Emirates declares war on delays

Emirates has declared a war on delays at Dubai International Airport this week by announcing the introduction of some new tech, built by the carriers own in-house development team, dubbed Hub Monitor.

The airline is so confident in it’s new app that it believes passengers travelling through Dubai International Airport (DXB) will now be subject to fewer hold ups and a smoother departure experience with the tech boosting the efficiency of aircraft turnaround.

There are a number of activities involved in the aircraft turnaround process, including the thorough cleaning of aircraft interiors, water and toilet servicing, flight catering and loading meals for passengers. As well as servicing the aircraft Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), refuelling the aircraft, maintenance checks, and loading passenger luggage and cargo. A delay in any one of these activities can have a cumulative impact on operations.

Operational staff in Dubai will now be able to share and monitor real time information on the various activities that are carried out to prepare an aircraft for departure. Through up to date monitoring and dynamic alert system, the application helps avoid delays and improve on-time performance– addressing small issues before the domino into a problem– ultimately leading to a better passenger experience.

Adel Al Redha, Emirates executive vice president and chief operations officer said: “The Hub Monitor application is a unique and innovative tool developed in line with our vision to continuously re-examine our processes and introduce smart and more efficient means to improve our operations resulting in better passenger experience.

Our Operations team in coordination with IT have led the development of the hub monitoring system in a record time of five months, building on an existing solution that was already developed by Emirates Engineering. The team examining the various functions of Hub Monitor in real time are working to roll out further modules and the next module will be implemented later this month.”

Potential

Currently it takes approximately 105 minutes to turnaround an A380 and about 90 minutes for a Boeing 777 aircraft. Since Hub Monitor was first put into use at DBX, Emirate’s have reported that the tech has “has the potential to bring about a significant delay reduction at Emirates’ Dubai hub every year”.

What that “potential” is on a day-to-day basis  has yet to be defined with Emirates unable to to respond at time of writing.