New digital backbone for London Heathrow Airport

One of the world’s biggest airports, London Heathrow, has selected the AIRHART Platform as its new digital backbone.

This strategic decision marks a pivotal shift in how Heathrow co-ordinates and optimises its operations and marks a significant milestone for supplier Smarter Airports, a joint venture between Copenhagen Airports and Netcompany.

The adoption of AIRHART at Heathrow adds to a growing trend among leading airports – including Copenhagen Airport and Munich Airport – to embrace orchestration platforms as the backbone of their digital transformations towards AI and data driven operations.

Under the agreement, Smarter Airports shall provide the AIRHART platform to Heathrow, with Netcompany supporting the implementation and future innovations.

Crucially, AIRHART provides Heathrow with the flexibility to adapt as needs evolve – whether that means scaling capacity, introducing new processes, or operationalising emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).

This future-ready foundation will further support Heathrow’s ability to deliver a smooth passenger experience, make better use of infrastructure, and strengthen its role as the UK’s only hub airport.

Heathrow’s chief operating officer, Javier Echave, said: “As one of the world’s busiest airports and the UK’s only hub, it is essential that the technology which sits behind our operations can withstand the test of time, not only serving us effectively today but also positioning us strongly for the future.”

Programme scope

Under this multi-year agreement, the AIRHART programme at Heathrow will deliver a modern orchestration platform underpinning several core operational capabilities, including:

• Airport Operational Database (AODB) – replacing Heathrow’s existing system with a next-generation data foundation.
• Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) – enhancing collaboration and situational awareness across the airport community.
• Airport Operations Plan (AOP) – enabling a predictive, continuously optimised operational plan aligned with European and global standards.

While these capabilities will be delivered as part of the programme, the broader significance lies in Heathrow’s adoption of the AOOP model – future-proofing its operations through a scalable platform that can evolve in line with changing needs, industry innovation, and the application of advanced technologies such as AI.

Daniel Ezban, chief commercial officer of Smarter Airports and principal at Netcompany, said: “Heathrow’s decision to select AIRHART is a milestone for Smarter Airports and for the airport technology market.

“With Copenhagen, Munich, and now Heathrow, digitally leading airports are clearly moving towards platform-first strategies that orchestrate the complexity of modern operations.

“We are proud to partner with Heathrow on this transformation and to validate AIRHART as the next-generation digital backbone for airport operations.”