IT improvement for Kelowna International Airport (YLW) first integration of its kind worldwide

Software company Copenhagen Optimization helps Canadian airport manage and optimize operations in real time across its terminals

Copenhagen, Denmark, 23 January 2025 – Copenhagen Optimization, the world’s leading optimization platform for airport operators, has implemented a raft of software modules at Kelowna International Airport (YLW) in Canada, bringing together key functions across the airport.

Kelowna has purchased several modules from Copenhagen Optimization’s Better Airport software suite, introducing solutions that link forecasting, stand and gate management, security, check-in, and baggage reclaim shift and services management. Stakeholders will, therefore, be able to access the information they need within one platform in real-time, facilitating the interconnection of different areas of operation.

Copenhagen Optimization’s Better Stand & Gate module will be used not only for forecasting but also in an operational context for day-to-day management at the airport – something that is to become commonplace in future installations. Crucially, this means the plans can be continuously updated as the day of operation approaches and be executed in real time on the day itself. Live data feeds flow to and from Better Stand & Gate, enabling continuous planning and recommendations to the operator. When proposing adjustments to the plan, Better Stand & Gate considers airline preferences, stand dependencies, gate types, and much more. This ensures a holistic approach that satisfies the needs of all stakeholders. Planners can use the module to produce a complete seasonal plan down to a five-minute granularity – and the process can be automated, letting the user focus on validating the plan.

With Copenhagen Optimization’s software, Kelowna can now forecast and plan across all time horizons in a single solution. In addition to providing optimized plans and consolidating existing tools and Excel spreadsheets, this can strengthen internal and external communication on resourcing, planning, and analytics.

Already extensively used by airports in Europe, North America, and Asia, the combination of Better Forecast and Better Security will allow YLW to create forecasts for all operational areas of the airport and detailed demand and wait-time predictions for airport security operations. Kelowna has also implemented Copenhagen Optimization’s Better Check-in and Better Baggage solutions across its terminals, providing a complete resource management picture.

By using the long-term planning functionality of Better Airport, YLW can do what-if scenarios at any time horizon, allowing them to understand how aircraft movements, passengers, and bags impact operations throughout the airport in the months and years to come, especially during heavy peak seasons with ski travellers in the winter and nature, golf and wine travellers in the summer. Once a schedule is uploaded or updated for a given period, the scenario can be run across all operational areas and will provide a quick overview in case of any constraints.

Kasper Hounsgaard, Co-CEO and founder of Copenhagen Optimization, said: “The implementation of the Better Airport suite at Kelowna is as significant a moment for us as it is for Kelowna and is a testament to the trust we have earned from Kelowna and a reflection of the relationship we have built across the installation progress. Our solutions have a strong track record in large airports, but smaller airports have to carry out the same processes as larger-scale hubs, often with fewer resources. It’s gratifying to be able to demonstrate that our offer is scalable and appropriate to airports of all sizes.”

Sam Samaddar, CEO, Kelowna International Airport continued: “One of the many reasons we chose to work with Copenhagen Optimization was their shared vision for an improved, more efficient version of Kelowna by helping support a vision for the airport of the future. By introducing Better Airport and streamlining our processes, our team is afforded more time in anticipating potential areas of conflict and planning for the future. This results in a better day-to-day experience for the passengers moving through our airport. It will also help us to grow our operations, by, for example, giving us the flexibility to maximize the utilization of our infrastructure and therefore allowing us to grow our existing network quickly and easily without adding more infrastructure.”