The Business Case for eAIP in 2026: How CAAs Can Prove ROI

<h2>Introduction</h2><p>In 2026 Civil Aviation Authorities face pressure to modernise aeronautical information management while controlling budgets and demonstrating measurable value. Moving from PDF centric AIP publishing to a structured electronic AIP platform is an investment that must show clear returns. This article provides a practical framework for building a business case, quantifying benefits and risks, and running a pilot that proves value quickly. It also explains how FlyClim eAIP features align with each ROI driver so authorities can accelerate impact.</p><h2>Why prove ROI now</h2><p>Regulatory expectations, real time operations and rising demand for machine readable feeds mean publishers must deliver accurate, timely and auditable aeronautical data. Budget owners need evidence that modernisation reduces cost, reduces operational risk, and improves service to airlines and ANSPs. A defensible ROI makes it easier to secure funding, to prioritise scope, and to engage stakeholders.</p><h2>Primary value streams to quantify</h2><p>Focus on concrete areas where eAIP delivers operational and financial benefits.</p><ul><li>Reduced editorial time and manual work Lower rekeying and fewer correction cycles reduce staff hours</li><li>Fewer post publication corrections Each prevented error saves coordination, reissue overhead and potential safety review time</li><li>Faster AIRAC and amendment cycles Reduced latency between approval and publication improves operational alignment and reduces disruption costs for airlines and ANSPs</li><li>Reduced integration cost for consumers APIs and standard exports lower support and onboarding effort for third parties</li><li>Lower procurement and hosting costs with multi tenant or managed services compared to bespoke legacy systems</li><li>Improved compliance and audit readiness Less time spent preparing evidence for inspections and fewer deficiencies noted by auditors</li></ul><h2>How to build a quantitative model</h2><p>Keep the model simple and defensible. Use three core building blocks.</p><ol><li><strong>Baseline costs</strong> Estimate current annual costs for editorial staff, contractor hours for data rekeying, charting and export tasks, hosting and maintenance, and the time spent resolving publication errors.</li><li><strong>Expected benefits</strong> Estimate percent reductions from automation and validation for each cost category. Use conservative assumptions such as 30 percent reduction in rekeying and 20 percent reduction in correction cycles for an initial pilot.</li><li><strong>Implementation costs</strong> Include licence or subscription fees, migration effort, training and one off integration work. Account for ongoing support and periodic enhancements.</li></ol><p>Example simple calculation over three years</p><ul><li>Baseline annual AIM cost 600,000 in staff and contractors</li><li>Estimated first year reduction 20 percent equals 120,000 saved</li><li>Implementation year one cost 200,000 including migration and training</li><li>Net first year result negative 80,000 but by year two repeated savings yield payback and by year three cumulative savings exceed implementation costs</li></ul><h2>Key performance indicators to track</h2><p>Use operational KPIs that align to stakeholder priorities and that are easy to measure.</p><ul><li>Time to publish amendment measured in hours from final approval to live feed</li><li>Editorial hours per AIRAC cycle</li><li>Number of post publication corrections per quarter</li><li>Percentage of downstream consumers using API feeds rather than manual imports</li><li>Average time to onboard a navigation database supplier or airline integration</li></ul><h2>Run a low risk pilot that proves value</h2><p>Start small and deliver measurable wins quickly.</p><ol><li>Select a high impact area such as aerodrome data or a set of instrument procedures</li><li>Define success metrics such as reduction in editorial time and reduction in correction events</li><li>Implement a short pilot covering one AIRAC cycle with the chosen modules and with a small set of downstream consumers on a sandbox feed</li><li>Measure outcomes and capture lessons learned then expand scope based on measured benefits</li></ol><h2>How FlyClim eAIP maps to ROI drivers</h2><p>FlyClim eAIP is designed to convert operational capability into economic value across the areas above.</p><ul><li><strong>Automated validation and Annex 15 alignment</strong> Prevents many common data errors at authoring time which reduces post publication corrections and audit overhead</li><li><strong>AIRAC automation and version control</strong> Treats AIP modules as versioned objects and automates effective date management which speeds release cycles and reduces coordination effort</li><li><strong>NOTAM integration and event driven exports</strong> Links AIP changes to NOTAM creation and publishes webhooks and API feeds which reduces conflicting messages and saves manual reconciliation work</li><li><strong>Multi format export</strong> Provides JSON, XML and professional PDF exports from the same authoritative repository which eliminates duplicate work and lowers production costs</li><li><strong>APIs and sandbox feeds</strong> Let downstream consumers validate ingest before a release which reduces support calls and onboarding time</li><li><strong>Multi tenant and managed deployment options</strong> Offer cost effective hosting and shared services for regional programmes which reduce capital expenditure and operating costs</li><li><strong>Enterprise security and audit trails</strong> Reduce time spent preparing compliance evidence and lower the likelihood of regulator findings that drive remediation expense</li></ul><p>For feature details visit the eAIP platform at https://eaip.flyclim.com and the FlyClim company site at https://flyclim.com</p><h2>Risk and sensitivity considerations</h2><p>Be explicit about risks and run sensitivity tests. Common variables include lower than expected adoption by downstream consumers, hidden legacy data quality issues that increase migration effort, and integration complexity for specialised third party systems. Use conservative estimates and include contingency budgets for data cleansing and integration testing.</p><h2>Decision checklist for procurement and stakeholders</h2><ol><li>Have you measured baseline editorial effort and correction volume?</li><li>Do you have at least one downstream consumer willing to test a sandbox API feed?</li><li>Have you included data cleansing and migration hours in the implementation estimate?</li><li>Is there a clear governance owner for AIRAC and NOTAM processes during transition?</li><li>Do procurement and legal agree a deployment option that meets data sovereignty needs?</li></ol><h2>Conclusion and next steps</h2><p>Building a sound business case for eAIP is practical and incremental. Start with a focused pilot that measures a small set of KPIs, use conservative financial assumptions, and expand as measurable benefits accrue. FlyClim eAIP offers the features authorities need to convert operational improvements into tangible savings and to demonstrate ROI to budget owners and regulators. To discuss a pilot or to request a customised ROI template contact me at davide@flyclim.com or visit https://eaip.flyclim.com for a demo and platform details.</p>