AALEX develops software that simulates operational needs and generates automated shift schedules for airports based on flight data. The idea arose one day at Aalborg Airport, where founder Emil Louis Hansen experienced through his work how time-consuming and confusing shift scheduling can be.
"At an airport, shift planning is far more complex than many people imagine. Air traffic, collective agreements and shift requests must be integrated into a higher unity. It requires an enormous amount of time and overview to solve manually.,” says Emil.
That was the start of AALEX – with an ambition to make shift planning at airports faster, more manageable and better adapted to real operations. Today, Emil runs the company together with his partner and wife, Julia Bøgh Adsersen, who is responsible for the commercial side of the company.
Access to test environment in a real environment
The local business service, Business Aalborg, referred AALEX – Airport Scheduling to their colleagues in Billund Erhverv, after learning about the opportunity to test solutions in the Billund Airport Innovation Hub. AALEX then initiated a dialogue with Billund Erhverv, who established contact with Billund Airport and made it possible to start the test.
In Billund, Emil and Julia are testing their shift planning system in a more complex environment – including within cargo, where the requirements for flexibility and rapid adaptation are in constant focus.
"For us, it is crucial to be able to test in a real environment. Because here we can test whether the idea actually works in practice and get valuable input from those who will use the solution.,” says Emil.
The collaboration not only provides value for AALEX – but also for Billund Airport: "We think it has been exciting to gain insight into what a startup is able to develop within shift planning. There is certainly potential in future solutions in this area, and we are happy to contribute our knowledge and experience to the development work.,” says Lau Sunde, Head of Payroll & Planning at Billund Airport.
The collaboration is based on concrete scenarios from everyday life, where Billund Airport provides knowledge and cases for AALEX's further development of the system. This provides the opportunity to continuously qualify the solution and test how it handles realistic planning situations - with respect for the operational requirements.
A shortcut for startups
Billund Airport Innovation Hub is an innovation and testing environment established in collaboration between Billund Business and Billund Airport. The hub is aimed at startups and SMEs that develop digital or technological solutions relevant to an airport – with a focus on transport, logistics and operational management.
Billund Erhverv is the gateway for companies that want a dialogue about testing in Billund Airport Innovation Hub.
For AALEX, the collaboration with Billund Erhverv has made a decisive difference in the development of their solution: "Billund Erhverv has made it much easier to get started. There was a clear path in, and we had a contact person we could go to if something got stuck.,” says Emil.
The opportunity to test in the Billund Airport Innovation Hub means that ideas do not remain assumptions – but are tested in daily operations. Here, startups get access to the environment, data and the people who will use the solution.
This allows for faster development and better decisions to be made early in the process.”It's something completely different than guessing.,” concludes Emil Louis Hansen.
If you are interested in hearing about your options for testing your solution at Billund Airport Innovation Hub, you are welcome to contact business developer Paul-Erik Hensgen at peh@billunderhverv.dk.
