The APOC: making Schiphol more predictable
Imagine if we already knew today what will happen at Schiphol in a week, a month or even six months from now. That, by working intensively with all parties at the airport and sharing information and data, we could plan and predict our operations even better. That is the challenge we work on every day in the Airport Operations Centre (APOC). And ultimately you benefit from that too.
The creation of the APOC was a European Commission initiative. To address the growing scarcity of space and resources and other challenges within European aviation, they came up with a programme. The idea is that by working better together (both the parties at the airports and the airports themselves), we can fine-tune processes and thus get a better grip on them.
Predictability
By cooperating intensively and sharing information and data with each other in advance, we are better aware of what is coming our way and have more control over what happens at Schiphol. We call this 'Total Airport Management'. The keyword here is predictability. In other words: prepare yourself as well as possible and prevent disruptions as much as possible. After all, prevention is better than cure.
In de praktijk
In practice
The APOC, located at a central location in the WTC, is the physical space where we put that cooperation into practice. There, various parties active at the airport work together every day to prepare our operations as well as possible. In addition to various departments at Schiphol itself, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, Customs, KLM, handling agents and Air Traffic Control the Netherlands are also collaborating.
Impact on other airports
And that collaboration does not stop at the borders of our airport. After all, Schiphol is also part of a larger chain: the European aviation network. What we do affects the course of events at other airports and vice versa. This is why all major airports in Europe (such as Paris, Heathrow, Brussels, Frankfurt and Madrid) now work with an APOC.
A lot of advantages
In conclusion, the APOC has a lot of advantages. Not only for ourselves, but for you too. Because if our operation runs smoothly, so does your flight. And that's what we're doing it all for in the end.
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