Decision Support Tool for aircraft stand area
The aviation sector is in the midst of rapid change, stimulated by both internal and external forces. Those rapid changes and uncertainties create a challenge for airports to make correct and on-time investment decisions. The capacity at the aircraft stand area of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is scarce and the question is if this capacity is sufficient for the coming 3-5 years. To analyze this matter it is needed to create a tool to analyze the sensitivity of factors and to support just-in-time decision making for investments. For structural use of the tool it is important to create a tool which is user-friendly and embedded in the organization.
The area where aircrafts park to load or/and unload passengers, baggage and execute several technical activities is defined as an aircraft stand. An aircraft stand can be connected to the terminal – a gate – or an aircraft can be handled not connected to the terminal – a remote stand. Capacity depends on several factors such as the number of stands, the types of aircraft each stand can accept and other boundary conditions such as security rules and border status rules (Schengen versus Non-Schengen). Next to the supply of great importance is the demand in terms of peak development, the mix of aircraft types that use the airport, delays of arriving flights, handling time and departure flights.
Approach
The insights of experts and potential users will be used to create a list of functional and user requirements for the tool. Past data of the allocation flights to gate and remote stand will be analyzed to outline the frequent delays in peak hours. To embed the tool in organizational context it is of great importance to show users the decisions and assumptions made when creating the tool, not a ‘black box’ but a ‘white box’. Validation, acceptance and user-friendliness are interrelated. Validation methods that will be used are face validation and predictive validation.
Expected results
A validated and user-friendly tool will be the end product of this project. The quality of the tool depends on the analytic methodology applied on the input parameters and algorithms used to allocate aircraft to a gate. The realization of a dynamic tool which can be used to visualize and map out the situation 3-5 years from now decision makers can be supported in making investment decisions. With the tool the sensitivity of factors can be analyzed and solutions can be tested.
