As we launch new updates to our leading IROPS Dashboard, we sat down with Gemma Maidlow, Head of Product Solutions at 15below, to discuss the latest advancements and the future of disruption management. With her extensive experience working directly with airline operations teams across the globe, Gemma plays a key role in shaping solutions that support airlines in managing disruptions more efficiently. 

In this Question & Answer session, Gemma talks about the challenges airlines face, how the IROPS Dashboard is evolving to meet these challenges, and what new features mean for operations teams. Whether you’re a current user or just discovering the dashboard, this is an opportunity to learn more about how these updates can help your team manage disruptions with greater control and confidence.

Read on to explore how these improvements will support your operations and keep you ahead of the curve in an ever-changing environment.

Q1) You’ve spent a lot of time working directly with airline operations teams. What have you learned from those experiences and how have these visits impacted the development of the IROPS Dashboard?

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to visit Operations Centres across the globe, from major hubs to regional carriers. These visits are invaluable. They allow us to see first-hand how teams operate under pressure, how decisions are made, and where there’s friction in the process. One of the biggest takeaways is how much operations teams care. They’re incredibly dedicated, but often held back by manual processes and disconnected systems. The sheer number of systems used to manage an airline’s operation leads to a fragmented approach and ultimately a slowdown in comms and processes.

The most successful operations centres I’ve seen are those where all parts of the operation are closely connected, where teams from aircraft engineering to customer comms can communicate quickly and clearly. That level of integration makes a huge difference in how disruption is handled.

That’s exactly what we’ve aimed to support with the IROPS Dashboard. By bringing the right tools into one place, we’re helping operations teams work more easily, make decisions faster, and stay consistent in the face of disruption, giving them the confidence to act quickly, even during high-pressure events.

Q2) What are the most common challenges you see airline operations teams facing when it comes to disruption?

Disruption is inherently complex. There are so many moving parts - aircraft, crew, weather, air traffic control, and of course, the passengers. When something goes wrong, the pressure to respond quickly is huge, especially when legislation requires timely communication.

The most common challenges we see are delays in getting the right information to the right people (airline staff and customers), difficulty maintaining a clear audit trail, and a lack of visibility across teams and systems.  

Bringing in accurate reporting that allows an airline to see what happened in the moment, even years after a flight, as had a significant impact. It helps airlines respond quickly to customer claims and complaints, ultimately improving NPS and customer satisfaction.

That’s why we built the IROPS dashboard in the first place, to bring everything into one place but in a way that actually aligns with how airlines work. It’s been a huge success since its launch, but we knew there was more we could do to address the evolving challenges operations teams face when managing an IROP.

Q3) How has feedback from the airline community influenced this latest release?

Our customer community plays a massive role in shaping the product. We don’t build in a vacuum, we listen. Whether it’s through roadmap sessions, feedback during demos, or daily conversations with airline teams, we prioritise enhancements that solve real problems.  

For this release, we had incredibly valuable input from both current dashboard users and the wider customer community, helping us prioritise the features and functionality they really need. That included requests for a more flexible operational checklist, better flight filtering, and improvements to customer notification workflows.  

Their insights directly influenced the design and development of the new features. Alongside the external feedback, our internal process focuses on usability making sure that anything and everything we build is just easy to use. We’re very proud to make these updates available to the industry.

Q4) What makes the IROPS Dashboard such a powerful tool for operations teams?

It brings everything together in one place. Instead of toggling between systems, the IROPS Dashboard gives airline teams a single view of all disruption-related activity: flight status, notification history, operational notes, checklists.  

It’s designed to help users make decisions quickly and confidently, reduce handover friction between shifts, and maintain a clear and auditable log of what’s been done. And because it’s built with flexibility in mind, it supports a wide range of operational structures and user needs.  

It’s a tool that benefits everyone, from OCC teams to passengers, and ultimately the airline’s reputation and bottom line.

Q5) What’s next for the 15below IROPS Dashboard, and how will future updates continue to support airlines in managing disruption?

This release is just the beginning. We’ve got a clear roadmap ahead, including a new Alert Centre to give even greater control and quicker interaction with events. And as always, that roadmap is shaped by our customer community.  

We’ll keep listening, testing, and refining to make sure the dashboard keeps evolving with the industry. If any airline wants to see what’s possible, the best thing to do is book a demo - we’d love to show what the dashboard can do and hear how we can make it work even better for you. 

See the IROPS Dashboard in Action

The IROPS Dashboard is proving to be more than just a tool, it is a comprehensive solution that transforms operations. By streamlining processes, enhancing communication, and providing real-time data, the dashboard empowers teams to respond with greater efficiency and confidence.

The development of the IROPS Dashboard doesn’t stop with these new improvements. With ongoing feedback from airline teams and a clear roadmap for future updates, 15below remains committed to refining the dashboard to meet the evolving demands of the industry. Whether it’s improving response times, ensuring compliance, or boosting customer satisfaction, the IROPS Dashboard is designed to support airline as much as possible at these critical times.

To find out how the enhanced IROPS Dashboard can make a real difference to your disruption management, get in touch to arrange a demo. Our team will guide you through the new features and show how they can help you improve communication, streamline processes, and ultimately improve the airline’s reputation and bottom line.