Coordination Lead
Elliot – Coordination Lead
How long have you been in your current role?
“I have been a Coordination Lead since January 2025. I was promoted from being a Coordinator and I have been based in the Dubai Office since July 2019. After initially working on LGW, EDI, LUX, BFS, BHD, I moved to the DXB, DWC, STN, JER, SOU team in September 2018. I am also the PowerBI Lead in the Coordination Team.”
Please describe your role at ACL.
“I lead a team of three ensuring that slots are allocated fairly and transparently, in line the UK Slot Regulation and the Worldwide Airport Guidelines, and the airports’ Capacity Declarations and Local Rules. We sit between the airport and airline, parting experience, and knowledge on what best practice looks like and advising how to achieve this, as well as driving solution-based problem solving. As I have been based in Dubai for the last 7 years, I have accrued a large contact list and deal with many global, regional, and local airlines from many different countries and cultures on daily basis. I regularly teach and educate people about the allocation and management of slots and the Coordination Process. I also ensure the different stages of the Coordination Cycle are completed to deadline, twice a year, and in line with ACL’s leading industry standards. This includes the Initial allocation of slots and travelling to the IATA Slot Conference.”
What does a typical day look like for you?
“With a four-hour time difference in Winter between the UAE and the UK, a typical day starts with looking at the overnight slot requests and allocating them within the available runway, terminal and other parts of the airport infrastructure, capacity. I will have meetings with airlines and airport teams to discuss slot problems, slot performance, and upcoming infrastructure works. I regularly speak with Emirates and flydubai, who are the base carriers in DXB, via Microsoft Teams or in person meetings. In the afternoon, I work with my team and the wider Coordination Team to discuss workload and undertake tasks related to the UK airports in our team. We discuss Night Slots at STN, how do we manage operational issues such as a lack of stand availability from Coordination perspective, or improving processes and initiating innovative solutions to deliver Coordination Excellence using data through PowerBI or through streamlining communication and taking a proactive approach to our airport and airlines customers.”
What’s your favourite part about working at ACL?
“My favourite part about working for ACL is that every day is different. A planned day can go out of the window when an event occurs, such as a weather event which negatively impacts an airport, or an urgent problem which requires attention and a solution. The mixture of allocating slots, helping airlines to find solutions, particularly when sometimes it feels we may not achieve a positive outcome, gives me a high, whilst also pushing PowerBI forward and creating new Dashboards for our customers is very satisfying. I also enjoy working as a team immensely, as we achieve a significant output for a very small company. We work with some of the largest airports and airlines in aviation, and we really do make a positive impact!”
Describe a memorable time at ACL.
“I have really enjoyed working on events at ACL. While being in the UK on leave in the period of mourning for the death of Queen Elizabeth II, I was asked if I would like to be involved in coordinating VVIP arrivals and departures for the State Funeral. I was very humbled to be asked, and it was an honour to be a very small part of the occasion. Likewise, leading our response to COP28 in Dubai, allowed me to use my experience and knowledge from London Bridge to advise the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE and COP28 committees about the pitfalls of VVIPs arriving and departing from around the world in a short amount of time.”
Do you have any advice for a new starter?
“If you were like me and did not know how airlines obtain the timings on their tickets before applying for a role at ACL and want to know more, and if you have an eye for data and/or a love for aviation, this definitely is a place to develop your knowledge and skills further. Personal development and progression are at the heart of ACL with different opportunities and experiences to be fulfilled. Be open and inquisitive. If you have some of these or all these things, your time at ACL will be very enlightening and enjoyable!”