As airports face growing demand and limited room for physical expansion, operators are turning to smarter slot management, digital apron systems, flexible gates and process improvements to unlock capacity from existing infrastructure.
As global air traffic grows, airport operators face a familiar constraint: infrastructure cannot always expand at the same pace as demand.
New runways, terminals and aircraft stands require significant investment, planning approvals and construction time, while many airports are constrained by surrounding land or existing infrastructure. As a result, attention is increasingly turning to what can be achieved from the assets already in place.
The opportunity is not simply about adding technology. By combining operational data with more flexible processes, airports can identify bottlenecks, better match demand to available capacity and improve the utilisation of existing airside and terminal infrastructure.
From schedule co-ordination and digital aprons to common-use gates and relatively simple process changes, airport executives are finding ways to unlock capacity without immediately resorting to major construction.
Airside optimisation and digital aprons
On the airside, stand availability, aircraft turnaround times and taxiway congestion can all restrict an airport’s ability to accommodate additional movements.
One way of managing this is through slot and schedule co-ordination. The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Level 2 framework applies at airports where congestion is likely during particular periods, with schedule adjustments agreed between airlines and the facilitator. It is designed to keep planned demand within the airport’s available capacity.
This does not create new physical capacity, but it can help prevent demand from becoming concentrated at the times and locations where the airport is most constrained.
Managing demand through slot co-ordination in Bermuda
At Bermuda’s LF Wade International Airport, Director of Airport Operations Jason Inniss identifies flight clustering and stand availability as a key operational concern:
“Our challenge is with controlling slots. What keeps me awake at night is whether we’re going to have a situation where multiple flights are arriving at the same time and suddenly we don’t have enough parking stands.”
Bermuda Skyport has strengthened its Level 2 slot arrangements as part of its approach. “We’ve reinforced our Level 2 IATA slots and that has really allowed us to expand without having overcapacity at the airport.”
The example demonstrates how managing the timing of demand can help airports make better use of constrained infrastructure. The benefit comes from spreading activity across the available operating window rather than allowing peaks to overwhelm stands, passenger facilities or other resources.
Turning apron data into operational decisions in Hong Kong
At Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), Executive Director Steven Yiu explains how digital apron systems bring together visual information and operational data. “With all the digital apron nowadays, our controllers receive all the visual images together with automatic information – for example, the call sign, the destination… We collect a lot of data, for example, the timestamps for the whole aircraft turnaround process.”
Capturing timestamps across aircraft turnarounds can provide a detailed picture of where time is being spent and where delays are emerging. That information can then be used to improve co-ordination between airport teams, airlines and ground handlers.
HKIA is also using simulation to manage aircraft towing movements. “In Hong Kong, we have around 100 aircraft towing [movements daily]. We are doing simulations so that the controller can ask the towing truck driver to select the appropriate route to avoid conflict with live traffic.”
For a busy apron, avoiding conflicts between towing movements and live aircraft can reduce unnecessary delays and improve the utilisation of stands and taxiways. The wider opportunity is to move from simply monitoring the apron to using operational data to anticipate conflicts before they occur.
Flexible gate allocation and real-time load balancing
The same principle applies inside the terminal. Gates and passenger-processing facilities are valuable assets, but their utilisation can be affected by airline schedules, contractual arrangements and uneven demand.
Common-use facilities can give airports greater flexibility by allowing infrastructure to be allocated according to operational requirements rather than remaining permanently associated with a single airline.
Reclaiming gate flexibility in Atlanta
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Director of Air Service Development, Rebecca Francosky describes how the airport is increasing its use of common-use gates:
“Up until recently, we only had one common-use domestic gate, which caused a lot of problems… Southwest gave us back some gates, so we’ve been able to add capacity from our domestic side… As an airport, we’ve tried to say that any new gates that come back into the fold are going to be common use. That way it gives us flexibility.”
The approach can give airport operators greater flexibility to accommodate changing schedules and demand. It also illustrates that increasing capacity does not necessarily mean constructing another gate. In some circumstances, the opportunity is to change how an existing gate is allocated and managed.
The challenge is ensuring that airlines, airport teams and ground handlers can work within the common-use model without creating new operational inefficiencies.
Using passenger data to anticipate pressure
Atlanta is also combining passenger and security data to identify potential periods of congestion.
Francosky explains, “from an operations perspective, we track how many people are going through [the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)], what the seats look like, what the TSA is projecting versus how many seats there are and predicting if we [are] going to have a mad rush of people at a specific hour.”
The value of this approach is in connecting different datasets rather than looking at individual parts of the airport in isolation.
A flight schedule may indicate a manageable level of demand, for example, but the number of passengers arriving at security at the same time can create a temporary bottleneck. Identifying that pressure in advance gives airport teams an opportunity to adjust staffing or passenger flow management.
Centralised operational management
For airport groups operating multiple facilities, the same principle can be applied across an entire network.
At Zurich Airport Brazil, former Head of Business Development, Innovation and Operations Excellence, Fernando De Castro, explains how its Remote Operation Centre (ROC) in Florianópolis supports resource allocation and operational planning. “We are able to manage our resource allocation and make the operational planning daily from Florianópolis. When we have a contingency in one airport, we are able to operate remotely if needed.”
Centralised operations centres can give airport groups a common view of weather, passenger flows, queues and other operational conditions. This can support faster decisions when disruption occurs and help operators deploy available resources where they are most needed.
The effectiveness of the model ultimately depends on having reliable data, clear operational responsibilities and the ability to act quickly on the information being generated.
‘No-build’ process improvements
Not every capacity problem requires a new system or a major capital project. In some cases, changing a process, supplier or operating procedure can remove a bottleneck that has been restricting passenger flow.
This is particularly relevant where a queue in one part of the passenger journey creates knock-on effects elsewhere in the terminal.
A small change with measurable impact at Kingston Airport
At Kingston Airport in Jamaica, CEO Sitara English-Byfield describes how changing a service provider at a pre-security credential-checking point reduced congestion. “We simply changed the service provider for this section only, and since we have done so, there’s not been this long line to get into the security area. Dwell time has since increased in our commercial area because we’ve made this very small change. There was no capital expenditure. We didn’t change the footprint.”
The intervention demonstrates the importance of examining individual processes before assuming that additional infrastructure is required.
A bottleneck before security can have consequences beyond the queue itself. If passengers spend less time waiting, they have more opportunity to access retail, food and beverage and other commercial areas.
Doing more with less space at Quito Airport
During terminal modifications, Quito Airport also demonstrated how commercial performance can be protected when physical space is temporarily reduced.
CEO Ramon Miro noted that duty free space was reduced to 40% during construction, but careful product selection and collaboration with commercial partners ensured that total sales did not fall.
The example reinforces a wider point: capacity optimisation is not only about processing more aircraft or passengers. Airports must also consider how effectively limited terminal space is being used for different functions.
Finding the capacity that already exists
The examples from Bermuda, Hong Kong, Atlanta, Zurich Airport Brazil, Kingston and Quito point towards a common approach: before building more infrastructure, airports can examine whether existing assets are being used as effectively as possible.
That can involve:
- Co-ordinating flight schedules to reduce demand peaks
- Using real-time apron data to improve aircraft and towing movements
- Allocating gates more flexibly
- Combining passenger forecasts with security and operational data
- Managing resources centrally during periods of disruption
- Reviewing individual processes to remove avoidable bottlenecks.
Digital twins, simulation, analytics and automation can support these strategies, but technology is only part of the equation. The underlying operational processes, data quality and ability of airport teams to respond are equally important.
The concept of ‘hidden capacity’ is therefore less about squeezing ever more passengers through the same infrastructure and more about understanding where existing capacity is being lost.
For airports facing growing demand, that distinction could determine whether the next solution requires a major construction project or a smarter way of operating what is already there.
Join the panel discussion at International Airport Summit 2026 in Rome to explore how international airports are deploying digital twins, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensing, surface movement guidance and decision-support systems to extract maximum performance from existing airside and terminal assets, attend this forthcoming panel in Rome.
Panel session: Squeezing the lemon: unlocking capacity in airside operations
- Event: International Airport Summit 2026
- Dates: 10–12 November 2026
- Location: Rome, Italy
Moderator:
- Anne Carnall, Independent Consultant, Lanrac
Confirmed speakers:
- Thomas Hoff Andersson, Managing Director and Group Chief Operating Officer, Munich Airport
- Sunil Kumar, General Manager – Safety and Compliance, GMR Hyderabad International Airport
Do not miss this opportunity to connect with airside operational leaders, benchmark your capacity strategies and discover how real-time automation can unlock hidden capacity at your airport.
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