Emirates Develops New Operational Monitoring Application to Streamline Aircraft Turnarounds

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Reducing the turnaround time of aircraft has been one of the major hurdles in the aviation industry. In a sector where minutes of delays can cause hefty losses to the companies, the airlines are always striving to bring down the aircraft turnaround time, which is simply the time taken by the various activities carried out to prepare an aircraft for departure. In a new development related to reducing the turnaround time of aircrafts, Dubai based airline Emirates has developed a new application in-house called the Hub Monitor. 

Emirates Hub Monitor
Emirates Hub Monitor

Reducing Turnaround Time the Modern Way

Using this application, the Emirates operational staff will be able to share and monitor various real-time information about the activities which are being carried out to prepare an aircraft for departure. The application will provide a very thorough monitoring system which would present a seamless solution for the operational staff thus reducing the turnaround time besides improving the on-time performance.

It is worth noting that currently, Emirates boasts of having a fleet consisting of 270 all wide-body carriers of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777s. Everyday, 255 Emirates flights take off from Dubai airport, each one with a duration ranging from less than an hour to over 17 hours long. Thus, it is obvious that a lot of planes need to have a very short turnaround time and also need to be ready for departure as soon as possible.

Emirates-Dubai-International-Airport

According to the stats available, it takes 105 minutes to carry out the activities to prepare the A380 jet for departure, while to carry out the same activities on a Boeing 777 aircraft, it takes the operational team about 90 minutes before the plane is fully ready for departure from Dubai. Emirates also informed that the turnaround process involves many activities like cleaning of aircraft interiors, water and toilet servicing, maintenance checks, flight catering and loading meals for passengers, servicing the aircraft Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), refuelling the aircraft, and loading passenger luggage and cargo.

Hub Monitor to Facilitate Easy Monitoring Across Many Departments

The airline also explained that a slight delay in any one of the activities means that it might have a larger impact on the operational process. However, now with the help of Hub Monitor, departments like Engineering, Network Control, Airport Services, Flight Operations, and data Operations, which all work in sync to prepare the aircraft will be able to keep a streamlined workflow and they will also be able to track the turnaround activities of these departments precisely on a real-time basis.

Emirates also explained that the new application channels the internal platforms and real-time aircraft downlinks onto a single place. The application is also mobile-enabled, thus ensuring that staff who are near the ramp, on the aircraft or in other places will also be able to access the required information. Emirates has designed the Monitor Hub application so that it informs the operational staff about any delays being caused, in addition to any deviation from the preset schedule and timing.

Speaking about this new application, Adel Al Redha, Emirates EVP and COO said, “Our Operations team in coordination with IT have led the development of the hub monitoring system in a record time of five months, building on an existing solution that was already developed by Emirates Engineering.” He added to his words saying, “The team examining the various functions of Hub Monitor in real time are working to roll out further modules and the next module will be implemented later this month.”
Going by the statement of Emirates, the results from the application run in the month of August show that Hub Monitor can positively bring out a change and a significant delay reduction in the turnaround time of carriers in Dubai hub.

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Whenever Arpit boards a plane he is filled with awe and bewilderment and soaring above the skies is something marvellous for him. An aviation and tech geek through and through Arpit writes at AviationScoop not only because he's experienced and good at his craft but also because flying is something which makes his heart flutter with joy.

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