Case studies

Aeromag is a leader in aircraft deicing and glycol recycling solutions, operating across 17 airports in Canada (7), the United States (8) and the United Kingdom (2). Aeromag has always had innovations at its core and, since its beginning, has developed its own in-house software to manage operations. Deicing is a mission-critical activity that ensures aircraft safety, particularly during harsh winter conditions. As weather events intensify, this phase of ground operations plays an increasingly strategic role in maintaining on-time departures and overall airport efficiency.

With operations servicing multiple airports and over 60,000 aircraft each year, Aeromag must deliver safe, reliable, and consistent deicing services while operating in highly variable environments. Small inefficiencies can quickly scale, increasing operational risk and potentially affecting service reliability.

Deicing operations are inherently complex and highly time sensitive. Our teams continuously reconcile aircraft positioning with deicing truck assignments, glycol blend and volume adjustments based on weather conditions and aircraft models, while respecting workforce constraints such as truck availability, shift planning and mandatory breaks. During severe winter weather, when demand peaks, these decisions can quickly become a bottleneck, impacting airport flow, ground time, and departure times.

Despite having a centralized operations tool, operators made all logistic decisions manually, relying heavily on experience and training in high-pressure situations. Aeromag needed a way to transform its operational data into real time, optimized guidance to ensure aircraft deicing remained efficient, and consistently executed at scale.

Vooban developed features to optimize Aeromag’s deicing operations. One of them is a predictive module that adjusts the optimal glycol mix for each aircraft based on its type and current weather conditions. The other feature, powered by AI, focuses on optimizing the scheduling and sequencing of deicing activities by accounting for operational constraints such as truck availability, workforce planning, and aircraft type.

All features are integrated into the next generation of Aeromag’s operations software, GestOp. The software replaces manual decision-making with AI-driven recommendations, simplifies workflows through a decision-support module, and centralizes operational data into a single system. This enables ground teams to act quickly and consistently, improving efficiency and scalability across Aeromag’s airport operations.

The deployment of GestOp AI is already delivering measurable results in real world operations. In just under three months, Aeromag achieved an average reduction of 1 minute per deicing operation at the YUL and YEG airports compared with the previous season. This could reach 1 minute and 30 seconds per aircraft with the automation feature, equivalent to 150 hours per season, depending on the size of the operation.

Beyond lowering operational costs, GestOp AI enhances Aeromag’s operational performance, improves efficiency, and strengthens safety. Improved ground flow leads to lower fuel consumption, reduced GHG emissions, and smoother airport operations. The software also enables faster execution of actions and enhances security. By embedding AI directly into daily operations, Aeromag continues its legacy of innovation in deicing technologies while positioning itself as a trusted partner that delivers measurable ROI, operational safety, and environmental impact.

With GestOp AI, Aeromag demonstrates that innovation, efficiency, and sustainability can coexist on the tarmac.