Incheon International Airport Corp. said Tuesday that it had created a cooperative alliance with two European airline groups, the first of its kind.

Incheon Airport, Dutch company Royal Schiphol Group and the French Groupe ADP created the Leading Airport Alliance, modeled after alliances between airlines such as Skyteam, which houses Korean Air and the Star Alliance, home to Asiana Airlines.

The three airport companies have been sister airports since 2011 and strategic partners since 2014. 

With the new Leading Airport Alliance, the three companies announced a set of innovation initiatives they said would help the three companies to speed up the transition to smart airports by sharing information on new technologies in safety and security and airport operations.

In particular, the alliance will seek to standardize and expand technologies being introduced to airport operations such as those involving robotics, the Internet of Things and big data. 

Applications of these technologies may include robots that help with airport operations, single-token identification using biological data and emergency response training using virtual and augmented reality. 

“Incheon Airport seeks to offer a new paradigm in airport operations to bring real benefits and convenience to its visitors, and the Leading Airport Alliance is the starting point,” said Chung Il-young, CEO of Incheon International Airport Corporation.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)