AENA & Airport Operators: Managing the Aircraft's Critical Path

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So why is that the case? Why is it such a universal bottleneck?

It's not a bottleneck. People think it is, but normally it's not. The problem is that it is not part of the critical path. When I say the critical path, I mean that when you are executing the turnaround of an aircraft, you have specific milestones that are part of it. For example, all aircraft normally need to be fueled, so fueling is part of the critical path. If the fueling activity starts very late, it may delay the departure of the aircraft. However, if you deliver the luggage late, it doesn't have the same impact. Of course, it affects passenger perception and experience, but it doesn't impact the rotation time.

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That's interesting. If we look at the critical path of an aircraft at the airport, can you describe the main steps involved?

The main focus, when you look at what I call the critical path, starts when the aircraft arrives at the parking and ends when it leaves the parking. This is the critical path. Why? Because you're interested in low-cost carriers. They have a very specific model aimed at increasing aircraft utilization. An aircraft in the air is a money machine, while on the ground, it incurs costs and doesn't generate revenue. The less time spent on the ground, the more you can utilize the asset, and the more revenue you can generate. If you can fit one more sector, as it's called, within an aircraft's schedule, it's better for you. Typically, in Europe, an aircraft flies six sectors per day on average.

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