Overview
Turnaround delays constitute a very significant portion of total delay. The causes are many, including tight scheduling, technical problems, boarding issues, airport equipment, security measures as well as operational difficulties experienced by ground handlers. To some extent, most of the partners involved in the turnaround (airlines, airport operators, ground handlers) contribute at one time or other to the delays.
The specific problems affecting turnaround have not so far been analysed in a complex manner. Clearly, there is potential for improving the delay situation by reducing or eliminating the impact of factors adversely affecting the turnaround process. In particular, processes so far considered to be outside the core competence of collaborative decision making can be seen as important sources of optimisation opportunities.
The TITAN project analysed the current turnaround process to detect gaps and to study the influence of external actors, especially the effect of land-side processes like passenger flow or baggage handling. A concept was defined for this improved process, which was modelled and validated using the most appropriate platform.
Using the validated concept, a decision-making support tool for the airlines was developed to better manage the incidences that may occur during the turnaround process. TITAN aimed at raising common awareness of the impact of each stakeholder performance, including land-side, in the global process performance and stressing the importance of making the conditions of transfer of responsibility among actors much more detailed and explicit.
The TITAN project focused on the turnaround and produced an advanced operational concept embracing all the processes involved while being fully compatible with, and complementary to, the SESAR Concept of Operations. TITAN developed a decision support tool for the airspace users enabling them to make full use of the new turnaround concept. This tool provided data to other airport partners as well (ATC, ground handling, airport operator), improving their decision making also.
Funding
Results
The TITAN project resulted in significantly advancing research in the turnaround process from a CDM perspective. It analysed the current turnaround process to detect gaps and to study the influence of external actors, especially the effect of land-side processes like passenger flow or baggage handling.
By relying on an entirely service oriented approach, the TITAN concept of Operations provided one of the clearest descriptions of the business processes and related services of the turnaround ever created from an Air Trafic Management Perspective.