The “Airports for Innovation” (A4I) initiative was launched in May 2021 by the Spanish airport group Aena and Aeroporti di Roma. Munich Airport is now also a new member of this network, along with seven other airports: Dubai International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, Narita Airport, Dallas Fort Worth Airport, Athens International Airport, Oman Airports and Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur. Nearly 800 passengers are managed by the network and consequently involved in the innovation initiatives.
A4I has grown into a global network with following main objectives: to identify innovative solutions to optimize the passenger experience, to introduce common technologies and solutions that facilitate travel at airports, and to test effective models that can be standardized and adopted by the entire aviation industry in the long term.
A4I now presents its first initiative: an open innovation program to attract new innovative solutions. The call is open to start-ups from anywhere in the world, as long as they were founded between January 1st, 2014 and December 31st, 2022 and have technologies and solutions that can add value to the network in any of the four challenges proposed.
The young companies are asked to develop solutions on the topics of “seamless travel experience”, “sustainable aviation”, “smart luggage revolution” and “AI-powered airports”. The selected start-ups can pilot and internationalize their solution in a real airport environment: they must test their solution with at least two airport operators in the network.
Dr. Jan-Henrik Andersson, Chief Commercial & Chief Security Officer Munich Airport: “We are proud to be part of this valuable initiative. The promotion of innovations and start-ups that support us in the continuous improvement of the passenger experience fits perfectly with our claim to be a premium innovation hub.”
