21 Jan
As airports evolve, revenue infrastructure must keep pace.
Airports are no longer just transit points – theyâve become complex commercial ecosystems. As global travel rebounds and passenger expectations rise, Â airport leaders are under pressure to unlock new growth beyond traditional aeronautical revenues.
Today, more than 40% of total global airport revenues are generated from non-aeronautical sources, including retail, parking, advertising, loyalty programs, and digital services (ACI World Airport Economics Report 2023). And with increased competition, rising operational costs, and pressure for financial resilience, this share is expected to grow.
To support these ambitions, airports are introducing dynamic commercial models â usage-based fees, subscription services, and partner ecosystems. However, many are still operating with legacy billing systems that were never designed for this level of complexity, agility, or innovation.
The revenue challenges facing Airports
Airports today operate as complex commercial ecosystems, managing a mix of aeronautical and non-aeronautical services, diverse partner contracts, and growing regulatory requirements. While passenger volumes and service offerings continue to expand, revenue operations often struggle to keep pace.
Several structural challenges consistently impact airport finance and commercial teams:
Fragmented Billing Systems
Billing across aeronautical charges, retail concessions, parking, real estate, and ancillary services is frequently spread across multiple systems. This fragmentation leads to inconsistent processes, duplicated effort, and limited end-to-end visibility across revenue streams.Manual Reconciliation and Invoicing
Many airports still rely on manual reconciliation between usage data, contracts, invoices, and payments. These labour-intensive processes increase the risk of errors, slow down billing cycles, and divert finance teams from higher-value activities.Lack of Centralized Contract Management
Contracts with airlines, concessionaires, and service providers are often managed across disconnected tools or legacy systems. Without a single source of truth, aligning contract terms with billing and revenue recognition becomes complex and prone to discrepancies.Compliance and E-Invoicing Gaps
Evolving regulatory requirementsâsuch as e-invoicing mandates and revenue recognition standards (IFRS 15 / ASC 606)âadd further pressure. When compliance is handled manually or through workarounds, it increases operational risk and audit effort.Together, these challenges create operational friction that limits airportsâ ability to scale services, protect revenue, and respond quickly to changing commercial demands.
Introducing SAP BRIM: Powering Scalable, Intelligent Revenue Management
As airports face increasing demands to diversify services, scale operations, and monetize new business models, SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (BRIM) emerges as a future-ready platform designed to handle complex, high-volume billing environments with precision and agility.
Proven across high-velocity industries like telecommunications, utilities, and transport, SAP BRIM delivers the flexibility and control needed to transform airport billing and revenue operations.
Core Capabilities of SAP BRIM for Modern Revenue Operations:
- Usage-Based Billing & Mediation
Accurately capture, rate, and bill for a wide range of airport services â from passenger flows to aircraft handling and retail concessions. - Subscription & Entitlement Management
Enable recurring revenue models for services like lounge access, cargo handling, or digital offerings, with full entitlement control. - Dynamic Pricing & Bundling
Design and deploy flexible pricing structures for multi-service packages, seasonal demands, or differentiated client segments. - Real-Time Invoicing & Revenue Recognition
Accelerate cash flow and financial visibility with instant billing and automated recognition aligned with service delivery. - Automated Compliance (ASC 606 / IFRS 15)
Ensure financial compliance across all billing models, reducing audit risks and manual reconciliation efforts. - Centralized Contract & Financial Management
Manage complex commercial agreements, track contract performance, and streamline reconciliation in one integrated environment.
Why Acuiti Labs
 Acuiti Labs brings deep, hands-on experience in helping complex, asset-intensive industries modernize revenue operations â including airports.
Our teams understand the unique mix of aeronautical and non-aeronautical billing, the dependency on partner ecosystems, and the regulatory environment airports operate in. We combine SAP BRIM expertise with automation accelerators and self-service capabilities that address real operational gaps.
Rather than replacing existing systems wholesale, Acuiti Labs focuses on integrating and modernizing â enabling airports to move forward without disrupting critical operations. From contract-driven billing and revenue recognition to reconciliation and customer portals, we help airports build a scalable, future-ready revenue foundation.
What sets us apart
- AcuitiAirport Accelerator
A pre-configured extension of SAP BRIM designed specifically for airports â enabling rapid deployment of aero and non-aero billing, subscription logic, partner settlements, and usage monitoring. - Industry Experience
From international airport BRIM implementations to leadership conversations at events like SAP Sapphire and the Airports Innovation Summit, our insights are grounded in real-world airport challenges and solutions. - Cross-Sector Learnings
We bring proven strategies from ports, rail, and public infrastructure â where high-volume, multi-entity billing models are already mature â and apply them to the unique context of aviation.
The measurable impact
Business Challenge | SAP BRIM + Acuiti Labs Solution | Strategic Outcome |
Revenue leakage | Real-time usage capture and audit trails | Up to 25% increase in billing accuracy |
Static pricing | Dynamic rate and entitlement configuration | 3â7% uplift in non-aero revenue |
Manual reconciliation | Automated workflows and financial controls | Faster settlements, fewer disputes |
Subscription complexity | Modular billing framework | Rapid rollout of new services |
Compliance overhead | Built-in revenue recognition engine | Improved audit readiness, reduced effort |
The hidden cost of Static Revenue Systems
Behind the scenes, billing remains one of the most critical yet overlooked components of airport transformation. Fragmented, manual, and slow-to-adapt billing systems are limiting airports in key ways:
Revenue Leakage
Airports lose between 5% and 10% of non-aeronautical revenue annually due to poor billing integration, untracked service usage, and manual data reconciliation (IATA Airport IT Insights Report).
Limited Monetization Agility
Legacy systems canât easily support emerging models like premium subscriptions, time-based pricing, or bundled offerings. Introducing a new service often means complex workarounds, delays, or disconnected billing flows.
Lack of Visibility and Control
Without real-time billing data, commercial and finance teams struggle to make informed decisions. Compliance with standards such as ASC 606 or IFRS 15 becomes labour-intensive and error prone.
Disputes and Delays with Partners
Retailers, airlines, and service partners expect accurate, timely, and transparent billing. When that breaks down, disputes arise, settlements are delayed, and trust erodes.
To address these challenges, airports are increasingly rethinking how revenue operations are designed and supportedâmoving toward a more integrated, automated, and future-ready revenue stack.
Why this matters now for Airports
Airports today are operating under unprecedented pressure. Passenger traffic is rebounding and growing, but the complexity of managing revenue has increased just as fast.
Non-aeronautical revenues â parking, retail, lounges, real estate, digital services â now account for a significant share of airport income. At the same time, regulatory requirements around e-invoicing, tax compliance, and financial reporting are becoming stricter across regions.
Airlines, concession partners, and service providers expect faster, more transparent billing, accurate reconciliations, and fewer disputes. Meanwhile, passengers increasingly expect seamless, digital-first experiences â even in how services are billed and paid for.
For airport leaders, this means revenue operations are no longer a back-office concern. They are a strategic capability that directly impacts cash flow, partner relationships, compliance, and the airportâs ability to scale new services.
What happens if Airports donât act
When revenue operations rely on fragmented systems and manual processes, the impact goes far beyond inefficiency.
Delayed or inaccurate invoicing leads to revenue leakage and longer cash cycles. Disputes increase when partners and airlines lack clear visibility into charges, usage, and contracts. Finance teams spend disproportionate time reconciling invoices and payments instead of focusing on strategic analysis.
Compliance risks also grow as regulatory mandates for e-invoicing and reporting evolve faster than legacy systems can adapt. Most importantly, airports struggle to launch new services or pricing models when billing systems are rigid and slow to change.
What a Modern Airport Revenue Stack looks like
Leading airports are rethinking revenue operations as an integrated, digital ecosystem.
At the core is centralized contract and billing management that supports both aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues. Usage-based, subscription, and hybrid pricing models are handled through a single framework, rather than multiple disconnected tools.
Automation replaces manual reconciliation and data handoffs. Self-service portals give airlines, tenants, and partners real-time access to invoices, payments, and disputes. Compliance and revenue recognition are embedded into processes, not managed as afterthoughts.
This modern approach enables airports to scale new services quickly, improve cash flow, and strengthen partner relationships â while maintaining full financial control.
A strategic moment for Airport Leaders
Airports are entering a new era defined by digital experiences, commercial partnerships, and monetization innovation. But sustaining this evolution requires revenue systems that are just as modern, flexible, and intelligent as the services they support.
With the right architecture in place, billing becomes more than a process â it becomes a platform for growth.
Preparing Airports for the next phase of growth
As airports continue to evolve into multi-service, digital ecosystems, revenue operations must evolve with them.
Modernizing billing, reconciliation, and customer engagement is no longer optional â it is essential to sustaining growth, ensuring compliance, and delivering trusted experiences to airlines, partners, and passengers alike.
Acuiti Labs works with airport leaders to turn revenue complexity into a strategic advantage â today and for the future.
To explore how your airport can unlock new revenue potential, reduce leakage, and enable new service models, connect with us for a strategic workshop or capability assessment.
Letâs Talk
Explore how our industry-focused BRIM products and acceleratorsâincluding solutions for airports, media, postal services, and moreâcan help modernize your revenue model. Connect with us for a strategic workshop or insights from our latest airport and cross-industry engagements.
