PASSENGER CHARGING, RECONSIDERED: Passenger Charging Is No Longer An Amenity

For many years, passenger charging has been treated as an amenity. Airports installed charging points, integrated sockets into furniture or added USB ports to seating areas, and the requirement was largely considered met. Success was measured by provision: how many charging points had been installed, rather than how well they were serving passengers.

That approach made sense when charging was simply a convenience.

Today, almost every stage of the passenger journey depends on a mobile device. Boarding passes, airline communications, wayfinding, payments, lounge access and onward travel all rely on passengers having enough battery to complete their journey with confidence. Passenger charging has quietly become part of the airport's digital infrastructure, yet it is still often procured, managed and maintained as though it were simply another furniture or electrical project.

As airports continue to invest in digital services that improve the passenger journey, it is worth asking whether passenger charging deserves to be thought about differently.

Three Questions Every Airport Should Be Able to Answer

Most airports have already invested in passenger charging. The challenge is not whether charging exists. It is whether three simple questions can be answered with confidence.

  • Do we have enough charging?

  • Is it where passengers actually need it?

  • How much of it is actually working?

These questions underpin decisions about passenger experience, operational performance and future investment, yet they are surprisingly difficult to answer.

Passenger behaviour changes over time. Devices evolve. Dwell patterns shift. Infrastructure ages. A charging location that worked well five years ago may no longer reflect where passengers need it today, while infrastructure that appears adequate on paper may have quietly degraded through wear, damage or changing patterns of use.

As a result, airports often make important decisions using incomplete information. Some genuinely need more charging. Others have sufficient capacity, but in the wrong places. Others simply have infrastructure that is no longer performing as intended. Without understanding which of those situations exists, it becomes difficult to prioritise investment, demonstrate value or continuously improve the service being delivered.

The challenge is not simply providing charging. It is understanding how well that charging network is actually performing.

Why Passenger Confidence Matters

The impact of that uncertainty is felt first by passengers.

Most travellers are not looking for a full battery. They are looking for confidence that their device will remain usable throughout the rest of their journey. They want to know that their boarding pass, payment methods, airline notifications and onward travel plans will still be available when they need them.

When charging is unavailable, unreliable or simply too slow to be useful, that confidence begins to disappear. Passengers search for alternatives, wait beside charging points for longer than they intended, or change their behaviour to conserve battery. What appears to be a relatively small facility starts to influence the wider passenger experience.

This is one of the reasons installed capacity should not be confused with usable capacity. The more meaningful measure is whether passengers can reliably access charging where they need it, when they need it, and whether the airport understands how well that service is performing.

Passenger charging, in other words, is no longer just about power. It is about confidence.

A Different Way of Thinking

The aviation industry has become exceptionally good at measuring and improving almost every aspect of the passenger journey. Queue times, baggage performance, retail conversion, wayfinding and operational resilience are all routinely monitored and analysed to drive continuous improvement.

Passenger charging should be no different.

Rather than asking, How many charging points do we have?, airports should increasingly be asking, How well is our charging service performing? The distinction may appear subtle, but it fundamentally changes how investment decisions are made, how operational performance is measured and, ultimately, how passengers experience the airport.

This shift in thinking sits at the heart of what we believe passenger charging should become: not simply an amenity that exists, but an operational service that is measured, understood and continuously improved.

The next article, in this series, will explore why charging speed matters far more than many airports realise, and how faster charging influences passenger behaviour, terminal flow and the overall passenger experience.

Innovation in Regional Airports: How ChargeBox Supports Europe’s Digital Airport Strategy

In aviation, innovation isn’t just about aircraft or automation; it’s about improving the passenger journey, the experience. 

The ACI EUROPE Regional Airports and Innovation 2025 report highlights how smaller, often regional airports are becoming vital testbeds for innovation. With their agility, shorter decision cycles and close-knit teams, these airports are ideally placed to trial new technologies that enhance efficiency, sustainability and passenger experience.

At ChargeBox, we believe regional airports have a unique opportunity to turn passenger amenities into powerful innovation platforms. Our work with Heathrow Airport, the world’s most connected aviation hub, shows what’s possible when airports adopt a structured, data-driven approach to digital experience and the same model can be applied at a regional scale.

Regional Airports: Europe’s Innovation Incubators

ACI EUROPE describes regional airports as “innovation centres”, agile environments where new technologies can be tested, validated and scaled.

The report outlines an eight-step innovation framework that encourages airports to:

  • Define clear passenger challenges
  • Run short, structured trials (typically six months)
  • Measure results and adapt quickly
  • Scale proven solutions

This mirrors the ChargeBox Discovery Project, a structured, low-risk model for testing and validating new passenger-experience initiatives. Each project begins with a measurable objective, gathers real-world data and produces a concise report to guide wider rollout. For regional airports, this offers a practical path to deliver visible innovation quickly and affordably.

Heathrow: A Blueprint for Measurable Digital Innovation

This year, ChargeBox partnered with Heathrow Airport and their innovation team to replace legacy charging poles with 41 new FASTPodiums, powered by the FASTHub intelligent engine.

“With the rollout of ChargeBox stations across a further three Heathrow terminals, we are pleased to offer even more to passengers with reliable, simple and fast charging services.” — Helen Elsby, Chief Solutions Officer, Heathrow Airport

The results were striking:

  • Over 2.5 million annual passenger charges
  • Near  100% uptime, up from 67% on legacy systems
  • 300% more charging capacity
  • Zero Heathrow support calls during the trial

While Heathrow is a major international hub, the innovation process behind this success, short pilot, clear KPIs, rapid rollout, is exactly what ACI EUROPE recommends for regional airports seeking to demonstrate impact through agile digital projects.

Learning from Bologna: Data-Driven Passenger Care

ACI’s Regional Airports and Innovation 2025 report highlights Bologna Airport as an example of how even mid-sized airports can lead in digital transformation. Bologna’s “I-CARE” programme reimagined passenger service through integrated communication platforms, data analytics and process optimisation.

The goal: faster, more personalised responses to passenger needs.

This mirrors ChargeBox’s own approach, using connected infrastructure and data insights to improve everyday passenger experiences. Both show how digital systems that enhance satisfaction can be developed, tested and scaled without large-scale infrastructure projects.

Charging as a Service: A Smart, Scalable Model

ChargeBox’s Charging-as-a-Service (CaaS) model aligns directly with ACI EUROPE’s call for airports to “foster partnerships with technology providers and startups.”

Through modular, cloud-connected infrastructure, airports gain:

  • Real-time performance data for ASQ and Skytrax benchmarking
  • Predictive maintenance with minimal engineering intervention
  • Passenger insights to inform retail and digital-service strategies
  • Sustainable design built for longevity and energy efficiency

For regional airports, this model provides a low-risk route to innovation: Fast to deploy, measurable in impact and easily scalable across other terminals or sister airports.

Why Regional Airports Should Act Now

ACI EUROPE’s report concludes with a clear message:

“Regional airports are innovation powerhouses. By embracing sustainability, digital transformation and multimodal integration, they will remain at the forefront of aviation’s future.”

Reliable device charging directly supports this vision. It improves passenger satisfaction, reduces operational friction and demonstrates a visible commitment to digital progress.

Today, providing charging for passengers' devices is no longer just a courtesy; it has become a key indicator of a modern, data-driven airport experience.

Final Thought

From Heathrow’s digital charging rollout to Bologna’s customer-care transformation, airports of all sizes are showing how small, focused innovations can deliver major passenger benefits.

ChargeBox is proud to support that direction, helping airports deliver smarter, more connected experiences across the world.