How Does The Aviation Sector Save Millions Using Blockchain?Posted by Varun Bhagat on December 7th, 2020 Blockchain technology is fascinating, innovative, and impactful; and conceptually it is a type of database. Whilst traditionally data resides on a central infrastructure, with back-ups and redundancy measures, the Blockchain technology embraces a distributed architecture. In simple terms the Blockchain technology is a decentralized database, additionally leveraging crowd computing and infrastructure. Role of Blockchain in the Aviation IndustryThe aviation industry involves the services of many entities such as aircraft manufacturers, airports, airlines, aircraft spare parts manufacturers, and aircraft ground handlers. Blockchain technology has gained much admiration because of its distributed decentralized operations. 1. Securing Customers Loyalty ProgramsA customer loyalty program, also known as frequent flyer miles, offers financial benefits to the frequent flying passengers for using the airline services. Current systems that manage customer loyalty programs face several challenges such as reward low redemption rate, high maintenance cost, and threats to data loss. In 2017, 11% of the data theft attacks targeted loyalty accounts. Also, current systems are over-complicated and tend to benefit business organizations rather than customers. It is estimated that due to the complex redeeming method, 36% of the travelers do not redeem the loyalty reward. Traditional customer loyalty programs require passengers to wait until adequate points are accumulated to claim the reward. Also, traditional systems present limited transparency in generating, redeeming, or transferring loyalty points to users. Blockchain ensures that no airline, hackers, or even any third party responsible to Manage and control the loyalty accounts can modify redemption rules or tokens earned by the passengers. The traceability feature facilitates assembling trusted data provenance related to redemption. The operational transparency, visibility, and traceability can trace the history of every earned loyalty point. 2. Digitizing Crew CertificationBlockchain technology can create an opportunity for the aviation industry to digitize the certificates of the aircrew to handle the aforementioned issues. Using blockchain, the certificates, experience, and skills of an individual can be accessed and verified in real-time with fewer efforts. Similarly, blockchain technology can employ traceability features to eliminate any data discrepancies to foster trust among stakeholders of the aviation industry. Authentication of crew certification on the blockchain can eliminate the chances of fake certificates and aircraft crashing incidents. Accessing pilot skills and experience data that is stored on a blockchain can increase the passengers’ trust. However, authenticating crew certification using blockchain is a complex process and It requires the high cooperation of several organizations. For instance, a flight school registered on the blockchain can verify the authenticity of an acclaimed certificate to cooperate with aviation authorities to identify fake certificates. 3. Real-time Baggage and Cargo TrackingInformation communication technology (ICT) services help airlines to keep track of their valuable assets such as passenger baggage or aircraft during flight operations. Blockchain technology can empower an airline company to transparently and securely update the records on the ledger as these assets change their ownership or organization’s custody. For instance, to digitize cargo shipment, blockchain technology registers all shipment items, monitoring sensors, carriers, and shippers onto the blockchain platform. The sensors collect data such as the location of the cargo and disseminate this information to the server to store it on the ledger for high visibility. It can also capture the temperature, humidity, and condition of the items packed inside the shipping package for safety purposes. 4. Securing Identity Management and Air TicketingThe centralized systems are insecure as the identity of an individual can be forged and used to perform fraudulent activities. Identity management refers to the technologies to identify, authenticate, and authorize entities to access certain services. The access requests of the entities are granted after a successful authentication check to transact on the blockchain. The immutability of records on the blockchain assures that the credentials of a registered entity cannot tamper with. Blockchain technology can tokenize the traditional electronic and paper-based ticketing to minimize the chances of tickets-forging. Blockchain technology provides a single source of truth to all stakeholders in the air ticketing service to eliminate the chances of duplicate ticket selling and purchasing. Being a consensus algorithm governed by distributed technology, it verifies the authenticity and correctness of the tickets. Moreover, based on smart contracts, users can be assisted for a timely cash refund if a passenger wants to cancel the purchased ticket. The smart contracts deployed on the blockchain platform can automate the ticket transferring process for airlines alliance. Moreover, through smart contracts, the passengers can be immediately notified about the canceled flight. In such a scenario, passengers do not need to wait for a long time as smart contracts can quickly transfer the reimbursed amount to the passenger’s wallet. 5. Automating Airport Collaborative Decision MakingThe congestion at airports has increased significantly due to a notable increase in commercial aircraft. The airport collaborative decision-making (ACDM) team aims to optimally and efficiently utilize available airport resources to minimize service delays. The success of ACDM highly depends on the transparency of the shared information among stakeholders in the aviation industry such as ground handlers, air traffic controllers, and airport operators. ACDM exploits many entities that capture, process, communicate, and design plans for efficient utilization of scarce airport resources. However, traditional ACDM systems are prone to a single point of failure and offer limited operational transparency to stakeholders. Moreover, the captured data from the aviation entities could be incorrect due to the low precision and accuracy of sensors employed to collect data. It is believed that blockchain technology can use smart contracts to authenticate entities and verify the data based on the stand-with-majority approach. Blockchain technology provides a single source of truth to all stakeholders in the air ticketing service to eliminate the chances of duplicate ticket selling and purchasing. Being a consensus algorithm governed by distributed technology, it verifies the authenticity and correctness of the tickets. Moreover, based on smart contracts, users can be assisted for a timely cash refund if a passenger wants to cancel the purchased ticket. Final wordsSo after going through the whole blog you might be almost aware of how blockchain technology is playing an important role in the aviation industry. Well, Blockchain has served various sectors due to its high securing features and functionalities. So, if you are looking to get this kind of secured service, you need to contact the best Blockchain development company in India from where you can get the best service at the best cost. Good luck! Like it? Share it!More by this author |