GO-04 · Gate Management & Assignment · Airlines Process Wiki

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Process Flow Diagram (BPMN)

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L4 Process Steps

Step	Step Name	Role / Swim Lane	System	Input	Output	KPI	Dec?	Exc?
Phase 1 1.1	Import scheduled movements & gate inventory	Gate Planning Analyst	SITA Airport Management System (AMS)	SSIM schedule export, airport gate inventory with wingspan & equipment constraints	Flight movement list with time windows loaded into AMS	Gate plan build initiated ≥18h before day of operations; 100% of scheduled movements imported	N	N
1.2	Execute automated gate assignment optimisation	Gate Planning Analyst	SITA AMS Gate Optimizer	Flight movement list, terminal zone rules, contact-stand preference list	Draft gate assignment plan covering all scheduled movements	≥92% of flights auto-assigned without manual intervention; optimisation run time <10 min	N	N
1.3	Validate assignments against aircraft type constraints	Gate Planning Analyst	SITA AMS + Airline Fleet Database	Draft gate assignment plan, aircraft type per flight leg from PSS	Validated gate assignment list; flagged mismatches routed for manual resolution	0 gate/aircraft-type mismatches published; validation complete ≥14h before operations day	Y	Y
1.4	Coordinate gate pre-conditioning with terminal ops	Terminal Operations Coordinator	Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) Portal	Validated gate plan, cleaning and catering subcontractor schedules	Confirmed gate readiness schedule aligned with ground handler SLAs	Gate confirmed ready ≥30 min before scheduled arrival; pre-conditioning exceptions <5%	N	N
1.5	Publish gate plan to FIDS and stakeholder systems	Gate Planning Analyst	SITA FIDS + A-CDM Portal	Confirmed gate assignment plan	Gate assignments published to passenger displays, ground handler portals, and crew bus scheduler	Published ≥12h before day of operations; 100% of gates reflected in FIDS within 90 seconds of publish	N	N
Phase 2 2.1	Ingest real-time flight status via ACARS	Airport Operations Controller	SITA ACARS + SITA AMS	ACARS block-off/estimated arrival messages, ATC slot data, weather NOTAMs	Updated ETA per inbound flight refreshed in AMS every 5 minutes	ETA refresh cycle ≤5 min; ETA data completeness ≥97% of active flights	N	Y
2.2	Confirm or revise gate assignments from updated ETAs	Airport Operations Controller	SITA AMS	Updated ETAs, current gate occupancy status in AMS	Confirmed or revised gate assignment; conflict alert generated if overlap detected	Gate confirmed ≥60 min before scheduled arrival; <5% of gates reassigned day-of	Y	Y
2.3	Notify ground handling of confirmed gate assignments	Airport Operations Controller	A-CDM Portal + SITA AMS Messaging	Confirmed gate assignments	Notifications dispatched to ground handler, fueller, caterer, and crew bus scheduler	Notification sent ≥45 min before arrival; stakeholder acknowledgement rate ≥95%	N	N
Phase 3 3.1	Detect gate conflict from delay or early arrival	Airport Operations Controller	SITA AMS Conflict Alerting	Real-time gate occupancy data, inbound ETA stream	Conflict alert with affected flight pair, overlap duration, and time to arrival	Conflict detected ≥45 min before arrival; 0 aircraft held on apron >15 min due to gate unavailability	Y	N
3.2	Assess remote stand and bus bridge feasibility	Airport Operations Controller	SITA AMS + Ground Transport Management System	Conflict alert, remote stand inventory, airside bus availability	Remote stand feasibility decision with estimated passenger transfer time	Decision made within 10 min of conflict detection; remote stand option assessed for 100% of conflict alerts	Y	Y
3.3	Execute gate swap or remote stand assignment	Airport Operations Controller	SITA AMS	Feasibility decision, available contact gate or remote stand ID	Revised gate/stand assignment confirmed in AMS and pushed to all connected systems	Gate swap communicated to all parties within 5 min of decision; AMS record updated within 60 seconds	N	N
3.4	Update FIDS, departure boards, and airline mobile app	Airport Operations Controller	SITA FIDS + Amadeus Altéa PSS API + A-CDM Portal	Revised gate assignment from AMS	Updated passenger-facing displays and push notifications via airline mobile app	FIDS updated within 2 min of gate change; mobile app push notification delivered within 3 min	N	N
Phase 4 4.1	Monitor aircraft block-on time and turnaround milestones	Ramp Operations Supervisor	SITA AMS + SITA ACARS	ACARS block-on timestamp, A-CDM turnaround milestone checklist	Real-time turnaround status dashboard with milestone completion percentage	Block-on captured within 2 min of actual; on-time departure (D0) ≥78%	N	N
4.2	Validate all ground services complete before release	Ramp Operations Supervisor	SITA AMS Turnaround Manager + Ground Handling System	Fuelling confirmation, catering upload complete, baggage loaded, cabin clean signed off	Go/No-Go decision for pushback authorisation	All services signed off ≥10 min before STD; late-service exception rate <3% of turns	Y	Y
4.3	Authorise pushback and release gate in AMS	Ramp Operations Supervisor	SITA AMS + Apron Control VHF Radio	Go clearance from all service streams, apron traffic status from Apron Control	Pushback authorisation transmitted; gate status set to Available in AMS	Gate released within 5 min of block-off; gate turnaround time ≤planned TAT per aircraft type	N	Y
Phase 5 5.1	Record and warehouse actual gate utilisation times	Airport Performance Analyst	SITA AMS + AWS Redshift Data Warehouse	Block-on/off timestamps, gate occupancy records, planned vs. actual gate assignments	Actual vs. planned gate utilisation report loaded to Redshift	Data completeness ≥99% of movements; report available within 2h of operations day close	N	N
5.2	Analyse gate conflict frequency and root causes	Airport Performance Analyst	AWS Redshift + Tableau	Gate utilisation report, conflict log, delay attribution data from OTP system	Root cause analysis report with recurring conflict patterns and improvement recommendations	≥80% of recurring gate conflicts identified with actionable root cause within 48h of operations day	N	N
5.3	Update gate constraint and master data in AMS	Gate Planning Analyst	SITA AMS Master Data Management	Root cause findings, updated aircraft type assignments, revised ground equipment specs	Updated gate constraint library effective for next scheduling cycle	Master data update cycle ≤7 days from change identification; 0 gate conflicts caused by stale constraint data in rolling 90-day window	N	N

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Process Attributes

Identification

Process IDGO-04

L1 DomainGround Operations & Airport Services

L2 ProcessAirport & Gate Management

L3 NameGate Management & Assignment

L4 Steps18 across 5 phases

Decision Gates5 (all with iteration loops)

Exceptions6 documented

Swim Lanes (Roles)

Gate Planning Analyst

Terminal Operations Coordinator

Airport Operations Controller

Ramp Operations Supervisor

Airport Performance Analyst

Systems & Tools

SITA Airport Management System (AMS)SITA AMS Gate OptimizerSITA AMS + Airline Fleet DatabaseAirport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) PortalSITA FIDS + A-CDM PortalSITA ACARS + SITA AMSSITA AMSA-CDM Portal + SITA AMS MessagingSITA AMS Conflict AlertingSITA AMS + Ground Transport Management SystemSITA FIDS + Amadeus Altéa PSS API + A-CDM PortalSITA AMS + SITA ACARSSITA AMS Turnaround Manager + Ground Handling SystemSITA AMS + Apron Control VHF RadioSITA AMS + AWS Redshift Data WarehouseAWS Redshift + TableauSITA AMS Master Data Management

Key Performance Indicators

Import scheduled movements & gate inventoryGate plan build initiated ≥18h before day of operations; 100% of scheduled movements imported

Execute automated gate assignment optimisation≥92% of flights auto-assigned without manual intervention; optimisation run time <10 min

Validate assignments against aircraft type constraints0 gate/aircraft-type mismatches published; validation complete ≥14h before operations day

Coordinate gate pre-conditioning with terminal opsGate confirmed ready ≥30 min before scheduled arrival; pre-conditioning exceptions <5%

Publish gate plan to FIDS and stakeholder systemsPublished ≥12h before day of operations; 100% of gates reflected in FIDS within 90 seconds of publish

Ingest real-time flight status via ACARSETA refresh cycle ≤5 min; ETA data completeness ≥97% of active flights

Confirm or revise gate assignments from updated ETAsGate confirmed ≥60 min before scheduled arrival; <5% of gates reassigned day-of

Notify ground handling of confirmed gate assignmentsNotification sent ≥45 min before arrival; stakeholder acknowledgement rate ≥95%

Airline-Specific Risks & Pain Points

Late schedule amendments from airline ops (within T-6h) invalidate pre-built plans; no automated re-trigger of optimisation on change

Wide-body/narrow-body gate incompatibility not always captured in AMS master data — results in invalid auto-assignments requiring manual correction

Ad-hoc aircraft swaps driven by AOG maintenance events are not always reflected in Amadeus Altéa PSS in time for gate validation cycle

Cleaning and catering subcontractor SLA gaps at high-frequency turn stations cause gate hold-backs; A-CDM milestones not enforced contractually at all airports

SITA FIDS update latency (up to 90s per change batch) causes passenger confusion during rapid same-day gate changes at high-traffic terminals

ACARS signal dropout over oceanic routes causes ETA gaps; fallback to secondary radar feed introduces 15-min lag and degrades conflict detection accuracy

Inputs / Outputs

Primary InputSSIM schedule export, airport gate inventory with wingspan & equipment constraints

Primary OutputUpdated gate constraint library effective for next scheduling cycle

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