Why automation is the key to the future of leading airports

The aviation industry is at a crossroads. Massive layoffs during the pandemic, and the subsequent quick recovery in passenger numbers, has triggered a rise in flight delays, cancellations, lost baggage reports, and customer complaints.

Airlines in Southeast Asia and Europe will likely continue to experience a workforce shortage,¹ and the United States is facing similar challenges.² Air travel will keep growing in the coming years, and the industry will need to keep up. By 2040, passenger numbers will rise to 8 billion a year, according to the International Air Transport Association’s 2022 report.³

To ensure seamless operations, industry players must take bold steps now toward future-ready solutions. It’s time to reframe the current problem of manpower shortages as a gap that digital capabilities can potentially fill.⁴

Automation in aviation may have been around for a while, but recent advancements in technology offer a smart means to transform the industry today.

1. Automating pre-flight checks and baggage handling

Some of the tasks that are best suited for automation include many routine, repetitive pre-flight processes, such as boarding and document checks. Automating these can make the process faster and more efficient, and also frees up ground staff’s time for higher-value tasks. 

The tele-operation of autonomous vehicles is another use case. In Singapore, the Changi Airport Group (CAG), Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), and other stakeholders are currently exploring how autonomous vehicles can improve baggage handling and transportation.

2. Aircraft maintenance

Automation can augment your workforce’s capabilities to perform technical inspections, unaffected by fatigue and other factors that may reduce human workers’ quality of work.

Artificial-intelligence (AI) powered systems can also crunch large volumes of data and forecast any maintenance needs.

For instance, automated guided vehicles and small unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, are making it faster and easier than ever to make sure aircrafts are in tiptop shape.⁶ Predictive maintenance, which taps on analytics and automation capabilities, can help airlines perform automated maintenance scheduling and documentation, autonomous performance monitoring, and mechanical failure prediction.⁷ 

Robots are already inspecting the surface of aircrafts,⁸ helping operators see parts of the plane that humans may have trouble reaching. It’s only a matter of time before they start performing structural repairs as well.

3. Air traffic control

Automation can help optimise air traffic flow in order to maximise airspace capacity, reduce congestion, and minimise delays. Combining video analytics and AI, for example, can better predict aircraft turnaround times and make sure flights arrive and depart on time.

The technology also promotes air safety by augmenting air traffic controllers’ abilities. For instance, automated warnings from short-term conflict alert systems let controllers know if an aircraft is attempting to enter an occupied runway.⁹ 

Smart digital towers – like the prototype in Changi Airport announced to be built in 2017¹⁰  – can enhance controllers’ visibility further. Extended computer display systems and time-based separation procedures for aircrafts can speed up traffic control operations.¹¹

4. Customer experience

Given the recent spate of complaints from travellers,¹² having an excellent customer experience will give airlines an edge over their competitors. 

Automation can improve the customer experience through chatbots and virtual assistants that allow for always-available, seamless, and meaningful customer interactions. Enhanced by AI, automation helps to make hyper-personalised service possible, providing recommendations based on customer preferences and past interactions.

Together with other digital technologies, automation holds significant promise for aviation, especially at this critical juncture. But it also poses certain challenges. Stakeholders need to safeguard data privacy and security, and make sure that automation does not trigger any unexpected effects that could make air travel less safe.

To minimise the risks, there needs to be a focus on human-AI collaboration.¹³ Deploying more automation could also call for more training for those using these tools.¹⁴

The networks powering automation systems must also prioritise safety. For instance, 5G networks have the speed, capacity, and low latency that automation requires, but safeguards need to be in place.

In a pioneering 5G aviation testbed launched at Changi Airport by Singtel, supported by CAG, and co-funded by CAAS, the implementers are promoting safety by setting up a wide margin between the frequency band of the local 5G network and aircraft radars, and adjusting 5G base stations’ antennae and lowering their power transmission in and around the airport.

Automation can transform aviation, but careful and responsible implementation is key to minimising risks and maximising benefits. If deployed with care, automation can help airlines, air safety specialists, aircraft manufacturers, and others in the industry build tomorrow’s smart airports.

For companies looking to innovate, the newly launched 5G aviation testbed at Changi Airport offers an opportunity to do so.

Within a two-year trial period, it will enable companies operating at Changi Airport Terminal 3 airside to transform their operations with 5G connectivity and explore use cases involving automation and other cutting-edge technologies. Companies can also leverage Singtel 5G Paragon, an all-in-one platform for 5G multi-access edge computing and services orchestration.

For more information on how 5G can boost your operations, talk to us.