Navigating Communication Challenges in Airports

While the air transportation industry keeps growing, the market is facing new challenges. Handling the increasing number of passengers and air cargo alone requires even greater attention, not to mention the demanding environmental and operational standards set to the industry.

To meet these new challenges, all airport operations must be seamless, secure and functioning in real-time. 

In operations, efficiency is key to proactively preventing or reducing disruptions, their impacts, and associated costs. Should an issue occur, rapid response is paramount to avoid or minimise delays.Operational workers need to focus on what is important and relevant while their managers and coordinators need to be updated on ground status in real time to make appropriate decisions.  

One key factor is efficient and fast communication between the relevant stakeholders (Operational users, coordinators, managers, experts…). Further enhancing this  is the collaboration between different legal entities such as the airport, the ground handlers or the airlines. Despite differing tools and processes, all share one objective: achieving high OTP (On-Time Performance).

Disruptions arising from traditional communication practices and tools result in delays, poor passenger experiences and additional costs for all operators in the industry. 

In this blog post, we delve into the four most common communication flaws that cause operational, reputational, and financial damages for airports, airlines, ground handlers and other stakeholders.

1. Irrelevant communication

Current communication tools at the airports are not easily manageable for supporting regular changes (late arrivals, gate allocation, specific requirements…). Talk groups are fixed and not dedicated to a specific operation. Users are constantly bothered by voice messages, information or alerts that are not dedicated to them. Messages for everyone is a message for no one. Consequences are repetitive communication, poor accessibility, low reactivity and unnecessary stress. Operational inefficiencies are generating financial costs and additional time that could be easily fixed.  

A real-life scenario: A gate agent is requiring additional wheel chairs for the next flights. He is using a radio to alert the coordinator and colleagues. None of them are answering. After some time with no response, he is asking again while he is managing some passengers' requests. After four attempts to gather information, he finally obtains the relevant contact details. He then uses his mobile to call the person responsible for supplying additional wheelchairs for the arrival gate. What about a solution that will give your team immediate access to the right people?

2. Security of the communication channels

Security is everything in the air transportation industry. Whether it’s regarding passengers, cargo or the airport operations themselves, security breaches cannot be allowed. Still, the current communication channels used within the airport teams do not always meet these security expectations. The teams operating at airports around the clock even resort to using free, non-secure messaging platforms. While not intentional, this kind of negligence might lead to critical errors.

Real-life scenario:A field operator is reporting pictures through a public messaging app about a toilet issue. Such information is widely shared inside the group. Some old members (still active) are communicating around which leads to negatively impacting the airline company reputation. What about a solution with controlled and secure access?
 

3. Communication between different teams

At airports, information must circulate quickly between three primary actors: the airport, the ground teams and the airlines. One of the biggest causes of delayed information flow is  the various communication tools used by different teams. When something is going wrong we need to take appropriate actions and reaching the right person immediately could easily solve the situation. The multiplicity of devices and communication tools is not helping to share the current status among the operational teams. Verbal communications are not automatically reported and lead to additional reporting time and process.

Real-life scenario: A ground handler faces a problem with the cargo door and needs assistance from the maintenance manager to deal with it. However, on the tarmac, he can't reach the right person without passing long minutes in its directory.

4. Lack of live information

Gate changes, route updates, plan revisions, aircraft information – they all need to reach the airport actors immediately. If the ground teams, control centers and airport personnel are using different communication channels, exchanging real-time information is impossible. Valuable  time is wasted contacting people to find the right person or operating team to solve an issue. Instead, communication platforms with automated features can instantly assign the task to the relevant responder. Without a shared collaboration platform, automatic alerts, task assignments and status updates can’t be fully utilized. By using old-fashioned ways to communicate, the full potential of seamless airport operation simply cannot be reached.

Real-life scenario: A flight is delayed and the cleaning team is not informed in time. The team waits for the flight to land without performing tasks on other aircraft.

Agnet® Turnaround solves these challenges

Agnet Turnaround is a new-generation communication solution that invites all teams on the same communication platform, allowing different groups to connect instantly with the right stakeholder. By using this innovative solution, the different teams no longer need to waste time pondering how to reach any of the crucial operators in the fast-paced airport environment. By eliminating all the extra steps in the communication cycle, we can see clear improvements in reducing delays, taxi times, queues and disruptions in ground operations, such as luggage and cargo handling.

Based on the encrypted Agnet platform, Agnet Turnaround meets the highest level of security requirements that prevent compromised devices and unauthorized users from accessing the airport’s resources. 

Agnet Turnaround offers automatic group creation based on the flight number for the turnaround. This automated feature enables live monitoring, facilitates easy tracking of relevant tasks and ensures that information always reaches the correct person right away.

The future calls for change. As the air transportation industry faces unprecedented challenges, balancing meeting air travel growth with environmental sustainability, we are propelled towards adopting revolutionary next-generation solutions. We are redefining air travel standards, marking the end of previous practices. Visit the Agnet Turnaround page to learn more.

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