Photos: The tech keeping the world's airports flying high

Handheld tech is helping to save time and money for airports amid some of the toughest economic conditions that the airline industry has faced.

Air crews in Portugal and Sweden are currently trialling handheld systems and software to help prepare aircrafts for take-off and manage airport facilities.

The apps, showcased at the Air Transport IT Summit in Cannes last week, have been jointly developed by airport IT supplier Sita and software company Appear Networks.

This demonstration model of a ramp management app, which has yet to be deployed with an airline, shows each stage of preparation that needs to be completed before a plane can take off - the yellow boxes shown here.

As ground crew complete different stages, such as loading the baggage into the hold, they can mark it complete on their handheld devices. The information is then wirelessly sent to back end computer systems, which update the mobile ramp management app used by the duty manager.

Each box turns from yellow to green when the stage is complete, giving the duty manager a clear picture of how much work needs to be done before a plane departs.

Photo credit: Nick Heath/silicon.com