Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU) has become the latest airport to deploy Assaia’s turnaround technology, to optimize the airport’s turnaround performance. Importantly, this opens the door for future deployments across the Fraport airport portfolio.

Claus Grunow, VP of Corporate Strategy and Digitalization at Fraport, said, “We are optimizing all our processes on the apron to shorten the time each aircraft needs to be on the ground, which benefits both our passengers and our airline partners. This is a common issue across our airports and we are talking to all of them about this technology.”

TurnaroundControl is deployed at all critical gates at LJU, enabling the team to optimize operations in real-time to improve the turnaround efficiency, including allocating the right staffing levels based on actual events not planned timings. In addition, by tracking all activity over time, it provides the data required to streamline Standard Operating Procedures. The result will be more predictable and faster turnarounds, in turn improving on-time performance and, therefore, the passenger experience.

Dr Babett Stapel, Managing Director of Fraport Slovenjia, said, “Our focus is to use innovation to make our operations smoother. We have selected Assaia because of the capabilities of the tool. But it is also really important for us that it has a good record of successful implementation so we know it will deliver for us, for our airlines and ultimately for our passengers.”

Assaia uses a combination of computer vision and Artificial Intelligence to monitor every aspect of the turnaround. The resulting data is integrated into the airport, airline and ground handlers’ systems, providing real-time information through a dashboard, including tailored alerts, as well as reports which highlight areas for long-term improvement. All the hardware and software was installed and integrated at LJU in just 139 days.