Copenhagen Airport (CPH) aims to become the “architect of the airport of the future”, according to CEO Christian Poulsen.
talk to airport technology Poulsen said the Danish capital's airport has shown the positive effects of integrating IT and operational systems across its “ecosystem” using the company's AIRHART technology.
This connected and collaborative system was developed by a joint venture with Danish (and more recently international) technology company Netcompany called Smarter Airports.
The DKK 300 million ($43 million) IT infrastructure and joint venture was established after the traditional process of tendering and external implementation failed, Poulsen explained.
Although the system was launched in June 2023, CPH began undertaking an overhaul of its internal infrastructure in 2008. First, the airport wanted to develop a new system internally, but that attempt failed. A traditional bidding process was launched in 2014 with the consent of external partners, but the system was abolished again five years later, according to CPH management.
In the same year, 2019, the company partnered with Netcompany to launch Smarter Airports.
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Five years later, the AIRHART digital platform is operational in Copenhagen, with at least 4,500 staff on board across at least 700 airport operations, from ATC to security and retail managers. CPH is currently home to nearly 20,000 employees (“some of whom are single individuals who perform specific services on the airline's aircraft,” Paulsen said), and whose Scope is not universal.
“They're all looking at the same thing, so you can tell them very specifically what they need to know. They can have a unique view of the data that they can see, and they can Only partial viewing is allowed, meaning some airlines can only see their own operations, and other airlines can see their own operations.”
“But the people who manage both airlines will probably be able to see data for the entire airline. This seems easy, but in our world it's not. There are so many different types. It's very complex because there are so many different types of data, so many actors, and so many users with different ideas about what they need to know to optimize their operations.'' added.
The joint venture is currently looking to expand, and Smarter Airports CEO Mehdi Motaghiani said discussions with other airports are at an advanced stage.
Although the expansion deal has not yet been finalized, the Smarter Airports team explained that CPH's previous ownership structure affected the system's hands. This is because many senior executives have experience operating a “network” of airports under his one management system.
“We really have a DNA that we share with all our airports and work with other airports to see how we can work together. I think it was back in the day when I was doing that,” Paulsen said.
“Many airports only think about themselves. In our opinion, we are always part of a network that has an airport on the other side. We can certainly grow, but other airports You can’t grow without it.”
And it's this collaborative mindset that drives Poulsen's goal to share knowledge with other airports and become an “architect” of industry change.
Netcompany recently signed a $116 million deal with Norwegian airport operator Avinor, but CEO and founder André Rogaczewski clarified that this is a separate business from the Smarter Airports and AIRHART efforts. I made it.
But the customizable and modular design of Smarter Airports' solutions is reflected throughout the company's operations, he said. Rogaczewski likened the approach to “building with Lego blocks”, a nod to Denmark's other best-known company and its intention to grow into as many areas as possible. He said that this is an expression of the
