Gatwick Airport Capacity Rises to 55 Flights an Hour Due to Cloud

By Ben Sullivan

Gatwick Airport has boosted its runway capacity to 55 flights an hour with the help of a new cloud platform that has improved efficiency at other airports around the world.

Supplied by Amadeus, the cloud-based Airport-Collaborative Decision Making Portal (A-CDM) will improve the collaborative decision-making processes needed to get planes off the runway and into the air.

Game Changer

“It is easy to use and enables them to make better decisions that contribute to smoother and more efficient operations,” said Michael Ibbitson, CIO, London Gatwick Airport.

The cloud decision maker has helped the airport achieve its ACDM-55 accreditation, handling 55 runway movements per hour.

“The portal supports all partners at the airport involved in activities from refueling and de-icing and to ground handling and cargo. Those employees have access to real-time data about what’s happening across London Gatwick—it’s a game changer.”

Other airports to benefit from the solution include Munich, Madrid, and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

“Communication gaps still prevail in the airport ecosystem—a collaborative approach is key to align on aspects such as disruptions, flight information, number of bags on board and passengers in transit,” added John Jarrell, Head of Airport IT, Amadeus said.

“We hope to see other airports follow Gatwick’s innovative use of the Amadeus A-CDM Portal to facilitate improved communications and operational efficiency.”

Last week, a technical error at Swanwick air traffic control center resulted in the partial closure of airspace in and around London—almost exactly a year since a software failure at the same facility caused air travel chaos across the U.K.