Airports Council International (ACI) World, a non-profit organization representing airport authorities, has launched a new tool to help airports in terminal planning to increase capacity as the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic continues.
The new Static Capacity Tool, developed by ACI World Business Partner Redwater Consulting Group, will assist airports to evaluate the level of resource and equipment needed throughout the airport passenger journey, and assessing queue length, queue time and breaking points with a particular focus on the challenges arising from physical distancing.
The tool has been designed to offer a simple method for calculating any additional space or queuing requirements needed as a result of COVID-19 physical distancing measures and the impact of adding more process points to address additional health checks that have been introducing at many airports.
ACI’s user-friendly tool enables non-technical airport employees to make use of the model through simple inputs and a painless user interface in order to assist airports in offering an efficient, safe, and seamless passenger experience.
Luis Felipe de Oliveira Director General ACI World
“ACI World is determined to provide new guidance and innovative tools to support our airport members as the industry continues to navigate recovery from the impact and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Providing support for our members during the process of restart and recovery is a key priority for our organization and this simple, low-cost solution will assist even small and medium-sized airports to prevent bottlenecks in the airports and improve the passenger experience.”
ACI World selected Redwater for this project following an open request for proposal process which was designed to meet the needs of members. Managing Director of Redwater Mr. Anthony Cicuttini said this simple tool, created by working with ACI can assist users to gain insight and optimise their operations during the recovery and beyond.
“We designed the tool with the user in mind and kept everything as simple as possible, which is difficult to achieve with something as complex as an airport. Users can check the performance of their existing operations, assess how changes to processors will impact performance, or understand the requirements of new infrastructure,” Mr. Anthony Cicuttini said.
To deliver this tool to members, ACI partnered with aviation strategy specialist Redwater Consulting Group, which works across the industry’s value chain. The Redwater team develops innovative, workable, and value additive solutions for clients across three main disciplines, namely Strategy and Economics, Business Intelligence & Data Science, and Planning & Operations.
The tool focuses on terminal process points including Check-in (online, bag drop, traditional desks) security, emigration, immigration, boarding, and baggage reclaim, and uses average cycle times throughout each process point to generate an overall queue time for that process point.
