Trial operations - The key to a successful opening of a new airport facility

Opening a new airport or terminal is a highly complex venture. It is not just about the infrastructure being ready at a specified date. It involves hundreds of stakeholders, processes, and systems that all need to be aligned and properly trained beforehand.

Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) is the coordinated program to bring a new infrastructure, such as passenger / cargo terminal buildings or logistics and MRO facilities, into operation with limited to no disruption. Whilst ensuring smooth operations from day one onwards, the ORAT methodology ensures a safe and secure environment for passengers and staff alike. 

There are seven distinct phases in an ORAT project:

While the first two phases lay the groundwork for future success, the shared objective of phase 3 and 4 is to ensure that knowledge is not only taught but actually transferred. The subsequent two phases represent the actual opening of the facility, while phase 7 comprises any support that is provided post-opening.

These phases ensure a structured and well-organized opening and make sure, everything has been thought of and happens at the right time. It is thus pivotal for a successful and seamless transfer of operations that they are conducted comprehensively and conscientiously.

Trials are the “dress-rehearsal” - the simulation of real-life operations prior to the actual opening of the new infrastructure.

The three ORAT phases preceding the trials form the theoretical framework in which all processes have been carefully defined and all people involved have been thoroughly trained. Yet, real-life operations are highly complex and not every eventuality can be foreseen, therefore the processes developed in previous phases are verified through the simulated operations.

Identify and resolve potential issues

The purpose of trials is to identify and resolve potential risks and issues that may arise at an early stage, thus avoiding financial or reputational damage during or after the opening of the new facility.

Trials require accurate planning prior to execution due to the tight schedule of an ORAT project and high costs, which are, among others, incurred for

• the team for preparation, coordination during the trial and review afterwards,
• transportation and catering for participants (trial passengers),
• baggage for check-in and running the BHS (baggage handling system),
• making staff of all stakeholders available, sometimes through double staffing,
• taking equipment out of rotation (e.g., ground handling vehicles),
• materials for a correct simulation such as bag tags, boarding passes, baggage carts,
• and much more.

What trials are not

It is equally important to have a clear understanding of what trials are not. Trials are neither testing & commissioning activities, nor training programs. Systems need to be fully tested and staff comprehensively trained before the actual simulated operations. Any delays caused due to untested equipment will have adverse effects on the efficiency of the trial, and if reoccurring, might also impact trial morale. The same applies to training. Although it might be enticing to use trials for training of staff, real-life operations cannot be simulated properly if the staff is not adequately instructed in their tasks and the underlying procedures. Untrained staff will cause delays and insecurities. 

To simulate real-life operations, it is necessary to have “passengers”. In the initial basic trials, these are generally staff standing in as trial passengers. Eventually they will be replaced by volunteers from the surrounding communities, schools, colleges, etc., reaching multiple hundreds of participants simulating the everyday passenger of the new facility. All participants need to have a clear understanding of their role in the trial to actively take on a role as passenger, airline and airport staff, members of the security agencies, etc. They need to know where to be when, and what is expected of them. Therefore, an in-depth briefing of all participants is pivotal to the successful execution of the trial. Passengers, for example, will need to know that they check-in at a counter rather than a self-service kiosk, the number of bags they need to check including oversized such as skis, whether they are traveling alone or accompanied, maybe even with a minor, whether it is international or domestic travel, the former requiring a trial passport for this purpose. 

Trial passengers can be asked to be unruly, lose their boarding pass on their way to the gate, check-in a firearm, require mobility assistance, look for a restroom, forget an object at the security check, and any other scenario that might occur in real life. Each of these in turn requires a response - either an action or reaction - by another party. 

Special attention is given to unforeseen issues: equipment may be needed elsewhere and not be available, technical components be down for inspection, and just about anything else you can think of.

The complexity of real-life operations is simulated as closely as possible to prepare for all eventualities, identify potential issues and tackle them by adapting the underlying procedures. It can easily be increased by adding further elements: a delay in an aircraft causing the hold rooms to fill up with passengers of multiple flights; the arrival of a flight right next to one departing, and many more. And this does not yet include the surrounding procedures such as stocking of restaurants and shops with supplies, cleaning of the facility, running of the baggage handling system, ensuring security around and throughout the airport building and campus, etc. 

To track the duration of individual processes and the usage time of technical equipment, starting time and expected end-time are communicated.