Aviation Software Overview

What is Aviation Software?

Aviation software provides operational support to airlines, airports, and FBOs (fixed-
base operators) such as taxi services, cafes, and other airport service providers.
Additionally, aviation software supports the management of airline fleets. Together this
encompasses a wide range of front desk and sales / service automation, maintenance,
and airport personnel management. Vendors offering aviation software often specialize
in just this vertical but cover all of airline sales, workforce, and maintenance operational
support via their software. Aside from all-in-one solutions some aviation technology
vendors focus on just one element of airline software (e.g. fleet management, ticket
sales, etc.). Some CMMS

eatures of Aviation Software

Aviation software encompasses the following feature set:

 Airline website, supporting online ticket sales

 Cashier POS solution for on-site ticket check-in and sales
 Flight scheduling and dispatch, pilot management
 FBO (fixed-based operator) management
 Customer information management (e.g. flight history, contact data)
 Boarding and concierge management
 Flight attendant management and scheduling
 Airport workforce check-in / check-out, scheduling
 Aircraft utilization and time management
 lot costing, contract, warranty, and leasing management
 Airport maintenance management (internal or via integration with CMMS)
 Airplane material, parts ordering, inventory management
 Fuel tracking and management, fuel truck management
 Plane quality assurance, inspection management, engineering support
 Maintenance planning and management
 Revenue cycle management, cost and financial analysis
TRAXXALL
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
TRAXXALL Technologies headquartered in Montreal offers the TRAXXALL suite of
aviation software, emphasizing airline maintenance management and inventory
management.

 TRAXXALL Alternatives

Flightdocs
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
Flightdocs headquartered in Bonita Springs offers software for the aviation industry,
including fleet maintenance and inventory tracking and management, and flight
operations software.

 Flightdocs Alternatives
CORRIDOR
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
CORRIDOR is an aviation management platform encompassing MRO & repair
management, operator and aircraft management, aircraft maintenance and
rerfurbishment, and other features, from CAMP Systems company Continuum Applied
Technology headquartered in Austin, Texas.

 CORRIDOR Alternatives

Sabre Aircentre
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
Sabre Corporation offers the Aircentre suite of airline and aviation management
applications, supporting operations control (Sabre AirCentre Movement Manager),
airline crew management (Sabre AirCentre Crew Manager), and other features related
to managing the operations of an airport.

 Sabre Aircentre Alternatives

SabreSonic Res
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
Sabre Corporation offers SabreSonic Res, an aviation software designed to support
airline reservation management, encompassing both sales and service.

 SabreSonic Res Alternatives

ForeFlight
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
ForeFlight headquartered in Houston offers a suite of aviation applications designed to
support flight management and support pilots.

 ForeFlight Alternatives

DigiMAINT
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
AeroSoft Systems headquartered in Ontario offers DigiMAINT, a commercial aviation
maintenance management application.

 DigiMAINT Alternatives

SITA Airport Management

We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
SITA, headquartered in Geneva, offers their airport management suite of applications
including AirportCentral flight data management, AirportResource Manager workforce
and resource allocation app, AirportVision flight information, and AirportVoice public
address tool, among other apps.

 SITA Airport Management Alternatives

SITA Horizon
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
SITA, headquartered in Geneva, offers the Horizon suite of airport and airline
management applications, supporting passenger management and the business side of
airline operations.

 SITA Horizon Alternatives

OSYRIS
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
Harris Corporation headquartered in Melbourne offers OSYRIS, an aviation arrival,
departure, and flow-management for airport, runway, and airspace resource
management.

 OSYRIS Alternatives

Harris Symphony
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
Harris Corporation headquartered in Melbourne offers the Symphony data and
application software suite supporting airport and airline operations management.

 Harris Symphony Alternatives

airRM
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
Accelya offers airRM, an airline revenue management system designed to make airlines
profitable.

 airRM Alternatives

Accelya VIVALDI
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
Accelya offers the VIVALDI suite of payment solutions for airlines, supporting card
payment processing via VIVALDI CardClear, card and alternate payment resolution,
chargeback claims management, and Accelya payment gateway.

 Accelya VIVALDI Alternatives

Accelya CRIS
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
Accelya offers CRIS (Customer Relationship Management Solution), a CRM and loyalty
management solution for airlines.

 Accelya CRIS Alternatives

cargoRM
We don't have enough ratings and reviews to provide an overall score.
Accelya offers cargoRM, a revenue management and decisioning system for airline
cargo operators, featuring real-time alerts, dashboards and performance summary and
analyses, and other features.

 cargoRM Alternatives

Imagine an airport. What are the first things that come to mind? A cavernous terminal,
information displays, long queues, baggage claim conveyors, arriving aircraft waiting to be
fueled and catered for imminent departure. Airports have a tight flight schedule with its
associated staff management, passenger processing, attention to minute detail, and much more.
Airport automation speeds up the processes and improves the quality of service.

We have addressed best practices for modernizing airline operations and put our talents to work
for Merlot Aero advance airline management. In this article we will take a detailed look at main
airport operations and the ways integrated software solutions can facilitate them, as well as
describe some integrated airport management suites from key vendors.

Our article consists of two major parts: a general overview of key airport operations, and the
description of some of the most widely used solutions on the market. If you know the basics, just
skip the first part and go straight to the second one.

Airport operations breakdown

Airport management solutions and key vendors

Airport operations
Before we learn about the software, let’s start with the main airport operations. They can be
divided into four types: landside operations, airside operations, billing and invoicing, and
information management.

Landside operations are aimed at serving passengers and maintenance of terminal buildings,
parking facilities, and vehicular traffic circular drives. Passenger operations include baggage
handling and tagging. Terminal operations comprise resource allocation and staff management.

Airside operations include aircraft landing and navigation, airport traffic management, runway
management, and ground handling safety.

Billing and invoicing operations cover aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenue. Ledger or
accounting systems contain information regarding airport finances: flight bills, handling
invoices, cash, sales within the airport (points-of-sales), staff payrolls, etc.

Information management relates to the collection and distribution of daily flight information,
storing of seasonal and arrival/departure information, as well as the connection with airlines.

Airport management systems, as airport software is often called, serve to optimize all these
operations: passenger processing, baggage tagging and handling, arrival/departure operations,
departure control systems, information distribution, and air traffic control (ATC). Airport
software can also include other solutions, like CRMs and environmental management systems.
Let’s take a closer look at the modules of airport management software.

Modules of airport management

software
Airport management systems usually have most of the following modules, but they are not
limited to them.
 Airport software system

Airport Operational Database (AODB)

Software providers: Amadeus IT Group, Leidos, SITA, Rockwell Collins, Siemens
Each airport has its own central database that stores and updates all necessary data regarding
daily flights, seasonal schedules, available resources, and other flight-related information, like
billing data and flight fees. AODB is a key feature for the functioning of an airport.

This database is connected to the rest of the airport modules: airport information systems,
revenue management systems, and air traffic management. The system can supply different
information for different segments of users: passengers, airport staff, crew, or members of
specific departments, authorities, business partners, or police. AODB represents the information
on a graphical display.

AODB functions include:

 Reference-data processing
 Seasonal scheduling
 Daily flight schedule processing
 Processing of payments
The most important information that this database holds is the seasonal schedule. It displays
information about commercial flight movements for a season. Usually, it contains the flight code,
type of aircraft, their estimated arrival and departure times, multi-stop flights, operation days of
the week, exception dates, and other relevant information. This information entered manually or
downloaded allocates such resources as arrival or departure gates, air-bridges and stands, check-
in desks.

While AODB stands alone and doesn’t belong to any operations, it is the backbone of the airport.
Information stored in AODB facilitates the planning and allocation of the physical and financial
assets of an airport.

Landside operations
Software providers: SITA, Rockwell Collins, NEC, ISO-Gruppe.

Operations performed by this module include terminal operations and airline departure control:
passenger check-in, customs, baggage handling, screening, etc. Some airports have automated
biometric control. Passenger data is integrated into the border management system that allows
the appropriate personnel to check a passenger in the databases. Let’s look at the services
integrated into the airport management software.

Passenger facilitation services include passenger processing (check-in, boarding, border

control) and baggage handling (tagging, dropping and handling). They follow passengers to the
shuttle buses to carry them to their flights. Arrival operations include boarding control and
baggage handling.
Border control (customs and security services). In airports, security services usually unite
perimeter security, terminal security, and border controls. These services require biometric
authentication and integration into government systems to allow a customs officer to view the
status of a passenger.

Baggage handling. Obviously, a passenger must check a bag before it’s loaded on the aircraft.
The time the baggage is loaded is displayed and tracked until the destination is reached and the
bag is returned to the owners.

Common Use Services (self-service check-in systems). An airport must ensure smooth
passenger flow. Various digital self-services, like check-in kiosks or automated self-service
gates, make it happen. Self-service options, especially check-in kiosks, remain popular.
Worldwide in 2018, passengers used kiosks to check themselves in 88 percent of the time.

Self-boarding gates at Gatwick Airport

Other landside modules include:

Terminal management. The software Includes maintenance and monitoring of management

systems for assets, buildings, electrical grids, environmental systems, and vertical transportation
organization. It also facilitates staff communications and management.

Staff management. Staff modules provide the necessary information about ongoing processes in
the airport, such as data on flights (in ICAO or UTC formats) and other important events to keep
responsible staff members updated. Information is distributed through the airport radio system,
or displayed on a PC connected via the airport LAN or on mobile devices.

Reporting. This module allows the staff to see data on screen or in print to understand the effect
of the ongoing processes on business decisions and overall functioning of the airport. Also, it can
include reports from airlines, aircraft, operators, hourly activity of passengers and aircraft,
movement types, etc. They include an aircraft’s timetable, routes, and destinations, as well as
traffic distribution.

Air Traffic Management

Software providers: AIS, Adacel, Transoft, Pacific Controls, SITA

Airside operations comprise control and facilitation of aircraft handling and parking. This
includes air traffic control equipment and management solutions for air navigation. Most airside
solutions are oriented toward aeronautics and plane allocation.

Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network (AFTN) Systems. AFTN Systems handle

communication and exchange of data including navigation services. Usually, airports exchange
traffic environment messages, safety messages, information about the weather, geographic
material, disruptions, etc. They serve as communication between airports and aircraft.

Software for aeronautical telecommunications stores flight plans and flight information, entered
in ICAO format and UTC. The information stored can be used for planning and statistical
purposes. For airports, it’s important to understand the aircraft type and its weight to assign it to
the right place on the runway. AFTN systems hold the following information:

 Aircraft registration
 Runway used
 Actual time of landing and departure
 Number of circuits
 Number and type of approaches
 New estimates of arrival and departure
 New flight information
Air traffic management is performed from an ATC tower.

ATC Tower. The Air Traffic Control Tower is a structure that delivers air and ground control of
the aircraft. It ensures safety by guiding and navigating the vehicles and aircraft. It is performed
by way of visual signaling, radar, and radio communication in the air and on the ground. The
main focus of the tower is to make sure that all aircraft have been assigned to the right place, that
passengers aren’t at risk, and that the aircraft will have a suitable passenger boarding bridge
allocated on the apron.

The ATC tower has a control room that serves as a channel between landside (terminal) and
airside operations in airports. The control room personnel are tasked with ensuring the security
and safety of the passengers as well as ground handling. Usually, a control room has CCTV
monitors and air traffic control systems that maintain the order in the terminal and on the apron.

Apron Handling. Apron or ground handling deals with aircraft servicing. This includes
passenger boarding and guidance, cargo and mail loading, and apron services. Apron services
include aircraft guiding, cleaning, drainage, deicing, catering, and fueling. At this stage, the
software facilitates dealing with information about the weight of the baggage and cargo load,
number of passengers, boarding bridges parking, and the ground services that must be supplied
to the aircraft. By entering this information into the system, their costs can be calculated and
invoiced through the billing system.

Invoicing and billing

Software providers: Amadeus IT Group, AIS, Damarel Systems International LTD
Each flight an airport handles generates a defined revenue for the airport paid by the airline
operating the aircraft. Aeronautical invoicing systems make payment possible for any type and
size of aircraft. It accepts payments in cash and credit in multiple currencies. The billing also
extends to ATC services.

Depending on the aircraft type and weight and ground services provided, an airport can calculate
the aeronautical fee and issue an invoice with a bill. It is calculated using the following data:

 Aircraft registration
 Parking time at the airport
 Airport point of departure and/or landing
 Times at the different points of entry or departure
 The data is entered or integrated from ATC. Based on this information, the airport
calculates the charges and sends the bills.
Revenue management. Non-aeronautical revenue management systems are comprised of
accounting systems, business intelligence, payrolls, and revenue from ground handling services
in airports.

Information management – Airport information systems (AIS)

Software providers: Rockwell Collins, Siemens, Ultra Electronics Holdings, Amadeus IT

Group, SITA.

This category includes all types of software that collect, distribute, and update information from
around the airport, including public address systems and flight information display systems
(FIDS). They receive data from airlines and terminals, data on time and gates of arrival that must
be sent to the passengers. However, they also can display marketing information or any other
non-flight-related types, for example, weather or news broadcasts.

Airport information systems include flight information display systems (FIDS), airport
announcement or public address (PA) systems, and automatic terminal information service
(ATIS).

Flight Information Display Systems (FIDS) exhibit the status of boarding, gates, aircraft, flight
number, and other flight details. A computer controls the screens that are connected to the data
management systems and display up-to-date information about flights in real time. Some airports
have a digital FIDS in the form of apps or on their websites. Also, the displays may show other
public information such as the weather, news, safety messages, menus, and advertising. Airports
can choose the type, languages, and means of entering the information, whether it be manually or
loaded from a central database.
Airport announcement systems or public address (PA) systems inform passengers and airport
staff about any changes and processes of importance, for instance, gates, times of arrival, calls,
and alerts. Also, information can be communicated to pilots, aircraft staff, crew, etc. PA systems
usually include voice messages broadcasted through loudspeakers.

Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) broadcasts the weather reports, the condition
of the runway, or other local information for pilots and crews.

Some airport software vendors offer off-the-shelf solutions to facilitate particular tasks, like
maintenance, or airport operations. However, most of them provide integrated systems that
comprise modules for several operations. Let’s look at some of them.

Airport management software

solutions and vendors
A small travel disruption can have significant consequences. As the airport is a large structure
that requires tracking, processing, and maintaining many procedures at once, integrated solutions
can be a good choice for management contrasted with multiple software programs jumbled
together.
Integrated airport software solutions
Damarel Systems International LTD
Damarel Systems International offers software solutions for airlines and airport operations.
Airport software solutions cover passenger processing, ground handling, and information
systems.

FiNDnet Suite is a cloud-based solution for airport terminal operations. It includes accounting
and flight information systems as well as revenue and management modules. The suite modules
are:

FiNDnet Operations and FiNDnet Allocations for ground handling

FiNDnet Services, FiNDnet Revenues, FiNDnet Billing for billing and revenue management

FiNDnet Resources and FiNDnet Demand Planning for resource planning and allocation

FiNDnet Mobile for module software application

FiNDnet Dashboards

FiNDnet FIDS

Additionally, the vendor offers border control solutions Vanguard and Aura, a passenger
boarding solution Embark that supports self-boarding gates and its mobile version
EMBARKmobile, load control solution LodeStone, and a middleware solution Babel ZIP that
enables native airline applications to run on common use platforms.

Damarel Systems solutions work in compliance with third-party management systems, Common-
Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) and Common Use Passenger Processing Systems (CUPPS).
Depending on airport requirements, the software can be customized.

Rockwell Collins, Inc.

Rockwell Collins, Inc. provides the solutions for airport self-service, baggage handling, and staff
management, as well as landside operations. Rockwell Collins solutions can be easily integrated
into existing systems already in use at airports. The solution is available both in the cloud and
on-premise.

The ARINC Suite for airports offers the following modules:

ARINC AirDB – Rockwell Collins AODB for data storage, network integration, and
information management.
ARINC SmartBag, BagLink, BagMatch, ExpressCheck, and ExpressDrop – baggage
handling systems.

ARINC SelfServ, ARINC Automated Passport Control (APC) Kiosk – passenger facilitation
solution with biometric identity management. Check-in kiosks integrate with passport reading
devices, card readers, security cameras, biometric systems, and allow the travelers to tag their
baggage. Rockwell Collins common use systems have multi-user system environment (MUSE)
applications.

ARINC Border Management Solutions and ARINC Electronic Borders – solutions for
border control and customs management.

ARINC AirPlan – planning and resource allocation solution.

ARINC AirTQM – turnaround management solution

ARINC AIM Physical Security and ARINC VeriPax – security solutions.

SITA
SITA is a leading vendor of aeronautical software that is used by over 1,000 airports worldwide.
SITA offers solutions for airport commercial management. Airport solutions by SITA are cloud-
based and cover passenger processing, border control, cybersecurity, business intelligence,
airport operations, marketing, day-of-travel services, and near-field communications (NFC).
SITA solutions are available in mobile mode.

Airport solutions by SITA include:

Airport commercial management – solutions for staff management, airport revenue

management, marketing, passenger processing, data management, and business intelligence.

Airport operations – SITA ControlBridge masterminds all operations from one place. This
includes capacity planning, slot management, resource management, and information
management (PA systems, FIDS).

Baggage processing – SITABagDrop for baggage check-ins, tracking and recovery, and
payments.

Enterprise management – SITA Airport MSI (master system integration) monitors the
construction and operations of the terminals. It includes a safety monitoring module.
Information and infrastructure management – SITA’s Airport Infrastructure Management
suite includes data protection mode, operational messaging, SITA Connect and SITA
CyberSeciruty.

Passenger processing – SITA Smart Path with Airport Self-Service Gates and barcode reader,
as well as processing of biometric information and e-passport reading.

NEC Air Traffic Control and Airport System

NEC, a Japanese vendor that provides solutions for over ten industries, is a leader in biometric
technologies. Their solutions for airports include Civil Aviation Solutions and have the following
modules:

 Airport communications
 Surveillance (Airport Surveillance Radar, Secondary Surveillance Radar)
 Air Traffic Control (Transportable Radar Control System and Automated Radar Terminal
System)
 Airport operations (FIDS, Bird Detection System, Stand management system)
 Boarding control.
NEC’s bio-idiom solution NeoFace delivers biometric identification to airports. This immutable
authentication establishes identity using:

 Face recognition
 Iris recognition
 Fingerprint and palmprint recognition
 Finger vein recognition
 Voice recognition
 Ear acoustic authentication
NEC’s airport biometric authentication gate solution

Airport Information Systems

AIS offers a solution that links the information from FIDS to the airport websites. The vendor
also offers its Fuel System with manual input of oil sold and sales analysis report. The software
accepts carnet cards.
 AIS Flight Information Display
Source: AIS

 Airport Flight Information Display

 Airport Operations (Airport Landing Dues Information)
 Air Traffic Control
 Apron Management
 ATC Over Flight Billing System with cash invoicing
 Handling Agent System
 Accounting
 Reports (Timetable, Traffic Analysis Reports, Operations and Hourly Activity)
 Boarding control (Security Sentinel and Gate Guardian).
Boarding control solutions support 2D barcode scanners, M1 Style Barcodes for Web Boarding
Passes and S Style Barcodes for Kiosk Boarding Cards. Also, Security Sentinel allows
passengers to process their luggage. Those modules have a reporting tool.

AIS cooperates with AVIAVOX to provide multi-lingual flight announcements that update in
real time with FIDS, and the Deaf Alerter messaging system that displays flight information for
the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
Amadeus IT Group
One of the leading providers of travel software solutions, Amadeus IT Group offers IT products
for airports. Besides solutions for landside and airside management, Amadeus provides solutions
for non-aeronautical revenue (passenger sales and advertising) and Airport Collaborative
Decision Making (A-CDM).

Amadeus offers its own AODB in compliance with the Airport Decision-Making platform. One
more product by Amadeus is the Turnaround Management solution that allows tracking all
processes in the airport from check-ins to ground handling operations.

Amadeus solutions:

Amadeus FIDS

Amadeus Virtual Airfield Management System (VAMS) – ATC tower solution

Amadeus Resource Management System, Amadeus Fixed Resource Management System

(F-RMS) – resource management solution

Altéa Suite – passenger processing system

Amadeus Baggage Reconciliation Solution (BRS) – baggage processing solution

Amadeus Airport Sequence Manager – ground handling solution

Amadeus PROPworks – payment and administration tools

Also, Amadeus offers a solution for airport customer support training Amadeus Service Hub: an
online hub where airport employees can find necessary information.

Pacific Controls
Pacific Controls developed Converged Integrated Airport Solutions (CIAS) for airport
automation. These solutions cover all airport operations, including safety and security for both
buildings and aircraft. Disparate systems converge on an IP-based platform that facilitates data
mobilization using open standards protocols like BACnet, LonWorks, EIB, OPC, XML/SOAP,
SNMP, Modbus/TCP. The system’s flexibility allows users to add more systems in the future.

CIAS is an integrated system that unites the following modules in one solution:

 Reporting, planning, data management (Airport Business)

  ATC, passenger facilitation, baggage handling, cargo and transport operations, FIDS,
resource control (Airport Operations & Maintenance)
 Terminal and field alarming, CCTV, Access Control (Airport Security)
 Alarms, seat monitoring, field alarms (Airport Safety)
 Airport communications

ISO-Gruppe SKYport
German vendor ISO-Gruppe provides software with an integrated, cloud-based solution for
airport management – SKYport Airport Management Suite. The solution covers air traffic
management, apron handling, aeronautical billing, reporting, cargo and collaborative decision-
making (CDM). SKYport has a mobile version for tablets and other portable devices. A CDM
module features the management and monitoring of aircraft handling and provides a
communication platform for airport staff.

SKYport comprises:

Airport Operational Database (AODB)

SKYport Customer Portal – a module for integration of flight information with airport
websites

SKYport Connect – a module for integration with third party systems

SKYport Reporting – comprehensive reports in HTML, XML or XLS formats

SKYport Business Intelligence – a module that integrates data from the billing system and
creates reports. Another module for BI is SKYport BI for SAP, which creates official traffic
statistics and compares the data in Web or Excel. The Business Intelligence module performs
strategic planning and analyzes different scenarios.

SKYport Cargo for cargo handling

SKYport Resources – a module for allocation of immobile resource management (gates,

parking positions, baggage conveyor belts).

SKYport Activities – a module for staff management and task assignment

SKYport FIDS – flight information display with integrated Web services (weather, advertising,
news stream)
Final word
Seamless passenger flow, up-to-date information, and air traffic management are the keys to
successful airport functioning. Global technological development impacts airports, creating new
opportunities and challenges. In the next three years, airport IT operations will focus on customer
service, information technologies, and cybersecurity, Air Transport IT Insights 2018 by
SITA reports. Let’s briefly look at the future of those trends:

Facial-recognition and biometric ID management. Seventy-seven percent of airports plan to

launch programs in biometrics ID management in the next three years.

Passenger self-service solutions. These will include not only passenger check-in kiosks,
automated boarding gates, baggage drop and smart tracking, but also mobile integration of
airport information systems.

Artificial Intelligence and predictive analytics. Airlines already use AI and data science in
their operations. Almost 80 percent of airports are using them in customer service too or plan to
use them in the near future as virtual agents and chatbots for advertising, personalization, airport
and flight status information, and brand perception improvement.

Blockchain in passenger identification. Thirty-four percent of all airports will use blockchain
to streamline the passenger identification process by 2021.

Photo by Eric Karim Cornelis on Unsplash

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