Airbus Secures the Future of Aviation in the Middle East
Thibaut Faivre, Head of MEAI Sales and Programme Delivery for Public Safety and Security at Airbus, highlights Agnet Turnaround’s role in advancing secure, real-time airport coordination. Powered by AI, 5G, and automation, the platform drives smarter, safer, and more connected airport ecosystems across the Middle East.
How is Airbus supporting smart airport initiatives across the Middle East, and what role do critical communications technologies play in these transformations?
Airbus is supporting smart airport initiatives across the Middle East through the development of Agnet Turnaround, a secure, intelligent platform designed to streamline real-time coordination of airport operations. By enabling advanced collaboration and automation capabilities, Agnet Turnaround helps address day-to-day operational challenges and enhances On-Time Performance (OTP) for all airport stakeholders. Additionally, at this year’s Paris Air Show, Airbus signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cluster 2 to elevate operational standards, enhance situational awareness, and foster seamless collaboration among ground staff, security teams, and control rooms across a network of 22 international and domestic airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
From your perspective, what is the current state of airport infrastructure and modernisation across the Middle East? Are there any standout trends or challenges unique to the region?
Airport infrastructure and modernisation in the Middle East are already highly advanced, with the region home to some of the world’s fastest-growing and busiest airports. Leading hubs such as Doha and Dubai are leveraging technology to deliver a digitised, seamless, and customer-centric travel experience. However, as air traffic volumes continue to rise and major expansion projects progress, there is growing pressure on airport operations. A key challenge lies in ensuring seamless, secure, and real-time communication between all stakeholders. The lack of unified collaboration remains a barrier to achieving full operational efficiency. As regional airports invest in mega-terminals and strive to position themselves as global leaders in innovation and performance, it is essential that the supporting systems and communication infrastructure evolve accordingly.
What are the top concerns or operational pain points that airports in the Middle East are currently facing, especially in areas like security, efficiency, or coordination?
One of the key operational challenges facing airports in the Middle East is the lack of unified communication systems. Ground crews, airport staff, control centers, and airlines often rely on separate channels, resulting in fragmented information and operational silos. Agnet Turnaround addresses this issue by streamlining workflows and enhancing decision-making, and helps in reducing delays, and ultimately improves the passenger experience while also driving greater operational cost.
Can you elaborate on how Agnet Turnaround enhances airport operations, particularly in improving collaboration, safety, and turnaround efficiency?
Agnet Turnaround enhances airport operations by offering a unified, secure collaboration platform that enables all airport stakeholders to communicate on a single, mission-critical system. Whether it’s updating flight statuses, monitoring ground operations, or responding to unexpected changes, Agnet Turnaround allows instant, secure, and reliable communication. Our solution complies with the highest security standards, protecting sensitive operational data and ensuring that communication stays within trusted, authorised parties. This is particularly vital in a region like the Middle East, where airports are not only transportation hubs but also strategic national assets.
How does Airbus help airports overcome coordination and communication challenges among multiple stakeholders on the ground during aircraft turnaround and emergencies?
By breaking down communication silos, Agnet Turnaround enhances coordination between airports, ground handlers, control centers, and airlines. This improved collaboration reduces delays, minimises disruptions, and enables leaner, more agile operations. Users benefit from rapid financial gains through the digitalisation of operations, from resource management to invoicing, while boosting the productivity of operational teams. The platform’s automation features, such as real-time task assignments and automatic group creation based on flight numbers, further streamline processes and ensure the right information reaches the right people at the right time.
In what ways does Agnet Turnaround empower ground staff and airport stakeholders to make faster, more informed decisions during critical operational windows?
Enhanced communications and collaboration through digital tools like Agnet Turnaround enable live monitoring for ground handling staff during turnaround operations, facilitate easy tracking of relevant tasks, and ensure that information always reaches the correct person immediately. The ability to connect instantly with relevant parties involved in specific operations significantly improves ground efficiency. Automatic reporting reduces response times and ensures immediate contact with those assigned to manage incidents, boosting airport safety. Automated report generation, alerts, group creation, workflow status, and task assignment features streamline turnaround management processes. With Agnet Turnaround, ground handling teams not only have a secure communications and collaboration platform within easy reach but also benefit from an integrated workflow tool.
How important is agile, broadband communication infrastructure for airports aiming to accelerate digitalisation, and what unique capabilities does Airbus provide?
Traditional turnaround processes often rely on a mix of radios (narrowband), mobile phones and manual reporting, leading to miscommunication, delays, and limited operational visibility. Agnet Turnaround (broadband) eliminates these inefficiencies by bringing ramp agents, gate staff, fueling teams, maintenance crews, and operations control onto a single, integrated platform that supports real-time voice, video, and data communication. What sets our solution apart is its ability to digitise and centralise communication workflows, embed checklists and incident logs, and provide real-time overlays of critical operational data such as location and task status. This enhanced agility reduces aircraft turnaround times, improves safety and supports better on-time performance, ensuring key drivers of operational excellence and passenger satisfaction.
Can you share how Airbus is leveraging emerging technologies like AI and 5G to support real-time, mission-critical decisions in airport environments?
At Airbus, we are actively integrating AI into our collaboration solutions to enhance operational efficiency, responsiveness, and security. AI enables advanced data analysis, predictive insights, and automated workflows that help airport ground staff and control rooms act proactively rather than reactively. From detecting anomalies in real-time video feeds to automating incident classification and resource allocation, AI improves the speed and accuracy of airport operations, while all actions remain overseen and confirmed by human operators. Meanwhile, 5G supports the transmission of high-quality video, real-time drone feeds, and IoT sensor data. Airbus is incorporating AI into platforms like Agnet Turnaround, which already leverages 5G, to ensure airports are equipped with the tools needed to meet modern challenges.
Looking ahead, how do you see the role of Airbus evolving in shaping the future of secure, connected, and intelligent airports across the Middle East and Africa?
We aim to build on the MoU with Cluster 2 to further develop Agnet Turnaround and establish additional strategic partnerships across the Middle East, Africa, and India. Agnet is designed for seamless integration with external systems via APIs; including cameras, CCTVs, and airport information systems, enabling greater security, real-time connectivity, and operational efficiency. As airports in the region continue to evolve, Airbus is committed to supporting their transition toward smarter, more connected, and resilient environments.
