Airports

Ericsson’s cellular technology is empowering airports to:

Self-driving vehicles

Keeping airports moving with driverless fleets

The efficiency of airport service vehicles has a major impact on flight delays and whether an airport’s infrastructure operates smoothly or not.

There is huge scope to create more efficiency in this area, as International Airport Review data suggest 90% of an airport’s air-side vehicles are stationary at any one time.

Powered by a 5G network and providing the ultra-high speeds and low latency needed for accurate driving, autonomous vehicle fleets are the answer.

Autonomous vehicles massively improve productivity for airport operations, reducing delays and even operating costs. As a result, airports can operate at peak productivity every day.

Use case

Driverless airport fleets

It’s clear that there are many long-term benefits to be gained from the use of autonomous vehicles. Data from Hindawi suggests a 40 to 50% increase in spatial efficiency, resulting in more accurate driving and parking. According to the University of Texas, the smoother driving cycles reduce energy use by 10-20%. Data from Skift also suggests an impressive 70% decrease in aircraft pushback delays, while Arthur D. Little calculates that reduced driver labor costs represents 80% of the total savings benefits of autonomous vehicles.

Pushing for change

Phasing out legacy equipment for the new

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 a smart airport.

Bringing in new solutions will provide higher reliability, greater use of data, and savings in operating expenditure. They could, according to McKinsey, produce performance gains of 20-40% in areas such as security and reliability.

Replacing their old TETRA system in favor of the more efficient new solutions such as push-to-talk will be essential for airports to stay competitive.

Use case

Push to talk

Mission critical cellular push-to-talk is a solution designed to increase operational efficiency in airports through real-time communication updates for staff. Arthur D. Little calculates that its high reliability will result in reduced network operating expenses that will account for 97% of the total savings benefits of deploying push-to-talk.

Turning a corner on turnaround times

More connected means more turnaround

One of the top investment 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.

Ground-related delays are a large cost factor to the aviation industry, literally costing 100 Euros for every minute lost, according to Independent.ie.

But new solutions enabled by Ericsson’s 5G cellular networks can reduce turnaround delays and boost an airport’s ability to handle more passengers. 

Use case

Quicker turnaround with better data

Ericsson’s 5G networks allow for real-time data analytics that work seamlessly with connected assets and airport workers. This means a streamlining of the embarking, disembarking, cleaning, loading and offloading cycle. This increase in efficiency can lower turnaround times by 15–25 minutes, says Flightradar. The reduced cost for ground handler labor from increased productivity accounts for 98% of the total savings benefits of this use case, calculates Arthur D. Little.