Airport Manager API

The Airsiders Airport Manager API helps airport management and airport retailers manage detailed information about points of interest like shops, gates, and lounges.

With the increasing amount of information available for each shop or lounge, manually updating the photos, opening hours, and physical location for each point of interest is burdensome. The Airport Manager API is a more efficient way to keep airport maps and data on points of interest up-to-date. The API is designed to be easily used by developers and business analysts.

Examples of data available in the Airport Manager API

Data available through the Airport Manager API includes:

Airport-specific data: terminals, connections between terminals, gates within each terminal, waiting times at security checkpoints, transfer desks, lifts, moving walkways.
Terminal-specific data: points of interest like security checks and passport control areas and their precise location, as well as details of retail locations like restaurants, shops, and lounges.
Transport connection data: the details of all types of transport connections to/from airports and out of/to each terminal, their cost, and average speed.
Airport retail data: shops, restaurants, and all commercial concessions, including opening times, contact details, and descriptive tags.
Airport amenity data: toilets, water fountains, pray rooms, luggage storage, and all key facilities related to passenger comfort and experience.

For more details of the information available for each category, check out the Airport Manager API reference.

Why use an API to manage airport data?

Most airports already have a process in place to manage terminal maps, update information on retail endpoints, and track whether terminal gates are open for service. However, many such preexisting processes carry the following challenges:

Manual burden. The process for updating data can be manual and cumbersome for the airport staff to work through. As a result, information may not be updated with enough frequency and can go stale.

Hard to access for application developers. Airport information is frequently not stored in an easily accessible format, and that makes it difficult for third-party developers and even for the airport’s own development teams to make use of the available data. Applications intended to make an airport more usable for passengers thus have to rely on incomplete or stale data.

Lack of a single source of truth. There are often various versions of the airport information available, and determining the most accurate one can be challenging.

Having in place a data management solution that can address these challenges can significantly increase airport operational efficiency, unlock the potential of third-party app developers, and ensure that passengers have access to the most consistent and recent information.

How the Airsiders Airport Manager API helps airports

Airports can address their data needs thanks to the rich data capabilities provided by the Airsiders Airport Manager API. The API can be managed by the airport staff and the managers of retail endpoints. It can be integrated with preexisting airport IT solutions, and can be used by third-party developers for integration with airport data.

Here are the main benefits of using the Airport Manager API compared to legacy solutions:

Rich data for each point of interest The Airport Manager API is designed to store detailed metadata for each point of interest, with a focus on retail locations. The metadata that’s available in the API by default includes among the following items:

opening times;
phone numbers;
content tagging;
offer details — for any offers available at a particular location;
images — photos of the location.

Up-to-date information with minimal involvement By providing managers of inidividual retail locations with tools to update their store locations, Airsiders ensures that the data on shops, lounges, and other points of interest is always up-to-date. This reduces the time otherwise needed for airport operators to collect this information.

Simplicity of use and integration All Airsiders APIs follow industry standards, so developers and business analysts can readily integrate and use them. Specifically, the Airport Manager API:

uses authentication through an API token in an HTTP header;
follows a standard REST structure;
supports JSON responses.