Dubai Airports chooses new automated planning solution

The Quintiq solution will automate the planning process for airport stands, gates, baggage belts and check-in counters to increase overall efficiency, reliability and passenger satisfaction. The solution went live at Dubai International on April 18, with implementation at Dubai World Central to follow soon.

Dubai International is the world’s busiest airport for international passengers. It serves 90 airlines flying to more than 240 destinations across six continents; in 2016, it served 83,654,250 passengers. Dubai World Central, slated to be the region’s airport of the future, launched cargo operations in 2010 and passenger flights in 2013.

“We aim to deliver a world-class experience to the airlines that use our airports and the passengers that they carry,” said Frank McCrorie, SVP Operations at Dubai Airports. “Quintiq will enable us to maximise utilisation of our current fixed resources and prepare for future expansions.”

Quintiq enables automated planning of all of Dubai International’s fixed resources. From its 260 airport stands to 143 gates, 561 check-in counters to 28 baggage belts, airport planners will have full visibility of resource allocation. They adapt this allocation to fit specific airline preferences and further streamline passenger flow.

Improved passenger flow means that the two airports can now handle increasing traffic without sacrificing passenger experience. A positive experience ensures that passengers and airlines continue to choose the airports for their needs within the region, resulting in increased revenue for the company.

Quintiq was the clear choice, according to Abdul Razzak Mikati, Managing Director at Dubai Airports’ implementation partner, DTP. He said: “The cost of investing in new infrastructure can be prohibitively high. The customer needed a future-ready, industry-proven solution to efficiently manage the capacity of its current airport resources. With Quintiq, the need for manual planning has been eliminated, resulting in enhanced flexibility and agility of operations.”

Abdul Razzak added that the Quintiq solution is also able to handle calculations for 40 flights per second and take advantage of information from multiple sources to improve its automation process. These capabilities are crucial as Dubai International saw a 7.4% increase in traffic in the first quarter of this year, while passenger traffic went up 29.5% at Dubai World Central in the same period. These upward trends are expected to continue.

According to Maarten Hendriks, Business Unit Director of Transportation at Quintiq:

“This planning puzzle gives us the opportunity to showcase Quintiq’s capabilities in the aviation sector. With 1,100 flights each day, optimal efficiency is crucial in maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. Quintiq’s automated planning capabilities will drive the customer’s commitment to guaranteeing a world-class passenger experience.”

Rob van Egmond, Quintiq CEO, commented:

“Dubai Airports’ trust in us is a testament to Quintiq’s excellent track record in aviation. We will support it in maintaining its industry-leading standards and we are confident that this partnership will be the first of many in this region.”