Gate allocation – an advanced jig-saw puzzle

Think back to your childhood when you put together jig-saw puzzles on the floor. Then replace the pieces with planes, multiply the size by a thousand, and throw in time pressure and a desire to provide the best possible service to both passengers and airlines. This describes the workday of the crew responsible for gate allocation.

They sit 80 metres above the ground in the control tower, but are probably not as well-known as the air traffic controllers on the floor above. Nevertheless, the job requires just as much concentration, creativity and problem-solving skills to keep track of the swarm on the ground as in the air.

The gang goes to work to keep track of planes that have to be parked or towed from gates. It's a big jig-saw puzzle where the pieces are constantly changing. Late incoming or departing flights mean that they have to rework plans constantly.

“The way I see it, we’re some of the best in the game. Airplanes are constantly arriving and it’s up to us to find a vacant space. Given the intensity and variety, no two days are alike,” says Tomas Eriksson, section head of Aircraft Dispatch.

Perpetual change

It is extremely busy at times, especially in the morning and afternoon, the periods when most flights arrive and leave and the centrally located gates in the terminal are the most sought after. The logistics surrounding aircraft parking are the most complicated during peak hours. It doesn’t take much before a flight is delayed out of the gate and the next flight has to change gates on arrival. When that happens, travellers are notified of a gate change close to departure time.

“We have small margins in our work. Once a flight is delayed out of the gate it causes a domino effect. In our plans, the gate is already reserved for an arriving flight, and then we need to reshuffle if the gate is not free. Our goal is to have minimal changes in the last two hours before departure, but gate changes frequently happen close to departure time,” explains Eriksson.

Fixed procedures come into play when an incoming flight has to switch gates. Every effort is made to avoid switching gates so travellers do not need to go from one end of the terminal to the other.

“We do everything we can to change to a nearby gate. We don’t switch from 19H to gate 9 just a few minutes before boarding. We work to get as many aircraft as possible to the main terminal,” says Eriksson.

The infamous South Pier

In the past six months the South Pier and gate 19 have generated considerable publicity about their job. After an online newspaper published a blog post from the Facebook group “For us who hate gate 19 (For oss som hater gate 19)” there has been considerable interest in both the national and local press in the departures assigned to the infamous South Pier.

“We are surprised how much attention the case has received. I can personally assure you that a plane that ends up at gate 19 has nothing to do with the destination.

What in technical terms is called "turnaround time" is what determines which gate the plane is parked at, and thus which gate it is assigned at departure. If a plane arrives early in the morning and is not leaving again until evening, it cannot be parked at a gate at the main terminal. An aircraft that is not active for, e.g., seven hours would block the gate all day, forcing other planes to be sent to the South Pier.

“For those who travel frequently with the same aircraft at the same time, it might seem like they always end up at the South Pier. But that is due to the aircraft’s flight schedule and not my colleagues in the tower cabin,” says Eriksson.

The staff works constantly to ensure that as many active aircraft as possible can park at the main terminal. Looking at the statistics on the use of the gates you can clearly see a waning pattern in proportion to the distance from the security check.

Assistance is prioritized

Although distances are not that big at Oslo Airport, they can quickly create problems for people with reduced mobility and passengers with connecting flights. Aircraft Dispatch is completely dependent on information from partners in order to take these groups of travellers into account.

“We are in dialogue with the other players at all times. The handling companies have their wishes, but especially considering the South Pier and distances involved we have a close dialogue with the assistance service. We want to avoid situations where people needing assistance are switched to the most distant gates, as far as possible,” concludes Eriksson.