Building the connected airport ecosystem that passengers truly desire

Passengers don’t experience airports as separate silos. They experience them as journeys. Yet the technology supporting those journeys is often fragmented, forcing travellers to navigate disconnected systems, redundant processes, and frustrating gaps in service. 

As airports push ahead with digital transformation, the question isn’t whether to adopt new technology. It’s how to build an ecosystem that passengers actually value. The difference between digital clutter and real innovation comes down to connection: between systems, between stakeholders, and between airports and their passengers. 

What passengers actually want 

Before you start building connections, you need to know what matters to travellers. The truth is, passengers don’t want technology that gets in their way or demands extra steps. They want technology that helps them get through the airport faster and easier. 

What adds value: 

• Accurate, real-time information when they need it 

• Less time stuck in queues at security and boarding 

• Services that save them time without extra hassle 

• Smooth handoffs between different parts of the journey 

What doesn’t: 

• Generic marketing messages at the wrong time 

• Yet another app that does what the airline app already does 

• Technology that exists just to look innovative 

• Features that take more effort than they’re worth 

A good, connected ecosystem runs in the background. It shows up when it’s useful, not when it’s convenient for the airport. 

Three foundations of a connected approach for airports 

1. Getting your data in order

Real connectivity starts with data. When your flight information, passenger flow analytics, commercial data, and operational metrics all live in different systems, you can’t do much with them.

Albert Jan Prevoo, Captain of the FTE World Ancillary & Retailing Working Group, outlined the importance of understanding your data:

You need a clear understanding of the data foundation. For that, you need the right data and tech stack to allow a unified platform, enable information sharing, and have actionable data.

The best airports are building unified data platforms that pull information from all stakeholders in real time, give teams visibility across departments so they can make better decisions, use predictive analytics to stay ahead of problems, and protect passenger privacy while still enabling personalisation. 

This isn’t about hoarding more data. It’s about connecting what you already have so you can actually use it to improve operations, serve passengers better, and drive more revenue. 

But Nolan Hough, Chief Growth Officer at CAVU, warns that data alone doesn’t solve the problem: “Having rich data scattered is useless unless you connect it all.” You need data flowing between stakeholders in real time so everyone can coordinate their response. 

2. Making your tech work together

Your airport has mobile apps, wayfinding, biometric screening, commerce platforms, operational systems, the list goes on. The hard part isn’t choosing these tools. It’s getting them to work together. 

Good integration means open APIs that connect systems, not just sit next to each other. You need identity frameworks that reduce friction for passengers, architecture that can evolve with new tech, and white-label capabilities that keep your brand front and centre. 

When this works, a passenger’s preferences flow from the parking booking they made last week, to the lounge access they buy today, to the gate updates they get on their phone. One journey, one brand experience. 

Albert sums it up: “You need a good platform, an integrated system that connects all stakeholders and creates a more seamless process. But it all comes down to having the right approach, the right roadmap, and starting to work together on that.” 

3. Getting your stakeholders on the same page

Oftentimes, this is the hardest part, and it’s not really about technology. Everyone has a piece of the passenger experience, including airlines, retailers, ground handlers, security and airport ops, but they often work in isolation. 

The airports that do this well have built shared goals around passenger satisfaction, regular working groups that tackle journey pain points together, revenue-sharing models that align incentives, and service standards everyone actually commits to. 

Mathilde Burtin-Bell, Head of Commercial Services at CAVU, says measurement is key:

KPIs should reflect an ecosystem or holistic performance, not individual product silos. Without that, you won’t have the cultural shift needed within the airport, that transition from siloed to integrated journeys.

Real success is when a passenger books three services on one floor, not just one, but everyone looks beyond their silos and brings everything into one place.

Why personalisation is harder than it looks 

Every airport wants to personalise the passenger experience, but it’s trickier than it sounds, as explained by Nolan: “Every customer changes their product choice based on why they’re travelling, who with, how long for, who’s paying, and how far in advance they book; all these factors affect buying decisions.” 

The fragmentation makes it worse. A lot of the time, you don’t even know where a passenger is flying when they’re booking parking or lounge access. Therefore, it’s hard to be relevant when you’re missing the most basic context. 

“The key is connecting data in real time and having those indicators,” says Nolan. “The industry is very fragmented. Fragmentation is the biggest challenge because every stakeholder wants to own the customer. But really, no one owns the customer; each party has the right to communicate at different journey points.” 

The solution is cooperation. When airports and airlines share data and insights, you can personalise effectively, as Nolan highlights: 

If a customer looks at the airport website, you can push them relevant offers like promo codes for sun care products, which are relevant if they’re heading to a sunny destination. This real-time personalisation uses indicators like website behaviour, Wi-Fi logins, airline destination data, or app searches.

However, only when everyone gains value from the connected trip does the magic happen.

How to build a connected ecosystem

Building a connected airport ecosystem starts with more than just the right technology platform. Execution and a willingness to learn as you go are equally important.

Aligning your people, strategy, and systems is critical, and investing in your people first ensures your organisation has the right capabilities and the agility to adapt, while a clear commercial strategy makes the technology effective.

Testing before fully committing is also key, with Mathilde emphasising the value of a “test and learn” approach:

I’m a big advocate of test and learn. There’s always a risk in holding back because you want all the answers up front. Look at Netflix: they run multiple tests every day, trying different pricing and offers to see what works. You can either predict customer behaviour or put something out there and learn from the data.

By experimenting with pricing, offers, and service bundles, you can gather practical insights quickly. For example, testing which products naturally pair together—such as meet-and-greet parking and lounge access—reveals useful trends without needing perfect data.

Starting small and building up allows you to capture quick wins and demonstrate ROI, such as enabling passengers to book parking, lounge access, and fast track in a single transaction. At the same time, platforms should be built for change rather than permanence. Open architecture lets your systems adapt as new technologies emerge and passenger expectations evolve, ensuring your platform grows with you rather than holding you back.

It’s also important to focus on the journey, not just individual products. Measuring KPIs like basket value, conversion across touchpoints, and repeat purchase frequency encourages teams to think about integration and holistic performance rather than siloed metrics.

Yet while data and automation improve efficiency, the human touch remains essential. People are still needed to make judgment calls and maintain the service culture that keeps passengers coming back.

The benefits of a connected airport ecosystem 

Airports that build connected ecosystems see benefits across the board. Operations run more smoothly when data is integrated, allowing you to predict issues before they happen, optimise resources, and adjust pricing dynamically based on real-time conditions. Revenue also grows as personalised engagement drives stronger results. With unified booking platforms, cross-selling becomes seamless and new distribution channels open up, helping you reach passengers who were previously out of reach. 

Passengers notice the difference too. When travellers can manage every part of their journey through consistent touchpoints with your brand, the experience sticks with them. Higher satisfaction scores, positive reviews, and repeat bookings naturally follow. Partners benefit as well. Airlines and retailers see better passenger flow, stronger engagement, and more revenue opportunities when services are connected and aligned. 

And with a flexible architecture underpinning it all, you’re ready for whatever comes next. New technologies and changing expectations can be embraced without the need to rebuild from scratch. The real advantage lies in what can’t easily be copied: the organisational capability, partnerships, and data intelligence that make the system work. 

Anyone can buy technology but building a connected ecosystem that truly delivers takes time, and creates lasting competitive edge. 

Explore what a connected travel ecosystem could mean for your airport 

October 25 – 28, 2025, we’re exhibiting at the 2025 ACI-NA & ACI World Annual General Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Toronto. 

Visit us at Stand 1230 to see how we’re helping airports integrate technology, data, and partnerships to create seamless passenger experiences that drive satisfaction, loyalty, and commercial performance. 

If you’re not able to attend, CLICK HERE to sign up for our newsletter and get updates from our in-house experts on how you can use technology to connect the passenger journey for your customers.