London City Airport, the UK capital’s most central airport, has selected Amadeus to supply self-service kiosks, automated baggage drop units and biometric check-in for all airlines operating at the airport. The deployment matters to the sector because it is designed to let the airport serve more passengers within its existing terminal building.

London City Airport sits in the Royal Docks and has authorisation to increase its capacity to nine million passengers a year, and Amadeus, the travel technology provider, announced the agreement on 23 October 2026.

The airport has already migrated to the cloud with Amadeus Airport Cloud Use Service, which is available throughout the terminal and lets airlines run passenger service applications on shared airport infrastructure instead of fixed check-in desks. Amadeus describes the platform as connecting an airport to more than 200 airlines through a single network connection.

Staff can assist passengers from anywhere in the airport under the shared model, which increases flexibility and efficiency.

Passengers will be able to register their identity once for the whole journey, then check in and drop off baggage using biometrics. The opt-in system lets travellers enrol through a smartphone or on-site kiosk, and no installation timetable has been published for the passenger-facing rollout.

Ian Cowie, Senior Director Airport Operations, London City Airport, said: “Our collaboration with Amadeus, built on open and multicloud technology, enables us to transform our operations and the entire passenger journey, from check-in to boarding.”

Georges Fenergi, Senior Vice President, Airports and Border Authorities, EMEA, Amadeus, said: “By leveraging self-service, shared infrastructure and biometric technology, London City Airport can collaborate more effectively with its partners, better manage passenger flows and deliver a seamless end-to-end journey, from check-in to boarding.”

The structural driver is capacity growth within a fixed terminal footprint, which pushes airports towards shared common-use infrastructure and self-service processing rather than dedicated airline desks.

For the sector, the agreement shows airports using biometric self-service and cloud-based shared infrastructure to raise throughput without extending the building.

Source: aeromorning.com / amadeus.com / idtechwire.com / travelprnews.com