DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY AI power Christiaan Hen, CEO of Assaia , explains how the company’s AI turnaround optimization solution can deliver multimillion-dollar savings and a notable decrease in CO 2 emissions by shaving just a few minutes off turnaround times Tell us more about Assaia’s AI turnaround optimization solution. Assaia’s mission is to empower airports and airlines with AI and help them create predictive, responsive and automated turnaround operations. This optimization enables airlines to streamline turnarounds while airports efficiently free up gates. Deployments include Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Fraport’s Ljubljana Jože Pu č nik Airport, London Gatwick Airport, Seattle-Tacoma Airport, Halifax Stanfield Airport, New York JFKIAT, Toronto Pearson Airport and Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky, serving renowned airlines including United Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Assaia’s solution suite predicts issues and automates processes to make them more efficient. Knowing exactly what is happening at the turnaround and having a full understanding of the inefficiencies results in better management. It provides constant monitoring and real-time alerts to the relevant managers when an activity does not happen or when something goes wrong. For example, an alert could be sent if catering or fueling has not arrived by a certain time or a safety issue is occurring. Finally, reporting and analysis ensure root cause understanding, process improvement and staff training. We are seeing a significant increase in demand worldwide, with our very latest deployments in Berlin Brandenburg, Fraport’s Ljubljana Jože Pu č nik Airport, Fiji Airways and Aeroporti di Roma. Assaia currently monitors more than 500,000 turnarounds per year, equating to 1,400 turns per day. In addition, we have our strategic partner community (SPC), which plays a very important role in providing both strategic and tactical counsel to guide the development of our product portfolio. The SPC partners take an equity stake in Assaia, underpinning their belief in Assaia. Members include the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Alaska Airlines and Aeroporti di Roma, alongside JetBlue Ventures and Marubeni [the joint owner of Swissport Japan]. JFKIAT reduced ground delays by five minutes per flight … resulting in cost-saving potential of US$40m per year The results are striking. Assaia has helped Alaska Airlines increase on-time performance by 17%, with the shorter turnarounds saving the airline more than US$15m per year. New York JFKIAT reduced ground delays by five minutes per flight with Assaia, resulting in cost-saving potential of US$40m per year. A recent Fraport deployment has shown six-minute reductions in average ground delays at Ljubljana Jože Pu č nik Airport. It is very clear that turnaround monitoring delivers significant benefits on many levels. In your opinion, what impact could this technology have on the future of the aviation industry? How does it help airlines and airports optimize their KPIs? Recent press coverage has underscored the rising interest in AI turnaround optimization solutions, emphasizing the significant impact of shaving mere minutes off turnaround times on airport and airline savings. Our global deployment experience validates this concept. Our airport and airline customers have noted double-figure percentage boosts in on-time performance and a reduction in ground delays and taxi-in times, all leading to substantial cost savings and a notable decrease in CO 2 emissions. The ultimate outcome is delighted passengers arriving punctually at their destinations. How does the system integrate into existing airport operations? We tailor the solution to each customer’s specific requirements. However, what is very clear now is that turnaround optimization is its own category in the airport and airline IT ecosystem, with nearly half of the airlines expecting to get video analytics for aircraft turnaround implemented by the end of 2026. It is very clear that traveler numbers, and therefore flights, will increase faster than airports can grow. In many places around the world, there are physical, environmental or political limits on physical airport ABOVE Christiaan Hen growth. Sometimes there may even be became CEO a combination of all three. There is, of Assaia in therefore, an evident need to increase January 2024 capacity by operational efficiency to cater to the increasing demand. We believe that the future of airport, airline and ground handler operations will be highly automated. Data will be collected and generated from many different sources. All this data will be used to create a unified real-time picture and then to predict the future state of the airport. An early understanding of the future Assaia state will enable optimization To find out more, scan to increase capacity, efficiency, the QR code or visit safety and sustainability. www.assaia.com www.PassengerTerminalToday.com 68 Passenger Terminal World APRIL 2024