“Using SQL Server 2012 Data Quality Services, we have confidence that the aircraft data coming in is fully accurate and updated.... Everything matches, so we can keep much better track of the aircraft on the ground and in the sky.”

Gerald Schinagl, System Architect, Vienna International Airport

Vienna International Airport needed to collect more-accurate data on flights and aircraft operations, which was challenging because the data is held in several different companies and systems. Improving accuracy was critical, because of new European Union airport efficiency regulations. The airport implemented a new Microsoft knowledge base solution that improves the accuracy and quality of aircraft data and offers better visibility into that data. Using the solution, Vienna Airport also saves time and money, and it can take advantage of innovative new data technologies in the future.

Business NeedsVienna International Airport, one of the busiest airports in Europe, handled more than 21 million passengers in 2011. One of the airport’s critical tasks is checking flight and operational data each day to ensure the consistency and accuracy of information. This data includes information on aircraft on the ground and in flight.

However, the airport sometimes struggled to get consistent and accurate data, because information came from separate companies and systems. For example, one system gathered aircraft data using code names and vocabulary from the Air Transport Association (IATA), while another system gathered similar data using naming information from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). “These systems often presented different three-letter or four-letter codes and other data for the same plane and the same flight,” says Gerald Schinagl, System Architect, Vienna International Airport. “It was challenging for us to get the most up-to-date data about a specific plane to boarding officers, baggage handlers, and other staff. As a result, the turnaround

process wasn’t as efficient as it could be for all partners.”

This is especially important because the airport will soon need to comply with the new Airport CDM process, which will be required of all major European airports by 2013. The CDM project, designed to improve airport operations, will require airport operators, airlines, and air traffic controllers to work more efficiently and be transparent in how they gather data. “Once the CDM project becomes official, we’ll have to produce solid data and show how we’re getting that data,” says Schinagl.

To prepare for CDM compliance, Vienna Airport began looking for a new data solution in mid-2011.

SolutionIn late 2011, Vienna Airport created a new knowledge base using Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise data management software. This new centralized database takes advantage of SQL Server 2012 Data Quality Services, which profiles, cleanses, and matches data from the different systems. The new solution, implemented

Customer: Vienna International AirportWebsite: www.viennaairport.comCustomer Size: 3,700 employees Country or Region: AustriaIndustry: Transportation and logistics—Air transportation services

Customer ProfileVienna International Airport, located in Schwechat, Austria, is the largest and busiest airport in the country.

Solution Spotlight Improves aircraft data accuracy,

helping the airport comply with European Union regulations.

Provides better visibility into data, offering a higher level of quality control.

Saves resources and gives airport innovative data-mining technology to use in the future.

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Microsoft SQL ServerCustomer Solution Case Study

Vienna Airport Improves Flight Information Accuracy with Innovative Data Solution

on HP ProLiant DL580 G7 server computers, also uses SQL Server 2012 Integration Services to prepare database copies for reporting and monitoring incoming aircraft and flight data for consistency.

The solution uses SQL Server 2012 Data Quality Services and Integration Services to provide data matching and knowledge definition and management. It performs daily audits of incoming data, validating it for quality and accuracy and checking data against IATA and ICAO vocabulary.

With the solution, Vienna Airport can, for example, validate aircraft types based on updated registration, match aircraft types and airport location codes, and provide sophisticated cross-reference checks. The system also cleanses data before uploading it into analytical cubes for processing using SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services.

Currently, more than 100 airport employees use the solution, including analytics and planning personnel, boarding agents, baggage sorting managers, and others. The system will be available to 1,000 users by 2013.

BenefitsThe SQL Server 2012 solution improves the accuracy and overall quality of aircraft data for Vienna International Airport and provides better visibility into aircraft and flight information. The solution also helps the airport save resources and implement innovative new technologies for the future.

Provides More Accurate Aircraft Data and Improves Regulatory ComplianceWith its new SQL Server 2012 solution, Vienna Airport has an efficient way to cleanse and improve the quality of aircraft data from systems that were incompatible. With more-accurate data, the airport will be able to fully comply with the European Union’s Airport CDM project. “Using SQL Server 2012 Data Quality Services, we have confidence that the aircraft data coming in is fully accurate and updated,” says Schinagl. “This gives us a level of trust in the data that we didn’t have before. Everything matches, so we can keep much better track of the aircraft on the ground and in the sky. We’re much more efficient.”

Offers Better Visibility into Data

The solution provides the airport with a much better view of critical aircraft and flight data, such as the length of time a plane is on the ground. “SQL Server 2012 Data Quality Services is a powerful technology that simplifies our complex data systems and puts the data in a centralized, structured knowledge base,” says Schinagl. “We now have much better visibility into GPS coordinates, duplicate data, and aircraft and flight requirements. We also receive alerts if data does not match. Overall, we’re getting excellent quality control and better data.”

Saves Time and Money and Promotes Innovation for the FutureVienna Airport has also saved time and money by implementing the SQL Server 2012 solution, because it avoided having to build its own system internally, and the solution’s processes can be used by other systems and initiatives. Schinagl says, “We would have had to spend many weeks on manual database programming, and building a new system would have involved thousands of dollars in maintenance costs.”

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 StreamInsight, which is currently being tested, is an additional innovative technology the airport plans to take advantage of. SQL Server 2012 StreamInsight can perform temporal query evaluation on both live and archived data, process large event volumes across multiple data streams, and provide historical data analysis. “Using StreamInsight in SQL Server 2012, we’ll be able to detect changing weather patterns, for example, to give aircraft operators more time to prepare for those changes,” says Schinagl. “Overall, SQL Server 2012 gives us an innovative solution that benefits the airport and our customers.”

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published April 2012

Software and Services Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise

Technologies− Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2

Analysis Services

− Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Data Quality Services

− Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Integration Services

Hardware HP ProLiant DL580 G7 server computers