Overview: According to a report by Future Travel Experience in March, London Heathrow Airport has selected the AIRHART platform as its new "digital backbone." According to OAG, the platform was developed by Smarter Airports, a joint venture between Copenhagen Airport and the Danish IT company Netcompany. Heathrow will use it to replace its existing outdated systems through a multi-year plan, transitioning to an AI-driven, data-centric operational model.
According to OAG, the developer of AIRHART, Smarter Airports, is a joint venture between Copenhagen Airport and Netcompany. It positions AIRHART as a next-generation "orchestration platform" that provides underlying support for AI-driven and data-driven operations at airports. Unlike the common practice of procuring individual applications, this solution is characterized by the deep involvement of the airport operator in the platform's development. This means that the product is designed from the outset with the practical perspective of airport operations in mind, rather than being a simple transplant of an external system. In other words, Heathrow is not buying a specific system this time, but rather the foundational layer that will support various future smart applications.
This collaboration marks the first instance of this platform, incubated by European airports, being implemented in a major UK airport. For Heathrow, introducing an externally developed digital platform is less about purchasing software and more about replacing the airport's entire "operational nervous system.
According to OAG, Smarter Airports CEO Daniel Ezban described the implementation process as "like running a marathon while performing heart surgery"—replacing core systems while maintaining continuous airport operations. Heathrow's scale amplifies this challenge: according to Britannica, Heathrow is one of the largest and busiest airports in the UK, serving nearly 84 million passengers in 2024, ranking fifth globally, and connecting to over 200 destinations in more than 80 countries. As previously reported by Business Insider, the airport has only two runways and handles approximately 1,300 flights daily, with an average of one aircraft taking off or landing every 45 seconds.
With this fast-paced operation, systems such as check-in, security, baggage handling, apron operations, and flight support are all interconnected. Any error during the transition process could lead to widespread delays. This is why the replacement of outdated systems is designed as a multi-year plan, implemented in stages.
From an industry perspective, according to the 2026 airport technology trends report published by oxmaint, global airports are transitioning from static infrastructure hubs to interconnected ecosystems driven by AI, predictive analytics, and real-time data integration. Applications such as biometric boarding gates and digital twins all rely on a unified data foundation. Heathrow's introduction of AIRHART, placing a "data hub + orchestration platform" as the foundation for all applications, logically paves the way for various AI scenarios in the future.
Another significant aspect of this case is that the "airport-based platform" is starting to expand its reach. The base solution, developed with the participation of Copenhagen Airport, is being introduced to a major hub in the UK, indicating that airport digitalization is moving away from isolated, independent efforts towards a platform-based, replicable approach. For other large airports, observing the long-term progress of this project – which systems are migrated first, and how uninterrupted operation is ensured during the transition – provides a valuable reference for their own digitalization initiatives.
The most challenging aspect of airport digitalization isn't implementing a specific AI application, but rather ensuring that data related to flights, passengers, baggage, and aircraft stands flows within a unified platform. Heathrow's decision can be interpreted as an acknowledgment that it's necessary to lay a solid foundation before building upon it. The analogy of "running a marathon while undergoing heart surgery" serves as a reminder to other airports that risk management is just as crucial as the successful launch of new functionalities, and a multi-year, phased implementation approach may be a more realistic strategy.