London Gatwick was one of seven airports that took part in an international ‘hackathon’ event over the weekend of June 16-18, which challenged computer programmers and coders to improve the passenger experience by developing new airport apps.
The ‘{Re}coding’ event took place in Berlin, Germany, and was organized by Royal Schiphol Group, the operator of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands. The other participants comprised Stockholm, Frankfurt, Geneva, Munich and Copenhagen airports, who all shared flight and waiting time data with the developers to help them with the challenge. It was the first time so many international airports have joined forces to collaborate and share data to improve the passenger experience.
The hackathon was divided into four main themes – life before the airport, life at the airport, life between airports and life after the airport – which together cover all aspects of a plane trip, from booking the journey to the journey itself.
Cathal Corcoran, chief information officer, Gatwick Airport, said, “Providing our passengers with the best possible experience as they travel through the airport is a key priority for us and by collaborating with other airports in this way we are able to explore and push the boundaries of current passenger facing technology.”
Christiaan Hen, innovation manager, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, said, “{Re}coding aviation represents the first time in history that so many international airports have joined forces by opening up access to data for the development of innovative applications.
“The challenges faced by every airport have been made central to the themes, and this ensures that the solutions developed by the participants will be widely applicable.”