AirportSmart is a joint venture company founded by Aéroports de Paris, BAA plc and Copenhagen Airports and being used by an increasing number of other airport operating organisations. Together, these airports handle a total of 180 million passengers per annum worldwide and operate several airports in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. They have a combined annual purchasing power of US$3billion; in addition to this, BAA is managing development of Heathrow Terminal 5 ('T5') which is one of the largest construction projects in Europe.

AirportSmart is a private limited company registered in England at 29 Warwick Road, Coventry, CV1 2ES (Company Number 4333403 and VAT number GB 788 2323 00). In September 2002, AirportSmart notified the European Commission seeking Negative Clearance and / or Individual Exemption to Article 81(1) and 81(3) of the Competition Act. The Notification Processed reached its expiry date in May 2004 without the Commission considering AirportSmart a priority case. AirportSmart has thus been set-up to facilitate the contracting of Suppliers with Buyers across the airport operating sector and the management of joint purchasing arrangements. AirportSmart will operate independently of its founding investors.

Aéroports de Paris operates Charles de Gaulle and Orly and Le Bourget airports in Paris as well as other airports in France. It also holds a 10% stake in Beijing Capital International Airport and is a member of the consortium which has a 15% stake in the Mexico North Central Group (including Acapulco and Monterrey airports). Through its international management arm (ADPM) ADP also has interests in Cambodia, Belgium, Egypt and Madagascar. Currently 100% owned by the French State, ADP will be partly privatised in 2005.

Aviance is a global alliance of airport services providers which was created in 1999 to provide carriers with a co-operative approach to global handling. Each alliance member remains financially independent but agrees to abide by the alliance operating code of conduct. Members include FlightCare, Aviance UK, Aviance Ghana, Celibi, Luafer Aviation, Fraport Austria, Aviance France, Jet Aviation, SATA and ATS.

BAA owns seven UK airports; Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton, and has interests in the US, Australia and Italy. Together, these airports serve 230 million passengers a year. BAA pioneered airport privatisation and retailing since it was privatised in 1987 and is now one of the largest companies on the London Stock Exchange.

Birmingham International is the UK’s fifth largest Airport, third largest for charter traffic and has the highest proportion of business traffic second only to London Heathrow. In 2004, it handled nearly 9 million passengers through its two terminals and acts as the Midlands’ premier gateway to Europe, Scandinavia, North America, the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent.

Copenhagen Airports operates two airports in Denmark, has a 35.3% stake in Norway's Rygge Airport and has a 25.5% stake in ITA, which owns 15% of the Mexican airport holding company, ASUR. In addition, in 2002 it took a 49% stake in Newcastle International Airport.

The Dublin Airport Authority plc (DAA) is an airport management company and its principal activities include the management, operation and development of Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports in Ireland, domestic and international airport retail management, and airport investment. The State owned company is headquartered at Dublin Airport.

Manchester Airport is the UK’s third largest airport and currently handles 20 million passengers a year, offering direct flights to over 180 destinations worldwide by over 90 airlines. Manchester Airport is part of The Manchester Airports Group Plc (MAG), which is the second largest airport operator in the UK and comprises the airports of Manchester, Nottingham East Midlands, Bournemouth and Humberside.

Join us !

As the only B2B portal developed by airport operators, members will be using their direct experience of supply-chain process re-engineering, e-tendering systems, Supplier sourcing and collaboration to build an on-line marketplace and reference site for the airports industry. AirportSmart will provide an industry knowledge bank for those involved in airport supply-chain management to facilitate planning, match Buyers and Suppliers and improve the transparency of information between participants; with the common goal of improving industry efficiency whilst lowering overall costs.

Other airport operators are encouraged to join us.