30 IT FOCUS
Lilienthal airport in Berlin-Tegel are numbered, full apron service for more than 160,000 flight movements per year must still be ensured at the station until the opening of the new Berlin Brandenburg airport. This challenging task has been tackled by the staff of Aviation Ground Service Berlin, a wholly- owned subsidiary of GlobeGround Berlin. In this context, ground services include baggage loading and unloading, as well as the cleaning of aircraft cabins. Tasks requiring electrical energy inside the aircraft are supplied by external power while the aircraft is on the ground: GlobeGround operates 13 ground power units for this purpose. To ensure more efficient planning and deployment of these GPUs, GlobeGround now operates the apronFleet telematics system supplied by Funkwerk eurotelematik. The system consists of a type FB-4000 onboard telematics computer, which regularly transmits the GPU position to a central server via mobile communication. The GPU positions appear on a digital map displayed on the workstation screens in the GlobeGround control room, so it is known at all times where the GPUs are positioned and whether or not they are supplying aircraft with energy. This feature is also important to ensure the correct billing of GPU usage to the airlines. Flight handling and maintenance staff use RFID transponders, which have to be held against the appropriate readers on the GPU, so as to activate the external power supply of the aircraft. At the same time, the onboard computer checks the user identity and reports the time of usage to the central telematics server. A software interface specially designed by Funkwerk transmits the usage data to the post-linked billing system, thus making manual billing forms obsolete and ensuring a higher efficiency of the entire billing process. In addition,
GROUND HANDLING INTERNATIONAL APRIL 2013
successful implementation of SITA’s passenger systems at 13 other AAI airports, which was part of the first phase of an airports modernisation plan by AAI. In total, 38 airports managed by AAI now look set to enjoy the benefits of improved check-in, boarding and new self-service facilities, thanks to SITA’s advanced technology.
Telematics triumph for GlobeGround
GPU usage can now be charged exactly to the minute, which allows deployment of the power units to be much more efficient and economical. The solution, as mentioned, goes beyond the GPUs and includes the 16 aircraft pushback vehicles that belong to GlobeGround. GlobeGround’s control room apportions available tugs to aircraft, a task that can be handled more efficiently if vehicle dispatchers are provided with a clear overview of a tug’s current position and availability. Besides improving the planning and billing procedures, apronFleet also contributes towards enhanced internal services by offering various evaluation functions, such as the capacity utilisation of GPUs and tugs. In summary, it can be said that the
introduction of telematics has been extremely successful and satisfactory. The system was also awarded the Best Innovation prize on the occasion of the 2012 Commercial Vehicles Exhibition.
India: catching up
Recent, impressive news concerns the Indian aviation sector: there, the Airports Authority of India has announced that it has selected SITA to equip 25 airports with its common-use passenger processing system, which is designed to improve the travel experience of tens of millions of passengers. This announcement follows on from the
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Over the course of this seven- year agreement SITA will provide AirportConnect Open, the common-use passenger processing system which allows airports to maximise the use of check-in counters and gates. SITA will supply 700 workstations, together with common use self-service (CUSS) kiosks across the 25 airports, including those of Chennai, Kolkata and Pune. Through shared use among all the airlines operating at the airports, SITA’s CUSS kiosks offer multiple services to the passenger and will allow these airports to increase capacity during surges in traffic. This flexibility avoids the need to invest in fixed check-in areas. With these CUSS kiosks, SITA will provide an end-to-end managed solution, complementing other airport check-in services available at the 25 airports.
As part of the above agreement,
SITA has ensured the readiness of these systems before the inauguration of the new integrated terminals at Kolkata and Chennai airports so as to ease the transition of airlines. For more than 50m passengers who use these 25 airports annually, this means that they will enjoy a more efficient check-in and boarding process and have self-service kiosks available. So what exactly is involved here?
Andrew O’Connor, Portfolio Director, SITA Airport Solutions, knows the subject well.
Hours worked Funkwerk graph shows tractor type and deployment
“AirportConnect Open is SITA’s own brand name for a CUSS solution. We make use of a single platform and the system permits the handler, who often has an interest in multiple contracts, to jump between applications. Setting it all up is now an extremely rapid process. Whereas in the past it might have taken two to three weeks to install this kind of application, thanks to virtualisation technology and a degree of pre- planning, we are able to equip 30-40 workstations within half a day: that’s how straightforward it all is. India has been a focus for SITA for some time, the country having benefited from 13 applications a while back. In the future, I’m sure, the country will see more of these installations. Their presence means that the airport has taken the first step to other business intelligence products, like passenger tracking.” In turn, V P Agrawal, Chairman, Airports Authority of India, commented
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