Smart airports, airports as multimodal nodes and passenger experience

The main goal of this opportunity is to support research and innovation that transforms airports into smart, multimodal hubs, improving the overall passenger experience. The focus is on enhancing airport operations with advanced technologies and better connectivity, integrating airport and network planning, and enabling real-time data exchange between different transport modes such as air traffic management and rail. Additional priorities include improving environmental performance, strengthening cybersecurity, streamlining passenger processing, and fostering collaborative decision-making for optimized door-to-door journeys. This opportunity is part of the Horizon Europe Programme and is open to projects that address these areas.

• Projects must focus on smart airport solutions that enhance multimodal connections and passenger experience.
• Proposals should improve operational efficiency, connectivity, or environmental performance at airports.
• Projects must address at least one of the following: data exchange between transport modes, cybersecurity, seamless passenger processing, or collaborative decision-making.
• Applicants must follow specific page limits and layout requirements in their submissions.
• Projects must comply with the eligibility criteria for countries and applicant types as outlined in the Horizon Europe guidelines.

Example Projects:

• Developing a digital platform for real-time data exchange between airport operations and local rail services.
• Implementing a cybersecurity system to protect airport data and ensure resilient operations.
• Designing a seamless passenger processing solution that integrates biometric identification at check-in and boarding.

• Personnel costs for research and innovation activities
• Costs for purchasing equipment and technology necessary for the project
• Expenses related to developing and testing software or digital platforms
• Travel and accommodation for project staff or stakeholders
• Subcontracting for specialized services or expertise
• Costs for organizing workshops, demonstrations, or dissemination events
• Materials and supplies directly needed for project implementation
• Communication and dissemination activities to share project results
• Project management and coordination expenses

Note: All eligible expenses are covered as a lump sum. Specific cost categories must align with Horizon Europe Programme rules.

• Co-financing rate: 70% for all beneficiaries
• Budget for this Call: 6,000,000€
• Number of Grants attributed: 2
• Maximum value per project: 3,000,000€
• Minimum value per project: 1,000,000€

• Must be legal entities from EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries
   
• Must meet the minimum consortium size (usually 3 independent entities from different eligible countries)
   
• Participants must show financial and operational capacity to carry out the project
   
• Gender Equality Plan required for public bodies, research orgs, and higher education institutions
   
• Proposals must follow formatting, length, and submission rules
   
• Costs must follow the financial rules of the Model Grant Agreement
   
• Additional rules may apply for sensitive topics (e.g. security, defense, ethics)
   
• Some calls may restrict participation to specific entity types or countries