For airports, communication is still often typically manual through phone, walkie talkies, and email. A big challenge here is there is a lack of common situational awareness and there is no single source of truth. Now, two companies’ vision for the future could completely change how the industry operates, creating greater opportunities for both airlines and passengers.
According to an Amadeus report, with 150 senior aviation leaders, 67% of airlines are experiencing more or similar levels of disruption than in 2019, and a ‘lack of common technology that brings stakeholders together’ is the number one barrier preventing better management of disruption.
All about the Partnership
To help, Amadeus and Microsoft are working together to provide a better way to deliver operational outcomes—and it all starts with the data.
“The data coming in is the critical part in bringing down those silos,” says Julie Shainock, global managing director, travel, transportation, logistics, Microsoft.
She explains Microsoft is in a partnership with Amadeus and they are focusing on three key areas for airlines, airports, hospitality companies, and corporate travel:
- Lift and shift to cloud
- Cocreation and co-innovation
- Reinventing travel and the way travel is going to look in the future.
“Our focus is really to create new personalized services and industry offerings tailored to the unique needs of the travel ecosystem, which is really changing, in particular, when you look at air travel,” says Holger Mattig, SVP product management, airline and airport operations, Amadeus.
He adds, the goal here is to remove silos as much as possible, and a single shared tool can help. Enter APOC, also known as Amadeus Virtual Airport Operations Centre. The technology allows stakeholders like airlines, airports, border control, and service providers to digitalize airport operations center.
The solution is designed as an app for Microsoft Teams, meaning it is easier to bring people together to better manage day-to-day operations around a single plan. Here, users also benefit from Microsoft Azure machine learning capabilities that simulate the impact of potential plans.
Preparing for Disruption
Siloed data is only one challenge facing airports and aviation these days. We are also seeing the rise of extreme weather events, medical emergencies, and other threats that require greater resilience among businesses.
“Disruption remains a key challenge as the industry must manage a range of issues, including geopolitical tensions, skilled shortages, and an unprecedented return of demand for air travel,” says Mattig. “This translates into the need for more self-service and automation.”
He explains the industry accepts that things need to change, and collaborative tools are a way to ultimately improve the passenger experience.
“For Microsoft, we always start with the data because the data is the single most important area that is going to draw the insights going forward,” says Shainock.
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