Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has published its API platform offering access to non-critical business data for developers from airlines and other travel companies.
The airport hopes that developers will use API access to improve the passenger experience in creative ways, including wayfinding support, and up-to-date seamless travel information like journey times from the car park to the gate.
Chief Digital Officer Albert van Veen, who has paved the way for digital innovation at the airport, tells Emerce (link in Dutch):
"We want to support the traveler as well as possible with personal and relevant information about the airport. Our API platform and data sharing with APIs is a key element in our best airport digital strategy."
Developers interested in creating apps for services at the airport can sign up at Schiphol APIs Developer Portal. Developers will be granted access to data on current and scheduled flights for more than 90 airlines operating from the airport, including flight destinations, aircraft types, and flight status.
Video Schiphol by the numbers:
Schiphol’s API initiative conforms to Airport Council International’s (ACI) ACRIS data exchange standards, which adheres to existing messaging and other information exchange standards.
ACI Members, industry organizations like IATA, and several world business partners currently participate in the ACRIS programme.
It offers standardized Web Service interfaces to support B2B scenarios using SOAP and REST technology, including passenger and baggage conformance services, web Services to support Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) implementations, and RESTful WebService for flight information from the Seamless Travel Project.
ACI grants access to the ACI ACRIS documents to ACI Members and Working Group participants.
Developers which have expressed an interest in Schiphol’s published API so far include airlines and travel agents as well as Navigation service TomTom, automakers and Dutch public transport information service 9292.