Leadership on Ligiu Uiorean

We are working through the design of a new performance-linked bonus at AirportLabs.

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:23:36 +0000

We are working through the design of a new performance-linked bonus at AirportLabs.

I walked into that conversation expecting the usual questions. How do we hit the targets. How big are the numbers.

That is not what happened. The team spent the time on a different question. Is this the right incentive, or are we trading long-term sustainability for a short-term number.

I have been building this company for eleven years. You can hire for a lot of things. That instinct, to protect the long game when there is money on the table, is not one you can write into a job description.

Division of Labour in the Time of AI

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 12:28:38 +0000

Adam Smith opened The Wealth of Nations with a pin factory. One untrained worker makes a handful of pins a day. Ten workers, each doing one of eighteen steps, make tens of thousands. Specialisation won, and for almost 250 years it kept winning, anywhere the work was repetitive enough to split.

The part people skip is Smith’s warning. A person confined to a few simple operations, he wrote, becomes “as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a human creature to become.” In software we have a gentler word for it. We call it a hand-off.

What is an acquisition?

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 11:09:48 +0000

It is the moment a company with 3,000 engineers announces it needed to buy 30 engineers to ship a feature.

And the moment those 30 engineers announce they would rather have the money now than the product later.

𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞

Every acquisition announcement is two press releases in one. The official one says synergy, vision, accelerated roadmap. The unofficial one says two quieter things.

A "Black Swan" used to be the rare event that reshaped a season.

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:40:28 +0000

A “Black Swan” used to be the rare event that reshaped a season. In 2026 it is the operating reality of every week.

Our team published something today that I have been wanting to write for a while: Resilience over Recovery: The AODB’s Role in Managing “Black Swan” Events.

The argument is simple. The industry is shifting from recovery (how fast do we get back to normal) to resilience (how do we absorb shocks without breaking). ICAO has named the shift. ACI World’s 2026 priority report demands “heightened authority on data and innovation.” Eurocontrol’s Seven-Year Forecast (2026–2032) tells us European airspace has shrunk by roughly 6% since 2019, forcing systemic rerouting and constant volatility across the corridors that remain.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) just published one of the clearest articulations of where leading airports are headed, and it is the model that AirportLabs customers are already running.

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 07:06:59 +0000

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) just published one of the clearest articulations of where leading airports are headed, and it is the model that AirportLabs customers are already running.

In “The AI Nervous System Guiding Leading Airports” (20 April), BCG describes an AI-based digital nervous system: a shared data layer and single plan operating model that sits above core systems, turning fragmented data into one source of operational truth.

Three capabilities make it work: → A Shared Operational Picture across flights, ground, passengers, baggage, retail, and facilities. → Predictive Intelligence embedded in daily planning, not sitting in a sandbox. → Integrated Decision Making in a digital APOC, with aligned decision rights and cadences.

Following the recent events in the Middle East, I watched the AirportLabs team step up with a level of commitment that honestly blew me away.

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:53:43 +0000

Following the recent events in the Middle East, I watched the AirportLabs team step up with a level of commitment that honestly blew me away. No prompts, no hesitation - just pure dedication to supporting our airport partners when they needed it most.

It led me to a humbling realisation. My primary responsibility as a leader isn’t just to “manage” this team.

It’s to build a company that actually deserves them.

Apparently there's a tension in tech right now: companies are adopting AI fast, and at the same time cutting the pipeline of junior talent.

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:54:46 +0000

Apparently there’s a tension in tech right now: companies are adopting AI fast, and at the same time cutting the pipeline of junior talent. The logic seems to be that AI handles the simple work, so you only need seniors.

I don’t buy that.

At AirportLabs, AI is part of how we work - from business analysis to code to operations. We’re not experimenting; it’s in production.

But we’re also growing juniors, every year, because we’ve been doing this for eleven years and we know what it takes to build a team that lasts. Seniors don’t appear from nowhere. They come from juniors who got real projects, real responsibility, and real mentorship. Juniors that learn to use tools, including tools like AI.

We just had one month with 0 critical incidents across hundreds of production systems.

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 11:29:55 +0000

We just had one month with 0 critical incidents across hundreds of production systems.

This isn’t by accident. It’s the result of a conscious decision to prioritize “built-in quality” from the very beginning.

In the early days of AirportLabs, scaling our support team was a major concern. I worried about the cost, the potential for high turnover, and the impact on our company culture and customer experience. But I soon discovered that investing in deep, pervasive quality was a far better strategy.

In the fast-paced world of aviation SaaS, talent is a prized asset.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:54:27 +0000

At AirportLabs, I’ve always believed in nurturing homegrown talent, offering internships that provide hands-on experience and a pathway to a fulfilling career. I was genuinely surprised to discover that 10 years later, a remarkable 23% of our current team members started as interns with us!

But there’s more to the story.

SaaS isn’t just about writing code. It’s a multifaceted endeavor that demands a diverse skill set. We’re not just building software; we’re solving intricate business problems that require a deep understanding of the industry, its regulations, and the unique challenges faced by our customers, as well as the evolving landscape of problems and challenges.

At the Dubai Airport Show, I had an incredible opportunity to meet a true leader in UAE aviation, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Tue, 14 May 2024 14:01:22 +0000

At the Dubai Airport Show, I had an incredible opportunity to meet a true leader in UAE aviation, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. His visit to the AirportLabs booth was a humbling experience, especially considering my 16 years working within the UAE’s aviation sector.

During our conversation, I had the honor of presenting the services AirportLabs provides to Dubai Airports and how our work contributes to the continued success of this region’s air travel hub.

AirportLabs is 8 today and I thought it’s a good time to look at where we’ve been and think of where we’re heading.

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:20:03 +0000

AirportLabs is 8 today and I thought it’s a good time to look at where we’ve been and think of where we’re heading.

First some general facts:

• We managed to build and implement 9 products¹ (and I really mean products with everything a product entails) - each one more complex than the previous, but all of them with a focus to make aviation more efficient and accessible to a larger population. • There wouldn’t be an AirportLabs if it weren’t for the people who make it up. There’s almost 70 of us now. Each team member is a well rounded individual who believes in achievement, in hard work and who has a winning attitude. This is what makes the services we offer great. • We’re improving aviation on 3 continents now.