Gatwick airport is taking part in a 48-hour ‘hackathon’ this weekend, aimed at encouraging programmers and computer coders to develop ideas for new travel apps.

Organisers Amsterdam Schiphol will be joined by Gatwick, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Geneva, Munich and Copenhagen airports at the event in Berlin.

The airports will share flight and waiting time data with developers, who will be challenged to develop ideas for new apps that could improve passengers’ travel experiences.

The {Re}coding event will be divided into four main themes covering different aspects of the airport travel experience – Life before the airport, Life at the airport, Life in between airports and Life after the airport.

Developers will be split into teams, with ideas being presented before a judging panel and prizes being awarded to the winners of each theme.

Commenting on the initiative Schiphol’s innovation manager Christiaan Hen said:

“{Re}coding aviation represents the first time in history that so many international airports have joined forces by opening up access to data for the development of innovative applications.

“The challenges faced by every airport have been made central to the themes, and this ensures that the solutions developed by the participants will be widely applicable.”

Last month Gatwick announced it had installed 2,000 indoor navigation beacons, with the aim of enabling third parties, airlines and the airport itself to develop augmented reality wayfinding tools within their apps.

gatwickairport.com