Amadeus Consulting, a leading custom software development company, and Aero Tech Consulting, a leading provider of aviation consulting, today announced that the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies published their jointly developed handbook entitled Integrating Airport Information Systems.
The handbook is the result of an 18-month research project that assessed the current state of the aviation industry in terms of managing data, developed guidelines and best practices for integrating data, and described a vision of an airport with fully integrated business, operational and financial information systems. Specifically the report investigates current airport information systems and evaluates new technologies. Incorporated into this handbook are conclusions drawn from studying hundreds of research papers, presentations and software solutions as well as interviews with dozens of aviation leaders. The Handbook includes tables that summarize the Management Information Systems used at major airports and the Business Critical Information and Data Elements that the Systems control.
The Handbook can be viewed online at: http://tinyurl.com/pbqjw3
The project team represented a range of airline, airport management, information design, software, and technology implementation expertise. The study's principal investigator is Christine Stocking, president of ATCI and a veteran of the aviation industry. Co-investigators are Steve Loper, chief technology officer of Amadeus Consulting, and James DeLong, past chairman of the Airports Council International and a former manager of Denver International Airport. The panel also included Vicki Braunagel, a former director of aviation at Denver International Airport; and Tom Healy, a partner at Third Party Insight and former managing director for United Airlines.
Amadeus Consulting, specializing in strategic technology consulting, was proud to be a part of this research project. "I was impressed by the airport industry experience that Christine and others at Aero Tech brought to this effort,"said Steve Loper. "Their insight was crucial in helping me understand how to apply specific industry knowledge to technology recommendations." Loper defined the technical specifications for airports to procure integrated, interoperable systems that support automated data processing and reporting of airport financial and operational data.
The principle investigator, Christine Stocking said, "It is an honor to have worked with so many industry experts, such as Samuel Ingalls, assistant director of aviation, and information systems at Clark County Department of Aviation-McCarran International Airport ; David Ruch, director of information systems at Metropolitan Airports Commission - Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport , Jim Miller, technology manager at Denver International Airport and Steve Loper, CTO of Amadeus Consulting - all of whom are experts that assisted in shaping the direction of the handbook, now referred to as ACRP Report 13."
The Airports Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) is managed by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and is funded through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The National Academies, acting through its Transportation Research Board (TRB), serves as manager of the ACRP. Program oversight and governance are provided by representatives of airport operating agencies.
The goal of the study is to create a detailed vision of a fully-integrated airport information system for business operations and to propose industry initiatives for achieving this vision. The study is formally titled: Analysis and Recommendations for Developing Integrated Airport Information Systems.