Istanbul Airport was given the “Digital Transformation Award” at the 16th ACI Europe Awards ceremony held in Brussels on November 17th, 2020, initiated by the Airports’ Council International (ACI).

Digitalization of all processes and technological innovations, carefully considered and integrated during the design stage, made Istanbul Airport one of the “smartest” airports globally and the leading one in Europe.

In addition to standard airport services, the following advancements are available there: e-passport gates, bespoke mobile applications, 5 G, smart parking, and intelligent translation services, and even robots’ assistance. The unique geo-location technology allows passengers to receive information about walking times to gates and alerts about the start of their boarding. It is possible to drop a bag at the check-in stage without any human interaction, which is especially beneficial currently as personal contact has to be limited. For those who love shopping, a “magic mirror” app is an incredibly convenient tool since it is possible to “try things on” virtually.

Within the next half a year, an opportunity to travel and shop via biometrics (the use of facial feature data) is planned to be introduced. This technological practice will match passengers’ passports, tickets, and digital biometric data through the Istanbul Airport mobile app.

“We have always believed in the power of digital transformation. By designing a smart airport, we approached with a strategy that will adapt to technological changes in the fastest way possible and be the pioneer of digital transformation. We aimed to continuously increase efficiency by using AI at every point of our business processes,” Deputy General Manager of Digital Services and Trade at IGA Airport Operations said.