Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) - The Brain of Airport Operations

An Airport is considered to be a hive of complex multiple operations. With ever-increasing air traffic and growing competition between airports, requires airport operators to think about new ways to improve capacities and service levels to sustain a competitive edge over their peers. New collaborative decision making and service management strategies depend upon integration of services and provision of real-time and accurate information to the entire airport community beyond airport boundaries. And an Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) is just the answer for that…

How can installation of AOCC at airport be useful?

The art of Airport Operation Control Centre (AOCC) is to streamline the airport operations and maximize resources available, Monitor and Co-ordinate operations within the terminal, Cargo as well as air-side and other support functions of the airport. It is also responsible for allocation of resources such as parking bay or aerobridge, check-in counter and baggage belts, and also controls the Flight Information Display System (FIDS) for the passengers. It derives most recent information about flight movement from the airline's network and sends it to Airport Operational Database (AODB), which in turn will send the most recent data to the FIDS screens at the terminals for their convenience.

The AOCC focusses on the end-to-end processes that consider the departing passenger and the arriving passenger. AOCC is responsible for continuous development of the core airport processes and provides a link between the functional stakeholder areas and airport governance forums.

The AOCC significantly improves the resource allocation at the airport which in turn leads to greater efficiency in airport operations. Passengers are greatly benefited as it leads to quicker processing in terminals and faster aircraft turnaround, thereby reducing delays.

Objectives :

1. Establish systems and processes to enable a common focus by all airport stakeholders on punctuality, process quality and continuous improvement.
2. Drive Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) processes around specific issues across all stakeholders.
3. Synchronize all processes and sub-processes that happen on the ground to ensure a well-structured slot allocation mechanism.
4. Establish an on-ground control center for the air.

  How Does AOCC operate?

  The AOCC operates on a 24×7 basis. AOCC is fed with real-time data from the ATC Tower, Passenger Terminals, Airlines, Ground Handling team, Cargo Terminals, Fire & Rescue Station & Maintenance facilities amongst others. This allows it to map these resources onto a single database known as the Airport Operational Database or AODB, which will streamline daily operations by integrating information from multiple application systems. AODB, the foundation for an IT driven airport system, is a fully scalable high performance database storing all information related to flight movements, aircraft details and airport related resources.

 

 All the information recorded is collated in AODB which in turn provides the most recent data to the Flight Information Display System screens deployed on the terminals for passengers and visitors convenience. The information is available for the AOCC users through the UFIS software screens.

A large number of video cameras are also being installed in the airside which is used to monitor various activities of airside and also to monitor the occupancy of aircraft parking stands. AOCC monitors a flight from the moment it touches down and will also be responsible for allocation of resources such as parking bay / aerobridge, check-in counter & baggage belts, and also control the FIDS for the passengers.

The inputs are derived from airline’s network and are interfaced with Flight Information Display System to provide updated & accurate FIDS display for all the stakeholders to allocate resources using this software. In the near future, an interface AODB system with the ATC is planned to obtain faster information, which will further speed up the decision process. The software/AODB interface also enhances Airport safety by providing early warning information about airport resource related conflicts and challenges arising out of dynamic airport requirements especially during peak times.

 The AOCC is the first line of action during aircraft emergencies /low visibility procedures /weather warnings. It coordinates with ATC and ground airside operations for smooth handling of such situations. It can be further combined with Digital Trunk Radio System for communication between its various units and groups.
            

At any airport in the world there are three main processes i.e. passengers, baggage and/or cargo, and aircraft. Within each main process there are plenty of sub-processes and there are overlap between all the processes. Multiple agencies are involved. Airlines, ground handlers, cargo handlers, fuelling, air traffic control, terminal operations, maintenance, security (airline, terminal, airside, land-side, airport), parking, sovereign functions (customs, immigration, commercial taxes, etc.), VIP handling, etc. The list is very long. Even with the high levels of standardization prevalent in aviation industry, these are at a macro level and each agency as an individual organizational unit, has their own methods of doing a given process.

For example, Air India carries a fire extinguisher with the push back tractor while an airplane is starting its engines. Since metro airports are equipped with a fully functional ARFF (Air Rescue and Fire Fighting) station which calls for a maximum two minute response time anywhere in the airport, this is not necessary, but given the numerous small airports Air India operates at across India and the movement of staff, one can understand the standardization of the process within Air India.

In contrast, the United States with a large monolithic land mass and a massive aviation industry, which allowed for common regulation, has gone on to develop very advanced central flow management units at airports which function using collaborative decision making at extremely advanced levels, enabling some of the highest infrastructure utilization levels in the world.

Be it the collaborative model of Europe, or the mandated model of the United States, the common thread across all AOCC's is information. All information is the same, and all stake-holders put their inputs and information in to a common repository and each stake-holder takes out their piece(s) of needed information resulting in better decision making, lower disruptions, and seamless operations. All of this is done on a real-time basis.

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