AI will help move planes faster through Pearson Airport in Mississauga
Published June 27, 2023 at 10:23 am
Pearson Airport in Mississauga is using artificial intelligence (AI) to get more planes into the air on time.
Given the troubles that arose last summer and this past December with delayed and cancelled flights, huge lineups and luggage issues at Canada’s biggest and busiest airport, any effort to improve the “on-time performance” of flights would seem to be welcome news to travellers.
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which operates Pearson, recently announced that it has partnered with tech firm Assaia “…to help enable smoother, faster and more predictable operations” through use of a new system called ApronAI that’s been deployed at all 106 gates at the airport.
Assaia’s AI-driven system will track every aspect of aircraft turnaround performance, physically preparing an aircraft when it lands until it takes off again for a new flight, GTAA officials say.
By monitoring what’s happening around the aircraft in real time, the airport authority adds, the data will be used to highlight and address inefficiencies and provide accurate estimates of timeliness to increase gate availability, improve on-time performance and be more transparent with passengers.
“We’re creating the airport of the future, and innovation in apron operations will directly improve the passenger experience,” said Deborah Flint, president and CEO of the GTAA, in a news release. “We’re pleased for the potential industry-wide transformation that may result from these new technologies. We are laser focused on innovations that will make Pearson and its whole apron ecosystem more efficient while reducing our carbon footprint.”
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The GTAA adds that use of the new technology is another step towards digitization for Pearson.
Pearson officials point out that Assaia has monitored more than 1.5 million flights and observed some three million turnaround events while working with Seattle-Tacoma Airport, Halifax Stanfield Airport, British Airways, London Gatwick and other locations around the world.
Pearson Airport has turned to the use of AI systems more often in recent years as it seeks to improve all aspects of the travel experience.
Last year, the airport introduced on a trial basis a new high-tech tool that helps security officials more effectively spot concealed guns and other weapons on travellers.
The technology, known as Hexwave, uses portals that detect any anomalies as passengers move through the device. The portals can reportedly spot both metallic or non-metallic objects, so travellers don’t have to remove keys and coins from their pockets.
Using 3D radar imaging and AI, Hexwave picks up on anything suspicious faster than the metal-detecting systems currently being used at airports around the world.