APT SKIDATA’s Smart Solutions at Heart of Major Car Parking System Upgrades at Heathrow Airport

Working in close partnership with APCOA Parking UK, APT SKIDATA, the UK’s leading parking solutions business, has completed its part of a major car parking systems upgrade across all 11 public car parks at Heathrow Airport.

APT SKIDATA, which has been working with APCOA for more than 20 years, has delivered digital systems, software and hardware upgrades across Heathrow Airport’s entire parking estate. The car parks have been upgraded to run on APT SKIDATA’s innovative vehicle access management system, Parking. Logic, with new features and advanced software applications specifically designed to enhance the customer experience.

Heathrow will also now benefit from SKIDATA’s cloud-based reporting and management system. With access to real time key data and information, including ticket data, payment types, cashflow and occupancy levels, APCOA can monitor and manage the reporting data to take immediate decisions, as well as analyse performance against long-term strategies and objectives to optimise parking across the Heathrow estate.

Significantly, the system also includes access to SKIDATA’s Emissions Evaluation Service (EES), which provides real time data on the fuel type of every vehicle entering and exiting each car park via ANPR. This can be used to implement initiatives such as creating ‘Green’ tariffs to reward drivers of electric or hybrid vehicles, identify high emission ‘pockets’, and plan for required levels of charging infrastructure based on electric vehicle usage data.

Paul Connolly, Director of Airport Services at APCOA Parking UK, says this data and access to accurate, real time reporting will be a significant aid to the planning of its future roadmap: “Heathrow is committed to a sustainable future for aviation, and we have already worked with them to reduce harmful CO2 emissions through the electrification of its shuttle bus fleet.“With access to real-time, accurate data on the number of petrol, diesel, hybrid and fully electric vehicles using the car parks, APT SKIDATA’s smart reporting and management software will enable us to analyse and better manage emissions across the estate, and in turn helping Heathrow to achieve its green objectives.”

As well as providing digital services and software enhancements, APT SKIDATA has also provided a number of hardware upgrades. Existing SKIDATA payment stations have been replaced with its latest Skiosk payment terminals. Equipped with an interactive 21.5-inch touchscreen display, the Skiosk’s intuitive designs makes them extremely easy to use, with multiple payment options.

Additionally, the 114 controlled entry and exit lanes across the Heathrow estate have all been upgraded to SKIDATA’s highly reliable Power. Gate control columns, which support a vast range of technologies including RFID cards, ANPR and contactless payment at exit via Apple or Google Pay.

Steve Murphy, APT SKIDATA Managing Director, says the company’s focus on continued innovation has led to its long-term working partnership with APCOA and Heathrow: “Our technology has been used at Heathrow for more than 15 years and we continue to innovate new solutions and provide new digital and data-driven services to maintain their confidence and meet growing demand.”

About SKIDATA 

SKIDATA is an international leader in the field of access solutions and their management. Almost 10,000 SKIDATA installations worldwide in ski resorts, stadiums, airports, shopping malls, cities, spa & wellness facilities, trade fairs and amusement parks provide secure and reliable access and entry control for people and vehicles. SKIDATA places great value in providing solutions that are intuitive, easy to use, and secure. The integrated concepts of SKIDATA solutions help clients optimize performance and maximize profits. SKIDATA Group (www.skidata.com) belongs to the publicly traded Swiss Kudelski Group (www.nagra.com), a leading provider of digital security solutions.

About APCOA PARKING Group 

APCOA PARKING Group is Europe's leading parking operator with 50 years of industry expertise. With its 5,500 employees, the company manages more than 1.5 million individual parking spaces at over 11,000 locations in 13 European countries. These include parking spaces at 1,800 city and shopping centre locations, 400 hotels, 250 railway stations, 150 hospitals, and over 60 European airports, all situated in proximity of 70% of the population of APCOAs 13 countries. With its consistent "asset light" business model, APCOA is the trusted partner who maximizes value for private and public real estate owners.