Airport Intelligence and ORTEC join forces to optimize airport operations

Airport Intelligence, Brussels Airport’s consulting subsidiary, and ORTEC, the market leader in data-driven decision support, start a strategic partnership. The collaboration aims to optimize airport processes around the world, to improve the overall passenger experience and the operational efficiency.

Airport Intelligence harnesses deep expertise in airport operations and combines it with ORTEC’s data science knowledge and technology. This unique combination will help organizations operate in complex ecosystems to take data-driven decisions, with the aim of improving customer satisfaction through increased efficiency and flexibility.

Efficient integrated processes

“We have seen passengers’ expectations change”, says Jo De Lange, General Manager of Airport Intelligence. “To anticipate these changes and to continue to improve the overall passenger experience, efficient and integrated processes are crucial.” For Brussels Airport, a joint client of Airport Intelligence and ORTEC, predictive data models became key in improving its processes.

“Uniting stakeholders to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its operations became increasingly important in an airport environment”, says Niels Tailleur, Director of Data Science & Consulting at ORTEC Belgium. “Data turned out to be exactly the connector it needed. Ever since, we have made huge steps with Brussels Airport in combining data and technology with human insight, such as with our passenger forecast and airside capacity simulation tool. Airport Intelligence allows us to share this experience and knowledge with other airports.”

It is beyond dispute that COVID-19 accelerated the launch of Airport Intelligence. The expectations of passengers are changing more quickly and significantly than ever. Because of social distancing, many passengers are averse to spending any time at baggage reclaim. Fluid & quick passenger flows have become ever more important. Airport operations planning helps to facilitate these processes, allowing airports to increase their flexibility, especially in these uncertain times.

Dealing with uncertainty

“Over the years, we have made important progress in the area of Airport Operations Plan”, says Jo De Lange. “Now that we must all find our way in a new reality, sharing this knowledge with other airports has gained new significance. We are helping the industry to make better strategic decisions, deal with uncertainty and anticipate future scenarios.”

ORTEC is proud of the total value, which stretches beyond mere commercial value, that the two parties have managed to create together. “Seeing domain knowledge and expertise in data science form the foundation for broad-based collaboration has been a real joy”, says Michael van Duijn, CEO of ORTEC. “We are incredibly proud that our long-standing relationship with Brussels Airport has allowed us to increase our impact on airports all over the world. Besides, the knowledge we have acquired and technology we have developed may also be relevant for other sectors that deal with complex ecosystems, such as the maritime industry.”