Summary:
- Frankfurt Airport becomes the world’s first airport to trial Auracast broadcast audio, streaming gate announcements directly to passengers’ hearing aids, earbuds and smartphones via Bluetooth.
- Inclusive, stress-free passenger experience takes centre stage, as personalised audio announcements reduce background noise challenges and support the needs of travellers with hearing loss.
- Digital accessibility meets airport innovation, with the Fraport-led trial demonstrating how emerging technologies can enhance comfort, inclusivity and operational communication at the gate.
Fraport’s Frankfurt Airport – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub – has started testing Auracast broadcast audio, a new Bluetooth capability, at two gates, becoming the first airport in the world to send all gate announcements directly to passengers’ own hearing aids, earbuds and smartphones. This marks an important step towards making air travel less stressful and more inclusive for everyone, especially the almost one in five – or more than 1.5 billion – people globally who live with hearing loss.
Auracast broadcast audio is a Bluetooth capability that turns public sound into a direct audio stream that people can tune into with their own devices. Instead of struggling to hear announcements over background noise, travellers can simply connect and listen as if they were taking a phone call or listening to music on their personal device.
“As the airport operator, we want our passengers to have a comfortable and relaxing stay at our terminals,” said Fraport Senior Executive Vice President Aviation Alexander Laukenmann. “By bringing clear, personalised announcements directly into passengers’ own hearing devices, we are offering another attractive service to our customers while at the same time taking an important step towards a more inclusive airport.”
The new solution has been installed at gates A16 and A17 in Terminal 1. Over the next two months, the project partners will gather feedback from travellers and staff to evaluate how the technology affects accessibility, comfort, and the overall passenger experience. The trial is part of a Distr@l‑funded digital-accessibility initiative. Distr@l is a public funding program from the German state of Hesse that supports innovative digital projects and collaboration between research and industry. The project is led by Sittig Technologies together with Fraport and the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences.
You may also be interested in
12 technology and CX trends that can enhance airline and airport operations in 2026
