BETTER AIRPORT SUMMIT
Your Airport Operations Summit
by Copenhagen Optimization
New event dates announced!
May 14-15, 2025. Â
Traffic continues to grow. So does fluctuations in traffic, and in many airports capacity is reaching its limits. Operational challenges are fiercer than ever. How do you win?
Join our Summit in Copenhagen and get inspiration from leading airports around the world on how to take your airport operations to the next level.
Participation is free of charge.
Summit Agenda
08.30 – 09.00: Registration and networking breakfast
09.00 – 09.15: Welcome by Kasper Hounsgaard & Anders Dohn
09.15 – 10.45: Session 1 – What is going on at your airport right now?
Each airport is asked to present one slide on the current main focus areas.
Template will be shared by Copenhagen Optimization.
10.45 – 11.00: Coffee break
11.00 – 12.00: Session 2 – Better Baggage
Case presentation: We will take a deep-dive into a specific airport case on the use of Better Baggage.
Presenter: Kasper Hounsgaard, Copenhagen Optimization
12.00 – 13.15: Lunch break
Lunch will be served at Nimb Brasserie, Tivoli Gardens.
Menu: Chef’s choice.
13.15 – 14.00: Session 3 – Thomas Terney on “The Battle of the Future” Â
Terney investigates why AI is so important for our future and what it actually is. Â
14.00 – 14.45: Session 4 – Deployment
We will dive into deployment: the mapping of individuals to specific tasks, how it impacts operation, and supports both planning and real-time operations.
Presenters: Rasmus Kaster & Lene Thorsen Goebel, Copenhagen Optimization
14.45 – 15.15: Coffee break
15.15 – 16.00: Session 5 – Circling in on the iAOP
Case: MAG
Presenters: Michaela Morris, Product Manager, MAG and Tor Fog Justesen, Chief Product Officer, Copenhagen Optimization
16.00 – 16.15: Wrap up of the day.
16.30 – Leaving Tivoli and taking the metro to Kgs. Nytorv
17.00 – Guided tour through Copenhagen:
Kgs. Nytorv – Nyhavn – Skuespilhuset and view of the Opera – Amalie Haven – Amalienborg – Marble Church
Please note: Starting point of the tour is in front of the main entrance to the Royal Theater at Kgs. Nytorv.
18.00 – Copenhagen Optimization office
Office tour, champagne, and networking.
Address: Esplanaden 8A, 1st floor, 1263 Copenhagen K
19.30 – Dinner at The Pescatarian
The menu:
Oyster with rhubarb & yuzu // Crispy tart with cod roe // Krokette of mackerel
Halibut, blood orange & bakskuld // Tarte á l’oignon // Scallop, carrot & white currant // Morel, potato & eggplant // Flounder, ramson & fish fumé // Lemon, caramel & hazelnut
 Address: Amaliegade 49, 1256 Copenhagen K
09.00 – 10.00:Â For the early birds we will explore Copenhagen
Go on a city walk with Copenhagen Optimization. We will look into some of the architectural gems of the city as well as some the hip, gentrified neighborhoods.
10.00 – 10.30: Welcome back to Tivoli and light breakfast
10.30 – 11.30: Session A – Better Security
Case: Future security check-point planning at LHR.
Presenter: Ben Barton, Planning Manager, London Heathrow Airport
11.30 – 12.00: Break-out session –Â Exploring TivoliÂ
12.00 – 13.15: Lunch break
Lunch will be served at Fru Nimb, Tivoli Gardens.
Menu: Open faced sandwiches, chef’s choice.
13.15 – 13.45: Session B – Better Stand & Gate: How to solve complex planning at Minneapolis Saint-Paul Int. Airport (MSP)
Presenters: Bradley Juffer, Head of Airport Optimization, MSP and Esben Kolind, Lead Consultant, Copenhagen Optimization.
13.45 – 14.15: Session C – Edinburgh Airport: Insights on Capacity Planning & Analytics.
Presenter: Ailsa Wilson, Capacity Manager
14.15Â – 14.30: Wrap-up and thank you – you will have the option to explore Tivoli on your own after the Summit
The top 5 key take aways from the Better Airport Summit are:
1. The development of new technologies is a determining factor for the future of aviation – Something about that the airports who can adapt and implement these new technologies will win the competition.
2. Data – how to collect it, how to utilize its full potential, and how to make sure it is validated. Â
3. Change Management is necessary to drive successful adoption and usage of change – but it always turns out to be more challenging than expected. Get learnings and insights on how to succeed.
4. Nudging – Learn how airports are starting to use nudging to influence passenger behavior and be in control of the passenger arrival curve.
5. Sustainability is here to stay and we need to address it and implement it the way we do business – but how do we do that in the best way possible?
It is all about who is in the room
It is not just about the presentations. It’s about who is in the room. This room is going to be packed with some of the best industry specialists and some of the most knowledgeable and innovative minds within airport operations.
Copenhagen Optimization brings together experts across the more than 25 airports currently using our Better Airport software. The atmosphere will be relaxed and the goal will be to have high-quality conversations with like-mined peers. No matter what challenges you are facing, other airports will have had the exact same issues and will have found a solution for them.
At the Better Airport Summit you will:
- Meet and build your network with other airport operations peers
- Get ideas to your specific challenges
- Learn what works for others
Our aim is to build a network for and with users of our Better Airport software with the purpose of providing relevant and professional sparring for all – both during and outside the summit, achieving a continual effect.
Topics you want to discuss
Presentations are good for inspiration. New input to take home and discuss with your colleagues. But they are usually not spot-on in regards to the specific challenges you are facing. And let’s be honest – no one has generic challenges. We all have specific issues we would like to solve. That is why we have planned break-out sessions and panel discussions in connection with every inspirational session to give you the chance to discuss and be inspired on how to apply that knowledge in your own operation.
Learn what’s working really well for everyone (and not), and use those insights to go faster.
Who should come?
This event is for people working within airport operations, whether that be analysis, forecasting, planning, or actually driving the operation on a day-to-day or hour-by-hour basis.
If you are working with forecasting, check-in, security, baggage, immigrations, or handling the stand and gate allocation this event is a fit.Â
If you are interested in:
- Precisely predicting your passenger and baggage flows
- Use data to plan with confidence and clarity
- Optimize your operation in real time
…this event is for you.
 The Better Airport Summit is where we come together to discuss, be inspired, and figure out how to excel.
Meet the speakers
Kasper Hounsgaard
Co-CEO & founder,
Copenhagen Optimization
Pelle Guldborg Hansen
Behavioral Scientist and
nudging expert
Anders Barsøe
Impact Business Entrepreneur
Mike Jones
Head of Technology – Airports at MAG (Airports Group)
Anders Dohn
Co-CEO & founder,
Copenhagen Optimization
Venue
Location:Â Â
Tivoli, Nimb Hotel –Â Bernstorffsgade 5, 1577 Copenhagen
Nearby hotels you could stay at:
Radisson Collection Royal Hotel
Or anywhere downtown. Tivoli is centrally located and in walking distance from nearly anywhere in the city center.
