MWC dedicated a substantial space to airport and airline-specific demos.


At the entrance, I was greeted by a dancing robot. I am still not entirely sure how a this droid relates to the passenger experience. Perhaps it is a prototype for a baggage handler that entertains you while losing your luggage? Either way, it was a fun if slightly surreal welcome.

Dancing robot

Talking robot
Aena gave a fascinating presentation on its integration of AI. Most notably, they claimed that as of last year, all their jetties at Madrid Airport are fully autonomous, overseen by just a single supervisor. This means the next time you land at MAD, you should not be stuck waiting on the tarmac for ground staff to manually connect the bridge. Honestly, I am tempted to book a ticket to Madrid just to see if it actually works as advertised!
Aena booth with dancing robot

My next stop was a customised Airbus A330neo experience.


The real star here was a Smart Trolley. The system uses sensors to track inventory in real time. The moment an item is removed, it syncs with the crew’s devices. If one cart runs out of gin, the crew can instantly check the stock in other trolleys across the aircraft. The rep mentioned that crews loved the trial. When I asked which airline was testing it, he remained tight-lipped, though I am 100,000% certain it was not BA!

Smart Trolley

Airbus also showcased an Improved Fault Prediction System. The goal is to identify any issue before it actually happens, potentially ending the era of the technical delay that haunts our flight connections.

Rome Fiumicino has partnered with a firm to create Digital Twins of the terminal. They track passenger flow from the moment you enter the airport until you board. By monitoring bottlenecks in real time via LiDAR, they aim to optimise capacity and improve the passenger experience.
They even had a live LiDAR feed in the hall where I could see my own digital ghost moving across a giant screen (yellow below). To those who have passed through FCO lately, have you actually noticed a difference?




Real-time monitoring.


The Mossos d'Esquadra had an impressive array of drones on display. They walked me through their countermeasures for detecting and disrupting unauthorised drones in restricted airspace. Apparently, they spend a significant amount of time catching tourists trying to get the perfect shot of the Sagrada Família, which is a strict no-fly zone.



Right next to the police, Vueling was showcasing a new chatbot that natively understands Spanish, Catalan, and English. This was a nice local touch.
Chatbot

Alba Ride showcased two game-changers. The first is a smart luggage storage system where you drop your carry-on, set your flight details, and go enjoy the lounge. The system delivers your bag directly to your departure gate.



The second was a single-seater autonomous vehicle you can hire to navigate the terminal. Both are currently being trialled at Paris CDG and Milan Malpensa.



I also attended a panel titled Powering the Passenger Experience. One of the speakers was Graham, the Technology Delivery Director for Manchester Airport Group. He spoke candidly about the challenges at MAN, STN, and Southend. His most interesting point was that modern airport architecture acts as an excellent Faraday cage. This creates a nightmare for connectivity for passengers, staff, and airport businesses. He was extremely positive about all the changes at MAN, and improved customer's experience. However, reading FT, I don't think the experience is positive 😁