<a href="https://www.aerocloudsystems.com/" target="_blank">AeroCloud</a> has launched its latest new product - AeroCloud Optic. This follows successful trials at <a href="https://www.liverpoolairport.com/" target="_blank">Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL)</a> and <a href="https://flysrq.com/" target="_blank">Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ)</a> in Florida.

Announced at Passenger Terminal Expo 2023, AeroCloud Optic is the first solution to effectively solve the decades-old issue of how to gain an accurate understanding of how passengers move through an airport, from kerb to gate. 

As the <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/02/1133347/" target="_blank">UN Aviation Agency</a> predicts air travel to resume to pre-pandemic levels this year, airports need to ensure a frictionless flow of passengers at every stage of their journey, from kerb to gate.

AeroCloud Optic uses computer vision to intelligently, anonymously and accurately track passengers as they move through an airport. The real-time monitoring of passenger flow means alerts are triggered in response to operational bottlenecks, such as extended wait times at check-in or security, which can be immediately addressed with additional resources.

AeroCloud’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms also allow airport staff to identify trends, draw learnings, and predict future scenarios to inform more accurate decision-making and long-term planning. This enables better resource management and enhanced retail opportunities for concession partners, improving the airport's passenger experience.

George Richardson, co-founder and CEO of AeroCloud, explains:

<q>With AeroCloud Optic, airports can resolve operational issues in real-time and plan better for the future in a revolutionary way. Optic accurately predicts the future flow of travellers so leaders can make confident decisions on everything from resource allocation to commercial opportunities. When airports need to improve the bottom line, AeroCloud Optic can help airport operations teams streamline the check-in and security experience to get people through to retail areas faster, reducing passengers’ queue time and encouraging spending in a GDPR conformant way. AeroCloud Optic was recently described as the "holy grail" of continuous improvement, and I am incredibly proud of my co-founder and team for bringing this technology to fruition.</q>

**AeroCloud Optic in operation**

AeroCloud Optic has been trialled in UK and US airports. At LPL, the solution has been used to better understand movement in the building – identifying peaks and bottlenecks and where queues are likely to be – flattening any planning curves and increasing efficiency.

Paul Staples, Operations Director at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, comments:

<q>Our slogan is ‘faster, easier and friendlier’, which means getting our customers through to the departure lounge as quickly as possible through efficient operations. Historically, we’ve used other systems and manual methods like queue counting to track how individuals travel through our airport, but this didn’t deliver what we needed. With AeroCloud Optic, we now have accurate information that allows us to plan more effectively at an operational level while also helping to inform decision-
making for marketing and spend per head in retail and concession environments. We’ve never been able to do this in the past – it is the holy grail of commercial activity in an airport.</q>

**Industry-first innovation**

Though airports have trialled technologies, including Bluetooth and WiFi, to solve this sector issue, AeroCloud Optic is the first technology capable of anonymously tracking passengers through the entire process – from arrival to security and departure halls to boarding an aircraft.

Ian Forde-Smith, co-founder and CTO of AeroCloud, explains:

<q>Understanding passengers' journey from kerb to gate is a challenge that airports have been grappling with for years, and no solution till now has been able to offer them this level of passenger insight without compromising privacy. Working in partnership with our customers to develop AeroCloud Optic has enabled us to overcome this challenge with a real-time SaaS solution that replaces the resource-heavy, slow, and often inaccurate assumptions that were previously informing operational decisions.</q>

**The next stage in AeroCloud's growth story**

The launch of AeroCloud Optic follows AeroCloud’s recent $12.6 million Series A funding round, led by US fund Stage 2 Capital with participation from I2BF Global Ventures, Triple Point Ventures, Praetura Venture, Starburst Ventures and existing investors Playfair Capital and Haatch. The funding will enable AeroCloud to scale up, with plans to double its team of 40 by the end of the year across its HQ in Macclesfield and its offices in London and Florida. This will help it reach its target of over 100 customers by 2023 and deliver innovative new product launches based on AI, ML, and self-service.


**Press contact**

Email: <a href="mailto:aerocloud@theflywheelers.com">aerocloud@theflywheelers.com</a>

AeroCloud launches AeroCloud Optic

AeroCloud has raised $12.6 million in Series A funding led by US fund <a href="https://www.stage2.capital/" target="_blank">Stage 2 Capital</a>. <a href="https://www.i2bf.com/" target="_blank">I2BF Global Ventures</a>, <a href="https://www.triplepoint.vc/" target="_blank">Triple Point Ventures</a>, <a href="https://www.praeturaventures.com/" target="_blank">Praetura Ventures</a> and <a href="https://www.starburst.vc/" target="_blank">Starburst Ventures</a> also joined in the round along with existing investors <a href="https://playfaircapital.com/" target="_blank">Playfair Capital</a> and <a href="https://haatch.com/" target="_blank">Haatch</a>. The Praetura commitment to the round was supported with additional investment through the Regional Angel Programme by <a href="https://www.bbinv.co.uk/" target="_blank">British Business Investments</a>. AeroCloud has now raised $16m in total, and this new round of investment will support a doubling down on the airport management software revolution. 

Founded by former professional racing driver George Richardson (CEO) and airport operations innovator Ian Forde-Smith (CTO), AeroCloud uses technology to solve the complex challenges airports face daily. Airports are fast-moving domains, requiring smooth coordination of multiple factors in a high-pressure environment, from security to passengers and airlines. A lack of coordination between these different factors can affect an airport’s performance - in some instances, airports operate at only around 66% capacity. Even before the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, which caused escalating passenger processing times and labour shortages, these issues were difficult to manage, particularly for small and medium-sized airports that don’t have the budgets and capacities that their larger peers do. As travel returns to pre-pandemic levels, airports have struggled with adjusting to heightened demand, affecting operations worldwide. 

AeroCloud uses leading-edge technologies such as AI and machine learning combined with hardware to transform airport operations, drive communication amongst stakeholders, and increase airport efficiency and operating margins. The platform enables everything from faster passenger processing times to improved self-service check-in and bag drop and facilitates increased communication between stakeholders to deal with real-time fluctuations in processes to ensure that airports work better and communicate with their customers.

**Using the cloud to improve efficiency**

AeroCloud is currently focused on small to medium-sized airports which are often dependent on either Excel spreadsheets or inflexible, unwieldy and expensive legacy software to run their operations. By comparison, its modular, scalable management platform centralises all the siloed data across an airport into one platform that can be accessed by all stakeholders, providing an overview of everything taking place. The platform uses AI to highlight inefficiencies, as well as improve operations, from flight management to passenger predictions and gate management. In only two weeks, an airport can run much more efficiently, helping decrease operational costs and increase margins. These efficiency gains have a knock-on effect - enabling airports to employ more people, add more airlines and positively impact the local economy. 

AeroCloud’s cloud-native platform enables unlimited licenses per customer so an airport’s entire stakeholder base can access the platform at no extra cost. This also means AeroCloud can be used on any device wherever an airport’s team is based, whether onsite or remote, ensuring the platform is more secure than legacy systems, which are often run on centrally-located stack servers.

**The trusted partner for scaling airports**

This dedication to providing the tools to help airports make data-driven decisions and be more productive has seen AeroCloud partner with 42 customers in less than three years, ranging from Manchester Airport and Eindhoven Airport in the UK and Europe to Tampa International Airport and John Wayne in the US. Collectively, its software processes more than 150+ million passengers annually. 

One customer, Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in Florida, US, started using the tool to automate gate allocation and passenger prediction analytics. This helped the airport to take on new airlines and seamlessly grow its annual passenger figures from 900,000 in 2019 to over 3.4 million in 2022 and become the US’s fastest-growing airport. The platform can even help airports reduce their carbon footprint by rationalising plane taxiing, resulting in less fuel used by airlines and ground crews. 

The new Series A funding will enable AeroCloud to scale up, with plans to double the team of 40 by the end of the year across its HQ in Macclesfield, North West England, and its offices in London and Florida. This will help it reach its target of over 100 customers in 2023, which will require growing its presence in North America and Europe and delivering innovative new product launches based on machine learning, AI and self-service.

George Richardson, co-founder and CEO at AeroCloud, said:

“The airport industry has had a difficult few years, which has only increased the need for a scalable, intelligent platform like AeroCloud. Before we launched AeroCloud, airports were forced to use legacy technology that was difficult to scale and barely fit for purpose. Now, it takes only 24 hours for an airport to onboard onto our platform and within two weeks, it's already driving efficiency and operation gains. In fact, AeroCloud’s technology is so easy to use that it supports millions of operational decisions a day and doesn’t require anyone to be on-site. 

Raising capital in this market has been tough but I am delighted with the results owing to our strong growth and impressive team. It’s been an incredible few years building this business and I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds which I am sure will be very exciting for airports globally and our investors.” 

Liz Christo, Partner at Stage 2 Capital, said:

“In only a small time, AeroCloud has become the definitive operating software for small to medium-sized airports. Each module is so critical to running an airport’s operations that good enough is not an option, it has to be perfect. George and Ian have built an impressive team dedicated to delivering an amazing customer experience, and we can see that it’s working with airports across North America and Europe signing multi-year contracts and putting their confidence in AeroCloud. I’m excited to work with the team to accelerate their growth in the US and support George and Ian as they build a generational software company.” 

Founded in 2019, Macclesfield, UK-based AeroCloud uses AI and machine learning to transform airport operations and passenger processing solutions via the cloud. Its intelligent management platform with real-time analytics enables small to medium-sized airports to plan, monitor, and improve operations and passenger experience. AeroCloud is the only 100% cloud-native solution taking on a $20 billion legacy market, and this new funding will help it accelerate expansion plans and displace lethargic incumbents.

AeroCloud raises $12.6 million Series A

AeroCloud Systems has won a contract to provide both its Intelligent Airport Management System (iAMS) and Gate Management System (GMS) to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) in Iowa, US. 
Our cloud-native airport operations platform will support DSM in allocating aircraft to gates and stands, maximizing their capacity to the full.

iAMS provides accurate and up-to-date flight information by harnessing multiple data sources. This information is further augmented by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. DSM will use the data to plan and manage their gates, hard stands, or apron operation. In addition, DSM will be empowered by the ability to manage irregular operations (IROPS) scenarios supported by real-time data and collaboration with stakeholders regardless of location.

AeroCloud’s AI-driven GMS supports the management of DSM’s commercial aprons, enhancing its operational efficiency. It allows DSM to automate its weekly and daily operational plans, reducing human error and the need for manual input. The system provides high-quality, accurate real-time data, which supports efficient management of the flow of arriving and departing flights.

Passenger demand at DSM for business and pleasure has steadily increased to the point where aircraft gates are at capacity and wait times are increasing. In 2021, over 2,167,000 passengers used the airport. Des Moines International Airport plans to build a new terminal with additional gates, expanded security, and updated technology to meet this demand. This work is scheduled to start in 2024, and our solutions will help DSM along its journey, ensuring the smooth running of airport operations by optimizing airport resources.

AeroCloud’s scalable software platform provides a flexible, revolutionary approach to improving and developing airport operational management, utilizing innovative cloud-based modular technology that incorporates AI and Machine Learning. It can be implemented with little or no capital outlay. Together with our common-use passenger processing and self-service solutions, we deliver an innovative answer to the complex operational challenges experienced by airports across the globe.  

George Richardson, CEO and Co-Founder of AeroCloud, says:

“DSM were exacting in their search for a GMS System provider, and we are delighted that the team have chosen to work with AeroCloud. We know just how pressured the day-to-day operations of an airport can be. Our flexible and scalable software will ably support DSM’s requirements and grow with them as the airport expands.”

Clint Torp, Director of Operations at DSM, commented:

“The Des Moines International Airport looks forward to fully integrating the AeroCloud system into operational decision-making.  We expect this new integration to enhance operational efficiencies and reduce the challenges of managing complex gate operations.”

This latest news follows AeroCloud’s recent announcement of its expansion into Lincoln Airport in Nebraska and brings the total number of US airports supported by AeroCloud Systems to 17. Further rollouts of its software and passenger processing solutions are planned across North American and European airports in the forthcoming months, with an innovative new product launch in March 2023.


Gate Management at Des Moines International Airport

AeroCloud Systems (AeroCloud) has won a contract to provide a full suite of airport operations management systems to Lincoln Airport (LNK) in Lincoln, Nebraska. 

AeroCloud’s cloud-based airport operations platform will support the growing scheduled flight operations and passenger traffic following an expansion project, which is due to be completed by the end of 2023. LNK serves approximately 200,000 passengers per year. The addition of LNK brings the total number of US airports supported by AeroCloud Systems to 16.  

A combination of Flight Information Display Systems (FIDS), Gate Management Systems (GMS) and Common-Use Passenger Processing Systems (CUPPS) is currently being deployed at LNK. Introducing CUPPS will help LNK to optimise terminal capacity and seamlessly process a growing number of passengers, supporting the projected growth in airline service. AeroCloud’s AI-driven GMS will prove particularly valuable in supporting the management of the airport’s commercial aprons to enhance operational efficiency. 

The solutions are being implemented to support the expansion of operations at LNK to accommodate six gates. 

Supporting this period of growth, AeroCloud’s solutions will ensure the smooth running of airport operations through the optimisation of airport resources. The 100% cloud native software platform is expected to transform the airport experience for the airlines and passengers who use Lincoln airport.

AeroCloud’s flexible software provides a revolutionary approach to improving and developing airport operational management, utilising innovative cloud-based technology that can be implemented with little or no capital outlay.

George Richardson, CEO and Co-Founder of AeroCloud, said: “Lincoln Airport is undergoing a crucial period of growth. Induction of our totally flexible and scalable products will ensure they can achieve this whilst being time and cost-efficient. We are dedicated to the support of airports, and Lincoln will reap the rewards of moving away from legacy providers.” 

Chad Lay, Director of Planning and Development at LNK, said: “We’re excited to be working with AeroCloud and look forward to transforming our airport operations. As we see our traffic picking up post-Covid, we want to provide the best service to our airlines and passengers. The overall goal of our Terminal Modernization Project is to create a more flexible facility that is better equipped to respond to the needs of the air service market. In that way, our vision is aligned with AeroCloud’s, and their cloud-based technology systems will facilitate the seamless augmentation of our capabilities and enable us to accommodate future changes in demand requirements easily.” 
     
This latest news follows AeroCloud’s recent announcement of its expansion into Norfolk International Airport in Virginia. Further rollouts of its systems and approach are planned across American and European airports in the forthcoming months. 
     
For more information, please contact: hello@aerocloudsystems.com


AeroCloud adds 16th US airport to its roster

**We are recruiting!**

AeroCloud has ambitious plans for 2023 and beyond, and we are growing our team at pace. Our specialist subject is airports, and we thrive on delivering state-of-the-art technical innovation and operational improvements to the airport sector.

We are expanding across all areas of our business and are currently recruiting for the following roles:

<li/>Head of Customer Success
<li/>HR Officer
<li/>Bid Writer
<li/>Procurement Manager
<li/>Commercial / Operations Recruiter
<li/>Senior Software Engineer
<li/>Software Engineer 
<li/>Part-Qualified Commercial Accountant



Are you looking for a fresh new challenge working for a high-growth, disruptive SaaS business focused on technological innovation and delivering excellent customer service? One of these hybrid roles could be a perfect fit!

AeroCloud is an innovative and dynamic company with a people-centric culture, and it’s a great place to work. We’re based in Macclesfield in Cheshire, just 17 minutes from the centre of Manchester by train, and we also have offices near London and in the US.

Keep an eye on our <a href="https://www.aerocloudsystems.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">website</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/aerocloud-systems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">LinkedIn </a> for updates on our latest vacancies.

Climb onboard the rocket ship!

AeroCloud is delighted to have been awarded Most Innovative Airport Technology Company 2022 at the [Northern Enterprise Awards](link), hosted by SME News.

These independently researched awards celebrate businesses and enterprises’ hard work and dedication across the north of England. This region has a flourishing SME and business start-up community, and [AeroCloud](link) is delighted to be a successful part of its thriving business community.

Based in Macclesfield in Cheshire, rich in industrial heritage and a fantastic workplace, AeroCloud draws on an amazing team of talented people who work together to drive the business forward.

AeroCloud is wholly invested in airports and develops solutions allowing airports to own all the operational processes from check-in to the gate.

We create modular and scalable intelligent airport management software built on leading-edge technology. Our cloud-native platform uses predictive artificial intelligence and machine learning. Together with our common-use passenger processing and self-service solutions, we deliver an innovative answer to the complex operational challenges experienced by airports across the globe, revolutionising how airport operations work. 

Forty-one airports across North America and Europe are already using our software to support their operational processes, and we plan to expand our reach throughout 2023 and beyond significantly.

It is great that The Northern Enterprise Awards have recognised our technological prowess, hard work, and dedication to our customers.

AeroCloud awarded Most Innovative Airport Technology Company at the Northern Enterprise Awards

A brand new year and a fresh start for everyone as we welcome 2023!

As AeroCloud continues to grow, we are currently hiring for a series of new roles to support the business through an exciting 2023 and beyond.

We are looking to recruit talented individuals to join our team in the following posts - HR Officer, Bid Writer, Commercial Accountant, Technical Recruiter and Commercial/Operations Recruiter. Here’s a little more about each of the roles:
 

**HR Officer**

This role will support the AeroCloud business during a period of hyper-growth by owning the onboarding process, providing the first point of contact HR support to employees and new starters and administering the full employee lifecycle.

With the Senior HR Officer, you will be supporting a number of internal stakeholders and promoting the AeroCloud culture and values. You'll promote and support our culture through our People Strategy and role model our values and behaviours.

This is a full-time hybrid working role and will include some working from home and from our Macclesfield office.
 

**Bid Writer**

Supporting our strategic approach to work-winning activity, the Bid Writer’s role will include writing, editing and proofreading high-quality bid documents. Working closely with the Head of Bids, this role will oversee and administer data and information within the company CRM and bid management software (currently RFPIO) and respond to RFx and proposals. This is a full-time role.
 


**Commercial Accountant** 

We are looking for a Commercial Accountant to join our Finance team, reporting to the Finance Manager. 

This full-time role will have no direct reports and will be based in the AeroCloud North England Office (Macclesfield) with hybrid working available.
 


**Technical Recruiter**

AeroCloud is looking for a Tech Recruiter to hire into the Software Engineering team. Joining our People Team, the role reports directly to the Head of People and Talent.

Currently, this full-time role will have no direct reports and will be based out of our Macclesfield office, with hybrid working available.
 


**Commercial/Operations Recruiter**

AeroCloud is looking for a Non Tech Recruiter to hire into the Operations, Finance and Commercial teams. Again joining our People Team and reporting directly to the Head of People and Talent.

Currently, this full-time role will have no direct reports and will be based out of our Macclesfield office, with hybrid working available.
 

To view full job specifications and to apply, click on the jobs tab on our <a href="https://bit.ly/aerocloud-jobs" target="_blank">LinkedIn page</a> or go to <a href="https://www.workable.com/" target="_blank">Workable.com</a>.

We Are Hiring

<a href="https://aerocloudsystems.com">AeroCloud</a> has been awarded a contract by Manchester Airports Group (MAG) to provide its Remote Stand Plan and Airfield Works modules to <a href="https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/">Manchester Airport</a> (MAN).

AeroCloud creates modular and scalable intelligent airport management software built on leading-edge technology. Its cloud-based platform uses predictive artificial intelligence and machine learning. Together with common-use passenger processing and self-service solutions, it delivers an innovative answer to the complex operational challenges experienced by airports across the globe.

Manchester Airport will use AeroCloud’s Remote Stand Plan (RSP) to efficiently manage their aprons, the area of an airport where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refuelled, boarded or maintained. The Airfield Works (AW) module manages on-site development and construction work.

Manchester Airport’s Airfield Liaison Manager, Gary Cookson, commented:

“The Remote Stand Plan module is a fabulous piece of kit that works independently from our stand allocation system and helps the team to plan and manage capacity on the remote apron stands.

The module is user-friendly, and the ‘easy on the eye display’ gives a real-time overview of both immediate and future capacity availability.”

AeroCloud’s CEO George Richardson said:

“AeroCloud is delighted to be working with Manchester Airport. Our software is quick to deploy and accessible through any device, making it an ideal solution to support improvements to aspects of the airport’s operations. Airports deserve better, and AeroCloud provides the technological infrastructure to achieve this.”

AeroCloud offers airports a cost-effective and revolutionary approach to improving and developing their operational management systems requiring little or no capital outlay. Its scalable, intelligent airport management platform, passenger processing and self-service solutions support the growth of airports. The beauty of AeroCloud’s agile, modular cloud-based software is the speed at which it can be implemented, meaning that AeroCloud can offer a rapid turnaround on the provision of new systems as required.

Based in Macclesfield in North West England, our team are excited to be working with MAN, our local airport, and deploying our software to support their planning and capacity management activities.

Planning & capacity management at Manchester Airport

AEROCLOUD BRINGS INNOVATION TO NORFOLK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, VIRGINIA

20TH OCTOBER 2022: AeroCloud Systems (AeroCloud), the 100% cloud-native software platform dedicated to the support of airports, has won a contract to provide Gate Management System (GMS) and Intelligent Airport Management (IAM) for Norfolk
International Airport (ORF).

In order to increase throughput after adding 20 new destinations since bringing on Breeze and Allegiant Airlines, Norfolk International Airport is focused on automating many core airport services, including the allocation of aircraft parking positions and tracking the aerial and ground locations of arriving and departing aircraft.

Users will have access to an open architecture platform which provides insights into flight operations and passenger behaviour, facilitating capacity forecasting and increased agility with daily operations.

George Richardson, CEO and Co-Founder of AeroCloud said: “With our state-of-the-art modular platform, Norfolk International will benefit from a unique solution which will improve the experience of the 3.5 million passengers who pass through the airport each year. We’re shaking the industry up – airports deserve better, and we are providing the
infrastructure to achieve this”.

AeroCloud offers airports a cost-effective and revolutionary approach to improving and developing their management systems whilst requiring little or no capital outlay.

Richardson added: “Norfolk International operates in a delicate ecological sanctuary, and AeroCloud’s GMS will allow the airport to expand its capacity whilst avoiding the environmental impact and cost of additional infrastructure. Our flight and gate management systems will enable the airport to grow and ultimately better serve its airlines, operators and passengers whilst avoiding the negative impact on the surrounding ecosystem through further development.”

“It’s a fail-safe solution, and we applaud Norfolk International Airport’s values-led approach to innovation and efficiency.”

By utilising specialist tools embedded within the system, AeroCloud’s software also allows airports to see and respond to potential gate conflicts and peaks and troughs in passenger levels.

Andrew Hoppe, Director of Airport Engagement, Americas, for AeroCloud, said: “Our product automates the manual tasks of the operations team, is cost-effective, flexible, and offers customers unlimited user licenses in a proven mission-critical solution- that’s what appealed to Norfolk International.”

“Our GMS is cutting edge and will enable their team to automate their week of operations planning and respond to tactical day of changes based on accurate real-time data. Airports have been asking for this for years, and AeroCloud is the only company that can deliver it to them.”

AeroCloud’s operations management systems will be in place from Q4 2022 under an initial three-year contract. Norfolk International Airport is one of the US’ fastest growing airports and was recently upgraded to Medium Hub class by the FAA.

This latest news follows AeroCloud’s recent announcements of its expansion into Nassau (NAS), the Bahamas’ main airport and Eastern Iowa Airport. Further roll-outs of its systems and approach are planned across American and European airports in the forthcoming months.

For more information, please contact: hello@aerocloudsystems.com

- Ends -

Read, watch, and listen to our latest news and resources.

Get On Block / Off Block in your inbox.