Case Study: London Heathrow achieves 2,000 real-time flight updates per second and boosts retail engagement with Google Cloud Platform

London Heathrow Airport Takes Off with DMI and Google Cloud Platform

London Heathrow Airport, the busiest airport in Europe, needed a robust mobile solution to give travelers real-time flight, baggage, transit and retail information while also driving revenue for its roughly 350 shops and restaurants. The challenge was to deliver a fast, scalable, user-friendly app that tailored experiences to passengers and supported airport merchants with timely offers.

DMI built the Heathrow Airport Guide on Google Cloud Platform—using App Engine, Cloud Storage and BigQuery—to provide live flight updates, interactive maps, transit connections and targeted retail promotions. The app processes about 2,000 real-time flight schedule updates per second, runs 24/7 since 2011 with minimal backend work, frees staff to focus on the customer experience, and enhances retailer engagement across Heathrow’s retail ecosystem.

London Heathrow