BRITISH Airways has announced its plans to cut delays with the help of artificial intelligence. Passengers travelling through Heathrow Terminal 5, the airline's base in London, will be among the first to notice the difference. There are 18 different activities that need to be completed before a plane can depart before its next flight and most of them start once the previous load of passengers have disembarked. It includes everything from cleaning the cabin to loading and unloading catering and luggage. As Sun Online Travel previously revealed, this turnaround process can be extremely tight - with just 45 minutes for short haul journeys on smaller planes - meaning every second counts.

The artificial intelligence technology could reclaim 20 per cent of lost capacity caused by low cloud and reduced visibility from the control tower. At Heathrow's air traffic control tower, NATS have developed a digital tower laboratory which combines ultra HD 4K cameras with AI and machine learning technology to help to boost the capacity of the UK's busiest airport. Heathrow's 87-metre tall control tower is the highest in the UK, but its height can also mean it disappears into low cloud, even when the runways below are clear. In those conditions, where the controllers have to rely on radar to know if an arriving aircraft has left the runway, extra time is given between each landing to ensure its safety. The result is a 20 per cent loss of landing capacity, which creates delays for passengers and knock-on disruption for the rest of the operation.

Ultra high-definition 4K cameras, AI and machine learning technology installed at Heathrow airport could cut flight delays during bad weather by up tp 20 per cent. Technology installed at the west London airport's control tower will help air traffic controllers (ATCs) track aircraft when visibility is reduced. AI is learning to interpret the images and track aircraft, flagging when aircraft have safely left the runway and speeding up subsequent arrivals. Officials say the technology will be particularly useful at night, as the highly sensitive cameras will let controllers to see the airfield as if it was dusk rather than complete darkness. Heathrow has the highest airport control tower in the UK at 285 feet (87 metres), but this means it can be surrounded by low cloud even when the runways are clear.

Singapore's Changi airport is the best in the world and an awesome place to spend a long layover. So it's kind of a bummer that it's getting a real-time data system that will cut delays by rethinking its operations and streamlining how its moves planes, people, and personnel. It's easy to track people and goods as they move around these days, but that power hasn't really been put to use making airports less horrible. That's why ST Electronics, a subsidiary of Singapore's largest technology and defense contractor, ST Engineering, is partnering up with Changi on a solution called Intelligent Airport. The SimCity-esque system will collect information like precise aircraft arrival times, the location of airport assets and personnel, and crowd movement, and make it available in one place, so everything flows more smoothly and delays can be cut down.