Landing in The Future of Aviation 4.0

The aviation industry will play a critical role in enabling global economic recovery post-pandemic. According to a report from Airports Council International, the pandemic hit the sector very hard with an estimated 60% decrease in passenger traffic in 2020. Going forward, it is expected that “pre-COVID-19” numbers will recover at an annual growth rate of 3.7% until 2040. Air cargo is expected to reach a 2.3% annual growth rate, resulting in a rise in flight movements to cater for that expansion. In June alone, travel is expected to increase by 10% month-over-month, according to the TSA.

Digital transformation of airports is one of the most essential steps to ensure further autonomous and sustainable operations. To become more efficient, airports will need to modernize their telecommunications infrastructure and adopt the latest technologies. When airports “cut the wires,” they are extending secure connectivity throughout the airport optimizing operations and enhancing security which explains the significant increase in demand for private networks. This provides benefits for both the airside and landside with new and emerging digital services for automation solutions for the industry.

Addressing On-Time-Performance (OTP) for turnaround times of an aircraft is also highly essential as delays are expensive and provide extensive downtime within the ecosystem. These delays create operational challenges, burn additional fuel and reduce customer loyalty as a consequence. When OTP is addressed, it enables airlines to assess the success of services and remain on schedule. Delayed flights are able to recover opposed to not addressing OTP which means airlines need to build an extra buffer up to 45 minutes into their scheduling to anticipate these delays which can often be inevitable.

The journey towards the next generation – Aviation 4.0. begins with integrated real-time communication – Land-Mobile-Radio (LMR) modernization, connected operations, connected workers and autonomous fleets. Ultimately, superior cellular connectivity is how we get there. As we look to the future, we expect there to be additional advancements beyond Push-to-Talk and can expect to see the evolution of solutions for voice, data, and video.

Entering Aviation 4.0 Through 4G and 5G Connectivity

An airport is like a small city: a complex community supported by a wide range of applications that depend on telecommunications networks to operate smoothly. Those working within the aviation ecosystem including airport authorities, airlines, passengers, retailers and multiple stakeholders must be able to communicate effectively and operate seamlessly to offer the most superior and safest experience to billions of travellers every year, to bring Aviation 4.0 to fruition.

Put simply, stakeholders within an airport “own” different elements of the ecosystem, and work to their individual ends to develop solutions that work within their silos of responsibility. Leveraging the proper tech tools in addition to the data some of these tools can produce, means we can merge each of these silos into one unified airport platform.

The industry is transforming to align with growing demand to ensure environmental, operational, and financial stability through reliable, secure and readily available connectivity through private 4G and 5G networks. These networks complement existing solutions for airlines, passengers, tenants and operators enabling enhanced optimization of operations.

A private network is isolated from the public network and custom-built to meet the communication needs of an airport using the same standards-based technology as public wireless networks including 4G and 5G radio in addition to dual mode core technology.

Private networks enable digitalization and automation in airports because they serve as a highly secure and robust communication backbone that is designed to support rapid adoption of innovative technologies. Private networks are particularly useful for airport use cases that require mobility, reliability, and deterministic performance, such as airport operational communication systems, tracking assets such as IoT and sensors, security and safety, baggage tracking enabled by virtual and augmented reality headsets, as well as biometric check-in and boarding.

Cellular connectivity provides lower latency, better quality coverage and reliability coupled with a more stable performance compared to Wi-Fi, especially when combined in indoor/outdoor use cases.

Phasing Out Legacy Equipment

As legacy technology systems can no longer support the growing needs of an airport’s staff and its range of assets, phasing out legacy technology like TETRA and P25 is the first step towards Aviation 4.0.

Bringing in new solutions will provide higher reliability, greater use of data, and savings in operating expenditure. Performance gains will also be observed in areas such as security and reliability. Replacing the old TETRA system in favor of the more efficient one will be essential for airports to remain competitive.

Solutions built on the leading 3GPP,4G and 5G technology and critical broadband capabilities can complement and evolve existing national or regional Land Mobile Radio (LMR) networks, dedicated networks, or public networks with mission-critical enhancements, providing comprehensive and reliable voice, data and video services.

Connected Operations, Connected Workers

Deploying connected aircraft solutions and leveraging technologies like augmented reality for automated airside operations will help airports maximize capacity and improve OTP of aircrafts. Leveraging artificial intelligence in the aviation industry in addition to digital twin solutions to contribute to collaborative and real-time decision making is critical for the evolution of Aviation 4.0.

One of the top priorities in smart airports has been passenger processing. This is because time-efficient aircraft turnarounds have become a key success factor, especially for low-cost carriers relying on tight scheduling. This also impacts passenger satisfaction that is a critical part of customer retention within the industry.

Applications such as asset monitoring contribute to agility, advancement of operations, and unlocking intelligence with data insights. During the aircraft turnaround processes, artificial intelligence on video feeds enhance productivity and optimize the use of existing assets through data sharing and analytics. Digital Load Control with AR in real time reduces the critical path of loading and unloading services and drives effective capacity utilization of the airside with faster turnaround.

Autonomous vehicles will also improve productivity for airport operations, reducing delays and even operating costs. Looking ahead, the ability to expand the use of autonomous vehicles and robots in airports will depend on the availability of reliable, low-latency connectivity.

Ground handling support equipment such as baggage trucks, autonomous push-back of aircrafts and baggage handling are a few examples of where applications of this kind can be implemented and help establish a more efficient environment. Seamless and high-performing cellular technology enables a host of innovations that create a smarter airport.

The connected aviation worker can boost capabilities with XR immersive reality, location awareness for safety and machine interaction accelerating the industry. With 5G enabled AR glasses, workers have the capacity to instantly view details like loading weights, loading sequence, and allocated position within the aircraft.

Connectivity Can Help the Industry Emerge from the Pandemic Stronger Than Ever

Through advanced cellular connectivity, a new dimension of mobility will allow convergence with existing technologies as we segway into Aviation 4.0. Advanced cellular connectivity will enhance the aviation industry’s infrastructure including integration services, customer support, and managed services that will enhance value-added features.

These advancements will impact workers across the industry providing unparalleled benefits. As the world changes at a rapid pace, so must the aviation industry in order to remain competitive and ensure environmental, operational and financial sustainability in an industry that has been strained due to the pandemic through adopting new technologies that will ultimately elevate the industry and those that rely on it.