DIGITAL technology seems to connect everything today. So it is perhaps no surprise that airports—the infrastructure that helps billions of travelers connect across the globe each year—are themselves becoming more digitally connected. The connected, or smart, airport brings together a variety of technologies through the Internet of Things (IoT), with the goal of strategically differentiating an airport, including via improved traveler experience, and tapping into monetary benefits through greater efficiencies and new revenue streams. Achieving this end goal requires significant collaboration between stakeholders, and airports should carefully craft implementation strategies that aim for incremental quick wins over “big bang” transformations.

While awareness of IoT across the aviation ecosystem is high, its knowledge of how to harness and maximize IoT’s capabilities within an organization is much lower. In our survey of the industry, only 12 percent of airport representatives reported that their organizations are very prepared to benefit from IoT applications, and another 10 percent felt that they were not even exploring IoT yet. So if they want to create the connected, smart airport, the logical starting point is by beginning with the basics of what IoT is.