Operational Excellence (OPEX) Daily Briefing – Wednesday, November 19, 2025: A New Era of Aviation Operations.
Điểm Tin Operational Excellence (OPEX) Mỗi Ngày – Thứ Tư, Ngày 19/11/2025: Kỷ Nguyên Mới Của Vận Hành Hàng Không.
Welcome to my unique weekday article for the paid subscriber-only edition.
Operational Excellence (OPEX) Daily Briefing – issued on weekdays (Monday to Friday).
Điểm tin Operational Excellence (OPEX) hằng ngày (phát hành các ngày thứ Hai đến thứ Sáu).
This is the bilingual post in English and Vietnamese. Vietnamese is below.
Đây là bài viết song ngữ Anh-Việt. Tiếng Việt ở bên dưới.
English
PART 1: OFFICIAL INFORMATION
On November 19, 2025, NATS Limited – the United Kingdom’s national air traffic service provider – continued to attract global aviation attention as it formally introduced the Intelligent Stand Manager (ISM), a digital system designed to upgrade how airports manage aircraft parking stands. This is considered an important step forward in helping airports shift from reactive operations to predictive operations, a trend that is rapidly expanding across the global aviation industry.
NATS Limited holds an extremely important role in the United Kingdom’s aviation system. The organization provides air traffic control services for approximately 2.5 million flights per year and works continuously with major airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and Manchester, as well as international partners. NATS’ technological initiatives are always closely watched because they directly influence safety, service capacity, and the overall optimization of airport traffic flow.
One of the biggest challenges airports face today is the management of aircraft parking stands. A parking stand is not just a place where an aircraft stops, but a convergence point of dozens of operational activities: passenger handling, refueling, cabin cleaning, baggage processing, safety checks, light maintenance, as well as coordination of crews and ground vehicles. Any delay or deviation in this area creates a chain reaction affecting departure times, flight schedules, and the airport’s overall service capability.
According to NATS, the Intelligent Stand Manager (ISM) system was developed to address these exact issues. ISM uses multi-source data from airports, airlines, ground handling systems, and flight coordination systems to create a real-time operational picture of stand conditions. The system then makes recommendations, issues alerts, or implements adjustments to reduce the risk of congestion or conflicts among ground-handling activities.
Previous ISM trials were recorded at airports such as London Heathrow – one of the busiest airports in the world. According to NATS’ public reports, the system has helped reduce stand conflicts, increase stand allocation accuracy, and reduce workload pressure on ground operations teams. Another important capability is its power to predict risks in advance, such as late arrivals, gate changes, baggage flow congestion, or urgent incidents requiring immediate response.
NATS emphasizes that tools like ISM are not intended to replace humans, but to support operations teams in making faster, more accurate, and data-driven decisions. As airports face pressure to increase capacity without immediate infrastructure expansion, intelligent coordination capability becomes a crucial factor for maintaining performance.
Additionally, the push for digital operational solutions is seen as part of a long-term strategy among many European airports, especially in the post-COVID-19 period. Passenger volumes have rebounded strongly—surpassing pre-pandemic levels at several major hubs—creating an urgent need to optimize operational touchpoints to reduce delays, cut costs, and improve the overall customer experience.
The introduction of the Intelligent Stand Manager by NATS on November 19, 2025, is not only a technological milestone but also a signal that the aviation industry is entering a new era of smart operations, where data, automation, and predictive intelligence play the central role.