The latest technology is helping ground handling teams to combat the traditional manually heavy process of aircraft turnaround management through the automation of key elements of the ground process cycle. This is also helping to reduce instances of human error, inevitable when core teams are under extreme pressure.
Turnaround visibility is key for ground handling teams, regardless of the seasonal challenges, and the simplification of operational tasks, including aircraft status reporting, automated recording of requests, billing and contract information can help to streamline ground operations significantly.
How A-ICE’s Handling Database delivers enhanced operational agility
A-ICE knows that a focus on turnaround management is a core function for ground handlers and has developed A-HDB to deliver visibility and an opportunity to streamline ground operations all-year-round. A-HDB is a centralised database for real-time data and offers several views and charts to enable clear monitoring.
Operating with a web-based, simplified user interface, A-HDB can be accessed from any device and provides a user-friendly view of task management processes. It has intuitive functionality that simplifies resource management (and matches SLAs) through the ability to recognise potential issues or delays before they arise and enabling fast, proactive response. Resource management must remain flexible, whether it is during busy periods or challenging weather conditions. A-HDB offers this functionality in a simplified system that is user-friendly and requires low training commitment.
A-ICE has developed a suite of intuitive, integrable solutions for ground handlers, causing a stir of excitement at the recent IGHC event due to the simplicity-focussed approach to task management and data automation. If you’re preparing your ground handling teams for the challenges of winter, talk to A-ICE to simplify your aircraft turnaround and resource management.
Visit the Solutions for Ground Handlers page to find out more.