Brighter Outlook for Weather Data
We cannot control the weather, but it can certainly control us. The impact of adverse conditions on air traffic can be severe, and although such conditions cannot be eliminated, through improved...
View ArticleDriving Down Delays
The European air traffic network continues to grow in volume and complexity. Managing it demands that many priorities are dealt with simultaneously, with the need for greater efficiency balanced by the...
View ArticleCommon IT Platform Delivers Star Performance
For an airline, it is just as important to have robust computer systems as it is to have a modern fleet – and it is equally important for the airline's passengers. Creating flight schedules, providing...
View ArticleChange on the Horizon
The air transport industry is changing rapidly, and IATA is taking the lead in pushing forward these changes. Simplifying the business is at the heart of its efforts to bring cost-efficiency and...
View ArticleA380 Operations Ready for Take-off
More than 60 airports worldwide are preparing for A380 commercial operations, which begin in less than six months. With its extra capacity and its unparalleled environmental characteristics (it will...
View ArticleWeather Watching
Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok Airport (CLK) is located on partly reclaimed land adjacent to Lantau Island, whose rugged terrain has a maximum elevation of nearly 1000m. Consequently, aircraft operating at...
View ArticleTurbulent Times for Air Cargo
Cargo is a fundamental part of many airports' business model; although it often goes unnoticed, the cargo industry far outstrips that of passenger airlines. Yet the current growth figures for the...
View ArticleTreading Carefully
Airfield runways must provide adequate skid resistance to ensure the safe braking of aircraft operating on the surface. The degree of skid resistance provided by a pavement is expressed in terms of the...
View ArticleSnap Decisions
As with any equipment in operation near a runway, approach lighting, instrument or microwave landing systems and wind direction indicators can be hazards. Though there have thankfully been few...
View ArticleSlow Progress for US Baggage Checking Systems
Mandated to screen all checked baggage using explosive detection systems at airports by 31 December 2003, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) deployed two types of screening equipment:...
View ArticleTaking Pride in Passenger Protection
The sharp emphasis on airport security that followed the terrorist attacks of 9/11 has not abated in the ensuing years. Revised strategy and increased investment in training, planning and technology...
View ArticleEfficiency – In the Bag
When the British Airports Authority (BAA) first put forward plans for a fifth terminal at London Heathrow, it was clear that a large number of systems would have to coexist within its structure. T5's...
View ArticleCreating Capacity in China
China has been quietly moving to the front of the civil aviation pack for a number of years now. Yet only recently has the rest of the world begun to take notice. The most recent Civil Aviation...
View ArticleControlling Interests
Today, the aviation industry needs not only to look at where we are, but to keep looking at the horizon. While it is important to have an accurate picture of where we stand, you cannot afford to be...
View ArticleBudgetary Control
These are challenging times for the airline industry and the entire aviation community – including the FAA and its employees. As we all can appreciate, we are currently experiencing the safest period...
View ArticleBeyond the Terminal
No one needs reminding of the shockwaves that the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center buildings sent around the world. The events that we have all come to know simply as 9/11 have...
View ArticleTake Off for a Low-Cost Airport
In the last seven years, Frankfurt-Hahn has been developed from a small provincial airport into a competitive centre for low-cost aviation in Germany. Half-year results released in August 2005 show...
View ArticleA Clean Slate for IT
If one thing has been learnt since the information age dawned on the airline industry, it is that IT is the key enabler of all the processes that make airport operations possible. It seems logical,...
View ArticleCooperating in Competition
After another year of major losses, the fiercely competitive airline industry is finding some consensus around at least one issue. Every major stakeholder realises that somehow their businesses must be...
View ArticleEurope’s Capacity Crisis
The period of uncertainty about the volume of air traffic in the aftermath of 9/11 is over, and the airline industry is facing one apparent certainty – volume is set to keep rising steadily, year after...
View Article