The Digital Airport Index is a recurring evaluation of the digital performance of Europe and America’s 50 largest airports, performed by Mijksenaar’s Digital Team. Since we worked on the first Digital AIrport Index (DAI) in 2017, a lot has changed for airports. 

First of all, digital has gone mainstream. Airports are aware of the importance of digital products in the communication with passengers. Airports have not only invested in better websites and smartphone apps, but also in the digitalization and automation of products and processes: self-service check-in, self-service passport control, reservation of parking spaces, on-line payments, social media teams to help passengers in need, the list is endless. Technologies that were once considered fringe, such as facial recognition, have passed the trial stage and are seen in regular deployment. 

Secondly, there’s 2020. A year that has shaken the airline industry to its core. A year that has had any airports scale back their investments in digital technology. But also a year in which many end-users made a digital leap forwards that they won’t take back, and a year in which the need for a ‘touchless airport’ has accelerated to use of on-line check in and self-service bag drop.  Since we did the research for this edition in the summer of 2020, the effects of the shake-up will not be visible in this Digital Airport Index. But it sure does make us curious what we’ll find in the next Europe edition, scheduled for 2022.