Aena, Telefónica Empresas partner to launch ‘AenaMaps’ for Airports

Aena is partnering with Telefónica Empresas to launch ‘AenaMaps’, a map-based guidance tool which will assist passengers at all the stages of their journey from planning to the flight itself, with particular emphasis on the time they spend at the airport.

The tool will show passengers their location, conduct searches and confirm movements on the map, guide them to a specific point in the airport, calculate the journey time or distance, and display the facilities’ services and points of interest such as boarding gates, shops, restaurants, toilets, etc.

The guide can be used at the airport on the Aena app for Android and iOS and will suggest the selected routes both visually and also by voice. The maps and the routes can additionally be viewed on Aena’s corporate website by choosing a starting point and a destination inside the airport.

The tool will gradually evolve to help passengers with reduced mobility and cater for accessibility needs while also providing other salient information such as real-time transit times in security checkpoints. The app will additionally be integrated with other location tools outside the airport to provide the complete route from anywhere. The service will initially be available at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport before being progressively rolled out at other airports in the network.

In addition to Telefónica Empresas, Aena has also teamed up with CartoDB, the world’s leading location intelligence platform, and Situm Indoor Positioning, a specialist in indoor location and navigation, to develop the app. The former has been involved in the cartographic enrichment of Aena’s airport maps/plans, route development and in the logic and coordination of the entire solution in general, while the latter has provided the technology components and geopositioning inside the airports.

Aena and Telefónica Empresas

This is one of the projects in the digitalisation process which Aena and Telefónica Empresas are jointly undertaking to deliver innovative solutions to passengers. The telecoms operator is supporting the airport manager’s Digital Transformation project as one of the mainstays in its Strategic Plan.

Aena is constantly rolling out new technologies with a two-fold purpose: to enhance the passenger experience at all the stages of their journey by building in solutions which make it easier and more convenient for passengers to travel through its airports from pre-planning, going through the terminal and after their journey; and to deploy digital initiatives which enhance the competitiveness and accessibility of its commercial services.

As part of this approach, this summer Aena kicked off an initiative to accelerate start-ups around the world, which dovetail with its strategic business areas. The call for proposals, which ends on 14 October, will select five innovation and technology-based projects to be undertaken in airport infrastructures. The challenges are: Agility in procedures and travel to the airport; Passenger experience; Passenger communication; Sustainability, and Baggage as a whole.

Through Telefónica Empresas, Telefónica seeks to support companies in their digital transformation by drawing on six major technological blocks: connectivity, cloud, IoT, security, big data and the solutions which enable workplace digitalisation. Telefónica Empresas delivers centralised and comprehensive service for each of the projects.

“Digitalisation of services and businesses gives us the opportunity to improve the lives of people and society in general,” commented María Jesús Almazor, CEO of Telefónica España. “Aena’s shift to a more digital model will bring it the chance to offer passengers additional experiences over and above the use of its facilities to board flights.”

Meanwhile, María José Cuenda, Aena’s Commercial and Real Estate General Manager, underscored the digital transformation taking place in the airport industry which has traditionally featured the latest technological breakthroughs. “Aena is firmly committed to driving the digitalisation of its airports so as to enhance the passenger’s travel experience and the accessibility of its services, making their time at the airport easier and more convenient,” she pointed out. “We will be able to bring users personalised experiences which are always tailored to their needs and this will result in an improvement in their perception.”