In it for the long haul: Copenhagen Airport’s data management journey

We’ve all experienced it: you get to the airport two hours early as advised, with a packed suitcase and your documents in hand.

After checking in your luggage, you rush through security and head to the gate, only to find out your flight has been delayed. It’s too late to pop back out and get a coffee. You’re stuck waiting with no explanation.

According to Statista, around 34 million flights were taken worldwide in 2023. This is still down from the pre-COVID peak of 39 million, but the figure is on the rise.

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, in the US state of Georgia, is considered the world’s busiest airport, with over 61 million “seats” in 2022.

Given the number of people passing through major airports, you’d think they were a data management hub. But the truth is that many airports don’t even know how many passengers they will service on any coming day.

The challenge of data sharing

The reason that airports aren’t the data processing and management hubs you might expect is structural: they comprise multiple moving parts and competing organisations, with each managing its own siloed data.

In addition to the airport itself, there are the airlines (or carriers), the police (border security), and the retailers, food providers, and other outlets that rent space inside the buildings.

Plus, of course, there is engagement with other airports and organisations that manage global traffic. All these entities operate on their own systems, manage their own data pools, and are often siloed — sometimes for safety but often due to protectionism.

“Airports are massive ecosystems, with many moving parts, but you save money by getting passengers from A to B quicker, and the best way to do that is with a real-time overview of what is going on,” André Rogaczewski, CEO of the burgeoning Danish IT service provider Netcompany.

In addition to Copenhagen Airport, Netcompany’s customers include the UK government’s Ministry of Defence and HM Revenue & Customs, the European Commission, and healthcare firm Roche.

Rogaczewski met with TechInformed to discuss how his company’s Airhart system has helped Copenhagen Airport overhaul its data management.

Airhart is a real-time total airport management solution based on Netcompany’s Pulse data solution in a joint venture with Copenhagen Airport called Smarter Airports.

The solution manages over 100 functions at Copenhagen in one simple IT interface, which is accessible to more than 4,000 staff at 46 airport-based organisations.

Revolutionising Copenhagen Airport operations

Initially, it will focus on airside operations (traffic management), security, passenger and baggage handling, crowd control, and information systems. However, future versions will evolve to cover all airport operations.

It is needed, too. Copenhagen Airport is home to more than 1900 staff and around 800 businesses – not to mention the 70,000+ passengers who pass through the airport daily.

“All of these people, no matter what they are doing, rely on data about our operation. From parking to border control, they rely on our data for planning,” explains Copenhagen Airport CEO Christian Poulsen. “This collaboration in the ecosystem is vital for us.”

Before Airhart, the different actors communicated through phone calls or messaging systems, meaning real-time information was not always available, and the ability to plan or react to delays was encumbered.

“We now have a system where everyone sees the same information and has access to the same data, the same facts about our operation that day, as well as plans for the coming weeks,” Poulsen adds.

Though this may sound simple, it isn’t for airports. Each airline brings its own tech stack, as does each business operating in the airline.

Many are also in competition with each other, meaning they are protective of their data – but they need to share some of it with CPH for services to run.

Poulsen explains that Airhart grants multiple stakeholders different levels of access so that selective data, which is helpful for everyone, can be shared.

“We can let them know what they need to know; they can have their own view of data, and they can see and are only allowed to see their portion of the data. So, one airline can only see its own operations, and the other airline can see this. But the handler managing both airlines can see data from across airlines,” he adds.

“If we can save 10% or 20% of the time at a gate by optimising taxi time, boarding, baggage, etc., we can squeeze more production out of a stand, and that is gold for us,” he explains.

He also adds that this is the potential of the system. “If we can go to the passenger side and make that process much smoother, we will have fewer delays. If somebody is late in getting to their gate and the flight doesn’t take off in time, that whole benefit is lost.”

The flightpath

Copenhagen’s journey to Airhart wasn’t straightforward. In 2008, Copenhagen began building one in-house after identifying a need for a better data management system.

One of Poulsen’s first tasks after joining the airport in 2009 as CIO was to replace its existing operation tool, Copenhagen Airport Traffic System. This system had been in place since the 1990s, but the problem was that it was embedded in much of the airport’s basic functionality.

“We needed a new system because CATS was too old. But it took some time to understand how complicated it was and how many connections it had to other functions,” he explains.

“So, we did a smaller upgrade and then looked at buying a standard solution – that was also a mistake.”

That tendered process was started in 2014. The solution “could not represent the data model” that Copenhagen Airport needed then. Point solutions were used to fill the gaps, but this required the airport to develop its own integration platform, so it abandoned the process in 2019 when CPH partnered with Netcompany to create a more bespoke solution.

Airhart went into “shadow production” in June 2022, with the first six months dedicated to non-functional platform stabilisation. At this time, just 4500 users were signed up, with the final 2% onboarded in October 2023.

The platform includes several functionalities that span different service requirements in an airport. One example shown to TechInformed during our tour of Copenhagen Airport was the Apron AI platform.

In airport terms, the apron — or the flight line or ramp — is the part of the airport where aircraft are parked, unloaded/ loaded, refuelled, boarded, or maintained. It plays a vital role in airport functions but must be managed closely to prevent delays.

Apron AI was developed to automate some functionality at the apron. It uses existing or dedicated cameras to automatically detect aircraft turnaround-related events on the aircraft stand, such as whether a jet bridge is connected correctly or timings for baggage offloading.

It can provide real-time updates of Predicted Off-Block Time (POBT) to improve overall airport on-time performance and apron efficiency by offering users a root analysis of delays, auditing safety compliance, and providing real-world estimates of bag delivery using machine learning. In other words, passengers are kept from waiting around for the first sign of bags to appear at baggage collection.

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Netcompany claims that Airhart, in its pioneering deployment at Copenhagen Airport, can — and will — go further in transforming how airports globally manage their operations and data. Apron AI can learn and adapt. It can recognise which flights are likely to be late and offer suggestions as to whether they should be moved to a different gate to allow airport traffic to flow better, for instance.

The IT firm claims the solution can also be taught to recognise the quirks of individual airlines or jets to give the control centre the most efficient way of managing the apron. It can even learn about pilots’ behaviour, Poulsen says, to estimate taxi times from the runway to the gate.

Poulsen says the adoption of AI has been managed carefully because, for an airport, “safety is key” and approached with a ‘security by design’ methodology.

The firm used continuous testing, authentication safeguards, and good programming practices to ensure Airhart was as impervious to attack as possible.

Fostering collaboration and setting industry standards

While Copenhagen continues to automate processes and boost efficiency, Poulsen and the team at Netcompany have set their sights on the rest of the industry. Through the Smarter Airports JV, they hope to bring the lessons learned from Copenhagen’s deployment of Airhart to others. Even though airports may be linked by the journeys that connect them, Poulsen explains they are not very communicative.

“Airlines are already competing, of course, but they are collaborating on systems and standards. But they’re like small islands. We have our own systems with an isolated view of things. We should share more — there is a huge benefit in working together more closely to manage delays or flight status.”

Netcompany has already announced one win — state-owned Norwegian Airport firm Avinor has selected the Copenhagen-based firm to assist in the digital transition of its 43 airports in a contract worth around $116 million.

“In order to innovate, you can’t really ask 50 organisations to pitch in,” Rogaczewski explains. “You need to have someone running in front of you. And now other airports are seeing Copenhagen’s approach to data and seeing that this is the only approach.”