Glasgow Airport opens its doors to UK tech innovators with £30,000 trial opportunity

SMEs are being invited to put their technology to the test inside a working international airport as Glasgow searches for new ways to improve reliability and understand the passenger experience.

Glasgow Airport is offering UK technology businesses the chance to trial their innovations in a live operational environment as the Connected Airport Living Lab returns for its fourth cohort.

Up to three small and medium-sized businesses will be selected for the six-month programme, with each receiving up to £30,000 in funding alongside specialist support and access to Glasgow Airport's facilities and operational teams.

Led by Connected Places Catapult in partnership with Glasgow Airport, part of AGS Airports, and funded by Innovate UK, the programme is designed to help promising technologies make the difficult transition from development and demonstration to real-world deployment.

This year's search concentrates on two increasingly important areas for airport operators: keeping critical infrastructure running reliably and gaining a better real-time understanding of what passengers are experiencing.

Technology to predict problems before they happen

One challenge focuses on asset performance management, with Glasgow Airport looking for technology capable of identifying potential maintenance requirements before equipment fails.

Airports rely on a vast range of infrastructure to keep passengers moving, from lifts and escalators to security scanners and car park barriers.

An unexpected failure can quickly have consequences for airport operations and the passenger journey.

The Living Lab is therefore seeking solutions that could help airport teams move towards more predictive maintenance, identifying emerging problems and allowing intervention before an asset becomes unavailable.

The remaining challenges focus on passenger sentiment and feedback.

Glasgow Airport wants to explore technology capable of capturing passengers' views throughout their journey rather than relying solely on feedback provided after the event.

Innovators are also being asked to find better ways of bringing together information from multiple sources. This could include social media, voice recognition systems and formal passenger complaints, turning large amounts of fragmented feedback into useful trends and actionable insights.

The ultimate aim is to give airport teams a clearer picture of how passengers are feeling and enable them to respond more effectively.

Airport becomes a testing ground

The Connected Airport Living Lab was launched in 2023 to address a longstanding challenge facing technology developers: proving that an innovation which works in development can also perform reliably in the complex environment of a busy airport.

Successful SMEs gain the opportunity to work directly alongside airport teams, allowing technologies to be tested and refined under genuine operating conditions.

Gavin Birch-Williams, Managing Director of Glasgow Airport, said:

“Glasgow Airport has become a proving ground for innovative technologies that can solve real operational challenges while improving the passenger experience.“The success of previous cohorts has demonstrated the value of giving SMEs access to a live airport environment, allowing them to test and refine their solutions in real-world conditions.”

He said the airport was now looking for the next generation of innovators capable of improving critical asset performance and helping operators gain a deeper understanding of passenger needs.

Importantly, the programme has also been designed with airport procurement in mind.

Rather than innovation trials ending with a demonstration, the Living Lab seeks to help businesses validate their products in a way that could accelerate their progression towards commercial deployment within the aviation industry.

Sameer Savani, Managing Director for Transport at Connected Places Catapult, said:

“Since 2023, the Connected Airport Living Lab has been supporting innovators to scale and succeed in live airport environments.“If you have a solution that can address our latest set of challenges, I encourage you to apply.”

Applications are open to UK-registered SMEs, with successful businesses receiving up to £30,000 towards developing and demonstrating their technology during the six-month programme.

Applications for the fourth Connected Airport Living Lab cohort close at midday on 17 August.