CASE STUDY: A digital transformation for Atlantic Airways

Author: Randi Reinert, Compliance Monitoring Manager, Atlantic Airways

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Randi Reinert, Compliance Monitoring Manager at Atlantic Airways, explains how the Faroe Islands’ airline implemented one solution to digitalize all manuals and documents—and to monitor compliance

Before we go into the main subject of this case study, I’ll first set the scene by introducing Atlantic Airways.

ATLANTIC AIRWAYS
We are a small operator, based in the Faroe Islands in the middle of the North Atlantic. Some people call it “the middle of nowhere,” but we prefer to call it “the center of the world.” We are located between the North Shetland Islands and Iceland, and just west of Norway, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

That remoteness means the nearest alternate is one hour and ten minutes away. Our alternates are typically Keflavik in Iceland, and Bergen or Stavanger in Norway. Diversions do not happen often, but they do occur from time to time due to our location — where, as we say in the Faroes, the Gods are playing with the weather. We face crosswinds, fog, and many other conditions that can make operations a challenge.
On the map, the destinations marked in blue are the routes we operate — some only in summer, some only in winter. The destinations marked in white are charter operations. The photograph in Figure 2 shows the Faroes in winter.

Figure 2

We do everything we can to digitalize all aspects of our operation — including performance with RNP (Required Navigation Performance) 0.1 AR (Approval Required). Atlantic Airways was the first airline in Europe to achieve this, and it has helped us tremendously in managing performance. Vágar Airport is remote (see picture), and the Faroe Islands represent a challenging environment, with a population of only 55,000 people. In fact, one might argue that it should not even be possible to maintain an airline with such a small population base. Nevertheless, Atlantic Airways was established in 1988 and today employs around 180 staff in the winter, rising to 250 or more in peak season — as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3

From our head office at Vágar Airport in the Faroes, we operate six aircraft — four fixed‑wing and two helicopters. We fly scheduled routes and charter as well as HEMS/SAR (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service / Search and Rescue), hoist and sling. As the islands’ only aircraft operator, we truly do it all. We also operate our own Part-145 maintenance organization — a necessity in a remote island setting like ours, where external support is limited. Alongside this, we run an ATO (Approved Training Organization). Most recently, we established a state-of-the-art simulator centre, featuring an Augusta Westland 139 certified helicopter simulator, a hoist simulator for rescue crews equipped with mixed-reality goggles, and an Airbus A320 simulator with both CEO and NEO engine configurations. In a remote environment, self-sufficiency is essential.

THE NEED TO DIGITALIZE
With a population of only 55,000, sourcing aviation expertise locally was a constant challenge. This reality made digitalization not just beneficial but essential, particularly for managing documentation, manuals, and compliance. At the time, however, much of our work still depended on manual processes. Manuals and compliance were handled through paper-based or fragmented systems, while other departments relied on their own separate tools. The result was a patchwork of processes that created unnecessary complexity, inefficiency, and the risk of inconsistency.

Recognizing the need for change, we initiated a Management of Change (MoC) process. It began with a collaborative brainstorming session, where we asked ourselves a simple but defining question: “What do we need?” That moment became the starting point for rethinking how we could modernize and streamline our operations through digital solutions. The conclusion, as shown in Figure 4, was clear: we needed one system, one solution, to simplify our processes throughout the operation.

Figure 4

As we expanded into a new market with full flight simulators, it became clear that we needed a centralized system for managing all documentation. This system had to cover several critical requirements: a read‑and‑sign function; the ability to apply time limits to documents and automated reminders for document renewal or removal.
Offline availability was also essential: the system had to be accessible on EFBs in the cockpit, on our phones in our pockets, and available at all times — 24/7/365. It also had to allow users to enter the system with access to specific manuals.

A further challenge was regulatory approval. The solution had to be accepted by our Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which remains an ongoing process. While some inspectors have already embraced the system, others are more hesitant, and we continue to work towards achieving full approval for all our manuals within the platform. We also required a solution that could support email communication and enable compliance monitoring. In practice, the system became like an extra colleague, assisting me with compliance monitoring and linking directly into my audit program.

SELECTING A DIGITAL DOCUMENT AND COMPLIANCE PROVIDER
With all these needs to meet, we explored the market. There are many manual providers, but we selected Web Manuals to be our sole provider.

Figure 5

PREPARING FOR IMPLEMENTATION
If you put two people around a table and ask them how a manual tree should look, or about design and font, that’s a simple task. But I didn’t have two people — I had eight, one from each department — and it was a struggle to reach agreement. Everyone had their own preferences, and when it comes to design and fonts, everybody has an opinion. It was a challenge, but in the end we managed to agree. We then moved on to defining accessibility: who should be able to see what. The system allows this to be set. Readers were only to see their own area, management had slightly broader access, and administrators could see everything.

IMPLEMENTATION
Then we had to transfer everything into Web Manuals, and that was when I began to wonder whether we could actually manage it. We had a lot of manuals — remembering that we are both a helicopter and fixed‑wing operator. In other words, we had two of everything, but we had to make it work.

We also set up a project to link compliance to the documentation. I reassigned a pilot who had temporarily lost his medical clearance and placed him behind a desk to work on the operational manuals. I brought in another person to help with other manuals, and I did a lot myself. It was time‑consuming, but we got through it. We went through all the auditors’ requirements, every hard law and soft law, and we used this to create an Excel sheet that we then implemented into Web Manuals for all the document headings. During our 2023 audit, the auditors marked where every requirement was covered in the manuals. It took them longer that year, but they checked every heading and requirement because it all had to be implemented and documented.

We received help and transferred all the documents, then double‑checked in Web Manuals to ensure everything was there and correct. It is essential to process this carefully so that you don’t end up missing chapters or paragraphs. This step alone took months. Once it was complete, we moved on to training. We trained the administrators first. In larger airlines, there are often dedicated editorial departments, but we are a small company. Here, each manager maintains their own manual, so they were all made editors. Everyone had to learn how to use the system on their phones and iPads. In addition, all managers had to learn how to use the compliance function inside Web Manuals. So, we carried out extensive training, and finally we ran the old system and the new system in parallel for about a month, just to make sure everything was working properly.

Transferring documents
More than 6000 pages were transferred into Web Manuals. The Web Manuals team supported us by collecting Word files, PDFs, and other types of documentation from our different systems, and uploading them into Web Manuals. At the time of writing, we have more than 1,300 documents in the system, and we don’t use it only for manuals. We also store all our forms, minutes of meetings, and checklists. Of course, we can create a full manual in the system, but we can also simply drag in a file or add a hyperlink. This means we also host manuals from our ground‑handling operations — including manuals from other airlines — accessible through links in Web Manuals. Most importantly, the system works.

COMPLIANCE MONITORING
Now I want to take you through the area I’m most passionate about: compliance monitoring, starting with Figure 6.

Compliance monitoring in the past

Figure 6

This was a while ago, but some readers will remember when we used an Excel sheet or similar, with all the regulations listed, which you had to keep updated manually. It was extremely time‑consuming. Remember, I oversee all these departments: EASA AIR OPS, Aircrew including the ATO and simulator, Continuing Airworthiness — both CAMO and Part‑145 — and IOSA. Yes, everything. It was simply too much. I wanted a system that could support my compliance monitoring needs. I chose Web Manuals because regulations are automatically updated, it’s reliable, and easy to use. I receive notifications in various ways when regulations change, and the system makes it simple to view and track updates. That made the difference for me.
As I’ve said before, we don’t have many people — so I needed a digital solution. I needed an extra colleague inside my computer.

Compliance monitoring today
That was then. Now let me show you what compliance looks like today at Atlantic Airways. Figure 7.1 illustrates a random manual as an example.

Figure 7.1

In the top left corner, where the blue column appears, there is a yellow alert — a reminder notification that an amendment to the regulation has been made. When a regulation changes, a number appears showing how many regulations have been updated, and whether the change comes from EASA or from IATA. A warning sign identifies which specific regulation has changed, as shown in Figure 7.2.

There is also an emergency triangle. This serves as a notification that something is changing in this regulation. All regulations linked to the headlines in the manual, are shown in a greyish color just below the headline. When I open the Compliance Library, as shown in Figure 7.2, I will see the same triangle.

Figure 7.2

When showing a random regulation — in this case CAT (Commercial Air Transport) — as shown in Figure 7.3…

Figure 7.3

…then you see the last revision: July 2023 (active) Annex III to ED Decision 2023/007/R. It’s active, but the full history is also available if you want to see what changed prior to this update. You can click on any version to see the specific amendments. The active version is highlighted with a button, but you can scroll all the way back to 2012. The figure shows the latest version from July 2023. However, further down — for example, on May 2020 — I get the display shown in Figure 7.4.

Figure 7.4

It shows which manuals contain this regulation affects — and that could be several different manuals. You can see the regulation, hard law, soft law, such as the AMCs. At the bottom there is an Amendment button. If I want to see what has been amended in this regulation, simply click there, and that brings up the display shown in Figure 7.5.

Figure 7.5

These are the three key functions: Changed, Added, and Deleted — for example, when a new regulation is introduced, you can read directly what is added, changed or deleted. The best part is the box in the middle because that’s where you can see what has changed. You can view exactly what has been modified in the regulation. Amber highlights what is deleted; purple highlights what is added. In this particular case, the regulation only added guidance material — and that was the new element.
In the other box, you can see which manuals, this regulation is used in. This is a neat tool, both for managing regulations and for helping my managers stay on top of their responsibilities. But that is not the only type of notification. If I am the owner of this manual, as you can see in the grey background of Figure 8…

Figure 8

… When a regulation changes, the headline turns red. This way, someone like the Director of Flight Operations can immediately see that a regulation update has occurred. When they click on it, the system displays: “Requirement has changed, press Update.” Until the update is completed, the notification remains red.
On the left‑hand side, in grey, you can see the list of headlines. Any headline shown in red has been flagged because it is linked to a regulation that has changed. If there is no regulation attached to a headline, it remains unaffected. But once a regulation is linked and that regulation changes, the headline automatically turns red.
This feature is not visible to readers; it is only available to editors — the owners of the manual.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
We set out on a Management of Change process with clearly defined objectives — and we can now say mission accomplished.

Figure 9

Managers are instantly updated and can see changes directly in their manuals. They receive a notification as soon as they open the program. Since implementation, I have seen a reduction in findings. In the past, there were at least two or three findings each year where managers did not implement new regulatory changes. Now there is no excuse — they receive a clear ‘heads‑up’.

The implementation of Web Manuals has been like gaining an extra colleague in compliance monitoring. I am, of course, still monitoring, so it is difficult to measure precisely, but it feels as if a new person has joined the office — because the system helps tremendously.

I hope this gives readers a clear impression of why we chose Web Manuals to digitalize our documents and manuals, and to strengthen compliance monitoring.