ULD on Rails – An Underground Airport Magic!

One of the most exciting news from the aviation world last week related to the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) in Dubai was the announcement of a plan to have an underground railway network for transporting passengers across Terminals. This will enable high speed movement of passengers at the airport thereby saving precious travel time and facilitate on-time departure better.

Many times, changes such as these get limited to what a passenger see at the forefront. Operations behind the scenes get omitted or parked for future which may or may not become a reality.

Being in Airport Operations in the current assignment, news of underground train for passengers, got my colleagues and I thinking on a parallel business case for ground handling. If an extremely complex operations such as passenger movement can be facilitated underground, what is stopping an airport planned at the scale of DWC from thinking of ULD transportation in a similar manner to take bags, cargo and other products across the length and breadth of the airport?

DWC is already speaking of passenger volumes of 260 million making it 2.5 times more than the busiest airport in the entire world at present, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. When you operate at such high volumes, you need to have an automated and extremely agile design for both passengers and rest of the products that need transportation at an airport.  

Unit Load Device (ULD) refers to the container in which a ground handler carries bags, cargo and other products such as courier, aircraft spares etc. for an airline and delivered to the aircraft awaiting departure and vice versa. Most of the airports as we know today have this operation handled as an activity above the ground. There are certain exceptions such as Dubai International Airport (DXB) where bags are transported underground through a high-speed baggage handling system which is a smart and intelligent automated installation which takes the bags to its right destination.

Like the automated baggage movement, the idea is to have ULDs filled with these bags or cargo or other products travel below the ground, programmed to reach the destination intended. If it is for a departing flight, the ULDs reach the bay just in time where an aircraft is parked and injected up to the ground level so that these units can be loaded safely.

What could be even better is if the automation can be extended to have these ULDs loaded without the help of manual intervention. The concept of Robotics as we speak has developed enough to make this a reality. The reverse feed applies to an arrival aircraft where the ULDs are automatically unloaded and injected down to an unmanned programmed transport mechanism whereby it heads to the intended baggage carrousels or cargo warehouse depending on the product loaded in the units.

The whole idea may sound colossal but is something we could think only at the time an initial design of an airport is getting sketched. Nothing suits the bill better than DWC which aspires to be the most automated airport in the world. The benefits are numerous. The busiest airports in the world today itself require hundreds of equipment operators driving tractors across the airport to transport bags and cargo to and from the aircrafts. Imagine taking this entire traffic below the ground sans the drivers and tractors. It is a benefit straight away to decongest the otherwise busy operations on ground in a highly optimized manner with zero dependency on people thereby eliminating manual intervention.

An airport being a finite area with clearly defined boundaries and locations for bays and other operational areas, designing this should really be feasible. Combine this with automated underground passenger transport, we are looking at efficiencies reaching heights never before seen, making large scale airport operations seemingly simple.

Here is an earnest wish from a passionate aviation enthusiast, bestowing full power to the airports of the future where people will happily hang out doing what they love and spending to their heart’s content instead of wondering when they will move forward while waiting in the queue!

Tale of Two Knights

The war was on. King summoned both his Knights. They had pledged their allegiance to the kingdom in their blood. Off they went, two powerful Knights heading East and West since the attack was from both sides. 

K1, the first Knight waged an epic battle against a mighty enemy. He applied all techniques of war learned over time and came out victorious with not even a single scratch on any of his men. It was a flawless display of brilliant strategy and skill. History named it, the Battle of Usual.

K2, the second Knight had to face the fiercest attack in his whole life. He lost hundreds of men and suffered severe damage to the troops. It was a total bloodbath. Nevertheless, fight he did, a battle that went down in the history of the kingdom as the one that was fought by the bravest Knight ever. Victory finally was with him, while the chroniclers turned a blind eye towards the lives lost. History named it the Battle of Extraordinary.

Centuries went by. History students still learn and speak high of the Battle of Extraordinary while the chapter on Battle of Usual was forgotten and eventually removed from the annals of History. The reason: Usual brilliance was underrated than extraordinary mediocrity. 

The Wooden Throne

Imagine you are a VP in an organization managing operations at one of the Latin American countries. One day, you get a call from the headquarters in Europe to join an urgent meeting with the rest of the VPs. 

Before even you knew it, you are appointed as the CEO of the parent company. The position comes with a unique authority which is absolutely unquestionable. That was not all. You are to lead an enterprise that has its nerve centre in a country for which you are even the Head of the State! 

Now let us talk about the geographical spread of the firm. There are probably only a handful of countries in the world where you do not have your offices and operations established. Needless to say, the revenue generated and assets owned by all these entities are quite formidable. It is worth mentioning the numerous priceless historical artefacts the firm owns by virtue of being a vital part of world history for more than two thousand years. 

You can stop imagining now. Let us talk reality. What I pictured above is just a glimpse of what Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio went through on 13 March 2013 when he was proclaimed Pope, the Head of Catholic Church, as 266th successor of St Peter.

One word to define him: Reformer!

Enough had already been spoken about him. I would love to share just one personal experience that deeply influenced me. Soon after he was elected, in one of the initial public addressing, Pope Francis made a small change which created a significant and lasting impact on people across the world. He discarded the traditional grand papal throne and replaced it with a simple white wooden chair. A message that was loud and clear. Far better than a million words put together to convey the need for simplicity and change. 

Leaders such as these come rarely. Probably once a century. But the legacy they leave lasts forever!

Papa, may your soul rest in eternal peace 🙏🏼

Gas Trouble!

If you ask us as a family, the road trips we had in our vacations till date, are one of the best experiences we cherish other than the holiday itself. I am pretty sure this will remain for all our future trips as well, since nothing can beat the spontaneity and the thrill of driving down and appreciating what the road ahead has in store for us, literally.

Having said that, I have no intention to belittle those who enjoy the comfort of an arranged bus tour and follow an itinerary charted by someone else for you. At the end of the day, it is all about personal choices and what really matter is that you should create memories that last a lifetime.

The most important aspect of having a peaceful road trip is to ensure that you have a good vehicle that provides you the required comfort and takes good care of you during the planned road trip in the vacation. I will probably give more tips later about planning for the vehicle and some of the tricks we apply in our journey. Today I want to touch upon another baffling experience while we were on our road trip in Scotland.

As many of you are aware, unlike in Middle East or India, the fuel / gas stations are primarily self-serviced in Europe and Western world in general. There are places where you can fill fuel and pay at the counter of a shop attached to the station. Then there are others where you first pay for the fuel at the counter and return to your car to fill up. The former was quite common in Scotland, and we went about with no surprises whatsoever.

One of the evenings, we were nearing a town we had planned to stay that night. The fuel in the car was getting closer to minimum level and we thought it would be better to get the car topped up before it is too late. The clock was inching closer to six in the evening. Though the sun was working extra time being summer, the rain gods started to do their bit. We spotted a fuel station with a sign board stating, ‘Next one after 75 kilometres.’ A sign to be respected indeed!

As I pulled the car into the station, I could not help but notice how deserted the station looked. There was a store next to it, but unfortunately it was locked. Luckily, we found out that the fuel pump had a card reader attached to it which we could use to make payment. Thus, we found out a third variant of fuel stations in Europe. The unmanned station. What a way to share the joy of discoverers across the world!

I tried making the payment for GBP 50. The machine asked me twice to tap the card which I found a bit strange. Nevertheless, since we were in dire need for fuel I made the payment, filled the fuel and got a receipt for GBP 50. Shortly we reached our destination, but just before we hit the sack, I was casually looking at our bank account and saw a charge for GBP 100 against the fuel we filled earlier in the evening. It was a shocker to say the least! Since it was quite late in the evening, we decided to call the bank the next day morning and figure out the details of the double charge.

Morning came and before we made the call to the bank, we stopped at another fuel station to buy something. While being there, I shared my experience from the previous day with the staff at the store. That was when the guy told me, certain unmanned fuel stations have this feature where they charge you double the amount of actual fuel consumed. This was to ensure the validity of the card and apparently, they will revert the additional amount in 24 hours. It all sounded a bit too strange for us. Nevertheless, we decided to wait for another day and check the bank account again.

Obviously the first thing we checked the next day morning was our bank account. To our relief and much joy, we saw the additional amount reverted by the bank. This was a brand-new experience altogether in our trips till date.

No wonder it is said that there is no better teacher than travel!

Resurrection in Kitchen!

It was nothing but a usual grocery shopping day. I was at Lulu Hypermarket, a place where people from the state of Kerala, perhaps spent a considerable percentage of their time in life to pick up groceries and other household items.

I was at an area in the store where emotions had no role to play. But that was not the case for me. Especially when I am at the vegetables section and every time I walk past the aisle where they placed cabbages, I could hear the entire world laughing at me. The incident that triggered this emotional roller coaster in my mind happened a few years ago.

It was a summer vacation time. I was alone in Dubai and my family had gone back home to India. The culinary scientist in me decided to prepare a typical Kerala dish made of cabbage and coconut. It was supposed to be one of the simplest recipes that could be achieved by even the least of the chefs. I did exactly that.

The dish was ready soon, and I was absolutely delighted with the master chef in me who could give life to such wonderful creations. Alas! There was no one to testify that. Nevertheless, destiny had other plans. Before I closed the pan in which the cabbage dish was made, I decided to apply the spirit of a true-to-heart experimental personality.

I did not even think twice before I took half a sliced lemon and squeezed the entire content of that pure sourness into the heavenly dish I just finished preparing. Needless to say, it didn’t occur to me to experiment with a smaller quantity. Instead, I applied the lemon all over the dish! It was time to taste the most unique cabbage preparation in the world. My taste buds tingled with flavours that are unknown to mankind. It indeed was unique in all respects. All what it took was less than a fraction of a second for the whole serving to swiftly find its way to the trash can. It was a disaster to say the least.

To be true to my most innocent self, I promptly narrated the whole story to my family. Instead of pats of empathy and hugs of consolation, I was a victim of the most ruthless form of cynicism that I became the epitome of someone who belonged to a space farthest from the kitchen.

All these and more from the deepest trenches of my painful memories from the past came marching back when I saw a cabbage looking at me from a rack of Lulu that day. The wounded, but not dead warrior I am, rose up from the predicted doom by the world around me. I grabbed a beautiful looking cabbage weighing about a kilogram and promptly headed home with a steely determination to prove to the universe what it really meant to be a master chef.

I reached home and in no time one of the best cabbage dishes was ready. The other great chef at home even certified it as perfect. I have lived my dream. My disturbed spirit now experiences an unparalleled bliss.

Moral of the story: Be it home or office, make mistakes, take on all the rubbish that come your way, but ensure that you live another day to prove to the world your true worth!

 

ചിരിയുടെ നോവ്

ഞാൻ വെട്ടി ഒരുക്കിയ കാനനം നിനക്ക് നടവരമ്പുകൾ ആയി, 

കല്ലും മുള്ളും നിറഞ്ഞ പാതകളിൽ നിനക്കായി ഞാൻ മെതിയടികളായി. 

എന്റെ കയ്യിൻ തഴമ്പുകൾ നിന്റെ കൈകളെ മൃദുലമാക്കി, 

ആ കൈകൾ കൊണ്ട് നിന്റെ കുഞ്ഞിന്റെ മൃദുമേനിയിൽ നീ തലോടി. 

നീ മഴ നനഞ്ഞു കുളിരാതിരിക്കാൻ കുടയായി നീ എന്നെ ചൂടി, 

കത്തിയെരിയുന്ന ജീവിതത്തിലെ മീനമാസങ്ങളിൽ തൊണ്ട വരണ്ടപ്പോഴും, 

ഞാൻ ബാക്കി വെച്ച വെള്ളം നിനക്ക് ദാഹശമനി ആയി. 

അങ്ങനെ അങ്ങനെ അങ്ങനെ ഞാൻ കരുതിവച്ച പലതും നിന്റെ ജീവിതത്തിന്റെ സ്ഥിരനിക്ഷേപങ്ങൾ ആയി. 

എങ്കിലും പഴുത്തിലകൾ വീഴുമ്പോൾ പച്ചിലകൾ ചിരിച്ചു കൊണ്ടേയിരിക്കും, 

ഒരു നാൾ മാഞ്ഞുപോകുമെന്ന് അറിയാതെയുള്ള ചിരി...

ഏട്ടത്തി പ്രാവ്

തൊണ്ണൂറുകളുടെ അവസാനം, കൃത്യമായി പറഞ്ഞാൽ 1997 ജനുവരി മാസം. ചങ്ങനാശ്ശേരി എന്ന പുരാതന നഗരത്തിലെ പ്രശസ്തമായ കലാലയങ്ങളിൽ ഒന്നായ SB കോളേജിൽ പ്രീഡിഗ്രിക്ക് പഠിക്കുന്ന കാലം. പത്തു വർഷക്കാലത്തെ സ്കൂൾ ജീവിതത്തിനു ശേഷം കലാലയ ജീവിതം എന്ന സവിശേഷമായ ആനന്ദം അനുഭവിച്ചു പോന്നിരുന്ന നാളുകൾ. 

ഈ സമയത്താണ് മലയാള സിനിമയിൽ ഒരു മഹാത്ഭുതം സംഭവിക്കുന്നത്. അനിയത്തിപ്രാവ് എന്ന പേരിൽ ഒരു സിനിമ പുറത്തിറങ്ങി. തരളിതമായ വികാരങ്ങൾ ഏറ്റവും ഭംഗിയായി പ്രേക്ഷക മനസ്സിൽ ഉണർത്തിയ സിനിമയായിരുന്നു അത്. അതോടൊപ്പം ഇന്ന് കേരളം ഭയന്നു വിറക്കുന്ന ലഹരിയുടെ മറ്റൊരു രൂപവും അന്ന് കാണാൻ സാധിച്ചു. ഭയം എന്ന വികാരത്തിന് പകരം പ്രേമം എന്ന വികാരത്തിന് കേരളം അടിമപ്പെട്ടു. അക്കാലത്ത് ജീവിച്ചിരുന്ന ഒട്ടുമിക്ക യുവ മനസ്സുകളെയും ആൺ പെൺ വ്യത്യാസമില്ലാതെ, മാസ്മരികമായ സൗന്ദര്യത്തിലൂടെയും ചടുലമായ നൃത്തച്ചുവടുകൾ കൊണ്ടും വെള്ളിത്തിരയുടെ മാന്ത്രിക ലഹരിക്ക് അടിമപ്പെടുത്തിയ ഒരു യുവ നടൻ ജനിച്ചു. പേര് കുഞ്ചാക്കോ ബോബൻ അഥവാ മലയാളികളുടെ പ്രിയപ്പെട്ട ചാക്കോച്ചൻ. ആ കാലഘട്ടത്തിൽ ചെറുപ്പക്കാരുടെ ഹൃദയങ്ങളിൽ ഇത്രയേറെ പ്രേമത്തിന്റെ വികാരങ്ങൾ മുളപ്പിച്ച ഒരു നടൻ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നോ എന്ന് ചോദിച്ചാൽ ഉത്തരം മറ്റൊന്നാവില്ല.

ചങ്ങനാശ്ശേരിയിൽ ഏഡൻസ് എന്ന പേരിൽ എൻറെ അപ്പൻ ഒരു ഐസ്ക്രീം പാർലർ തുടങ്ങിയിട്ട് ഏകദേശം 5 വർഷമായിരുന്നു. അനിയത്തിപ്രാവിന് മുമ്പ് പ്രീഡിഗ്രി കാലഘട്ടത്തിൽ ചാക്കോച്ചൻ പഠിച്ചിരുന്നത് SB കോളേജിൽ തന്നെയായിരുന്നു. അന്ന് കൂടെ പഠിച്ച സുഹൃത്തുക്കളെ കാണാനായി ഒരു ദിവസം ചാക്കോച്ചൻ ഏഡൻസിലെത്തി. അനിയത്തിപ്രാവിന്റെ റിലീസിന് ഏതാനും ദിവസങ്ങൾക്ക് ശേഷം ആയിരുന്നു അത്. കേരളം ചാക്കോച്ചനെ അറിഞ്ഞ് വരുന്നതേയുള്ളൂ. ചാക്കോച്ചൻ എത്തി, സുഹൃത്തുക്കളുമായി സംസാരിച്ചുതുടങ്ങി.

അപ്പോഴാണ് കുറച്ചപ്പുറത്ത് മാറി ഒരു ടേബിളിൽ നാലഞ്ച് യുവ സുന്ദരികൾ ഇരിക്കുന്നത് ചാക്കോച്ചൻ കാണുന്നത്. അനിയത്തിപ്രാവിന്റെ ഷൂട്ടിംഗ് സമയത്ത് എടുത്ത ഫോട്ടോസ് അടങ്ങിയ രണ്ടുമൂന്ന് ആൽബങ്ങളുമായി ആ പെൺകുട്ടികളുടെ അടുത്തേക്ക് നടന്നു. അവിടെ ചെന്ന് അവർക്ക് ആൽബം കൊടുത്തുകൊണ്ട് എല്ലാവരെയും മയക്കുന്ന ആ ചിരിയും ചിരിച്ചു അവിടെ നിന്നു. കൂട്ടത്തിലുണ്ടായിരുന്ന ഒരു കുട്ടി ആൽബം മറിച്ച് നോക്കി വിടർന്ന് മിഴികളോടുകൂടി ചാക്കോച്ചന്റെ മുഖത്ത് നോക്കി ഒരു ചോദ്യം ചോദിച്ചു:

'ഈ ഫോട്ടോയിലെ എല്ലാവരെയും ഞങ്ങൾക്ക് മനസ്സിലായി. പക്ഷേ താനാരാ?'

ഇന്ന്, അനിയത്തിപ്രാവ് ഇറങ്ങി 28 വർഷങ്ങൾക്ക് ശേഷം ചാക്കോച്ചൻ ഒരിക്കൽ കൂടി ആ പെൺകുട്ടിയെ കണ്ടുമുട്ടുകയാണെങ്കിൽ എന്തായിരിക്കും ആ കുട്ടിക്ക് പറയാനുണ്ടാവുക!