UK airport creates new geospatial platform with GIS

London Gatwick is using the geospatial platform to support its Biodiversity Action Plan (Photo: Esri UK)

The system supports multiple operational areas at the airport, including engineering and environmental services. By integrating all spatial data into a single view and combining it with advanced spatial analysis tools, mobile apps, and dashboards, the Esri platform is said to provide new insights to support better collaboration and decision-making across the airport.

Esri UK says that the geospatial platform contains critical infrastructure information spanning the 70-year history of the airport, including BIM, CAD, utilities, environmental, aerial photography, and legacy data.

London Gatwick is using the geospatial platform to support its Biodiversity Action Plan, designed to deliver a biodiversity net gain at the airport by 2030.

Within the airport boundaries are 75 hectares of woodlands, grasslands, and wetlands, inhabited by hundreds of species of mammals, birds, insects, and bees. Environmental data in the GIS includes environmental stewardship areas, notable birds, protected, rare or invasive alien species, and bat box locations. The system also visualizes the estimated embodied carbon of built assets.

“Being able to visualise and interrogate all spatial data from any discipline, on any device, is critical to the sustainable future of London Gatwick. Democratising spatial data in this way drives significantly more business and operational value from it,” explained Simon Richardson, digital information lead at London Gatwick Airport.

“The new GIS supports our Master Plan, which includes delivering efficiencies through new technologies and process improvements while bringing passenger service benefits and protecting the environment we operate in. It provides an immediate understanding of operational infrastructure, supporting faster and more informed decisions, which are integral to the running of the airport.”