Aviation data management: Simplifying AIXM workflows using FME

Managing aviation data is complex, especially when paired with strict requirements for data formatting and reporting. For Swedavia, the operator of ten major airports in Sweden, this challenge required a smart, automated approach.

In a recent webinar, experts from Sweco and Safe Software demonstrated how Swedavia used FME to deliver high-quality, regulation-compliant AIXM (Aeronautical Information Exchange Model) data without the high cost and rigidity of traditional aviation software.

For a deep dive into this topic, watch the webinar, Smarter Aviation Data Management: Lessons from Swedavia Airports and Sweco.

Aviation data challenges: Complex data, high costs, and more

Swedavia needed to deliver periodic updates of aeronautical information to the European AIS Database (EAD) in the form of AIXM PERMDELTAs. The updates needed to be accurate, compliant with complex schema and business rules, and produced regularly with minimal manual intervention.

Siloed information and data quality requirements are common issues in aviation data management, but their challenges were even more than that. For example:

• High costs of specialized AIXM tools and systems
• Manual workflows prone to errors and delays
• Difficulty managing complex datasets like airspace and airport infrastructure
• Meeting strict regulatory requirements from aviation authorities
• Poor integration between tools and internal applications

Creating automated, scalable aviation workflows

Using FME, they designed a data integration solution to automate AIXM data delivery, merge and manage airspace datasets, support periodic updates and extracts, and meet strict aviation regulatory standards. To achieve this, they leveraged several features, including:

• REST API integration to trigger and manage data export jobs
• Automated validation of schema and business rules
• Modular workspaces for each AIXM feature class (56 in total)
• Custom transformers to simplify and standardize logic across FME workspaces

Due to restrictions on direct database access, the team used WFS (Web Feature Service) as the primary data source. They built a master workspace to orchestrate the process and invoked child workspaces to handle each AIXM feature class. These generated XML files were then validated and packaged into zipped datasets for delivery. The architecture was designed for flexibility, allowing Swedavia to trigger exports via their own web interface or directly from FME Flow.

Schema and business rule validation

A critical part of the solution was validating the schema and business rules. For example, the solution had to ensure correct structure, namespaces, and required fields, along with over 2,000 conditional rules enforced by EAD, like requiring specific object classes based on attribute values.

To handle these, the team implemented custom transformers using regex and string replacers for post-processing XML, bookmark templates to visually manage rule logic, and rule extraction from XML templates rather than from less-structured Excel documents. Their approach drastically reduced the number of unique rules from 2,000+ to just 31 essential ones, making the process more maintainable.

Enhancing the AIXM reader: New capabilities in FME 2025

To keep FME at the forefront of aviation data management solutions, we’ve added several enhancements to FME’s AIXM 5.X reader. New features for 2025 include:

• Support for link geometries, like referencing shared international boundaries via GeoBorders.
• Better geodesic arc handling, important for accurate spatial representations over long distances.
• Cleaner rendering and data extraction out-of-the-box, reducing the need for manual transformation logic.

These updates dramatically simplify the reading and interpretation of complex AIXM datasets, ensuring that airspace definitions match real-world legal boundaries without the need for dozens of extra transformers.

Key takeaways for aviation data professionals

Here are a few key points we learned from this discussion with Sweco:

• Automation is essential: Replacing manual AIXM data creation with automated FME workflows improves accuracy and cuts costs.
• Customizability matters: Modular, templated workspaces allow for scalable and maintainable solutions.
• Validation is critical: Use both schema and business rule validation to ensure compliance with aviation regulations.
• Stay updated: FME’s new 5X reader introduces crucial enhancements for working with AIXM data, especially for complex geometries.

Swedavia’s journey offers a valuable blueprint for airports and aviation agencies worldwide looking to modernize their data infrastructure without sacrificing quality or compliance.

Resources

Learn more about Data Integration for Airports and Aviation.

Documentation: FME AIXM5.x Reader 

Webinar: Overcoming the Complexities of AIXM with Data Integration

Tutorial: AIXM Reading Writing and Validation

Case Studies: FME Customer Gallery – Airports and Aviation