As the airport continued to expand its digital ambitions, the data landscape held them back: Systems were siloed across SQL Server databases, integrations were costly, and access to the data was limited – blocking the path to becoming truly data driven and ready for AI powered innovation. 

“Our previous technology stack wasn’t built for the future. Beyond being a massive cleanup effort, it couldn’t unlock the business value of emerging technologies. Changing the stack and starting fresh was critical to prepare for what’s ahead”, says Tenna Ørum Kristensen, Director Data & AI at Copenhagen Airports.    

CPH sets a clear ambition: Make data accessible, governed, and ready for advanced analytics – enabling real-time operational insights and AI-driven use cases across the airport.  

Assessing the path forward: mapping challenges and proving the approach  

Before implementing the new Lakehouse platform, CPH and twoday ‘s Digital Strategy department conducted a comprehensive assesment to map out the airport’s data challenges and define a clear roadmap for the future. Tenna Ørum Kristensen had been brought in to lead the work from CPH, working closely with Twoday. The assesment:  

• Identified pain points across legacy systems with weak performance, lack of governance, siloed data sources, slow execution and a conflicting infrastructure  
• Delivered concrete recommendations for a scalable, unified architecture tailored to CPH’s operational and analytical needs
• Outlined the organizational setup, required team competencies, and governance practies for a modern data department  

To validate the recommended approach, twoday and Tennas team also ran a POC on Databricks, demonstrating that a Lakehouse architecture based on twoday’s Lighthouse framework could:  

• Integrate multiple previously disconnedted data sources  
• Handle high-volume streaming from operational systems  
• Support analytics and AI initiatives with flexibility and governance  
  

The POC provided clear evidence that Databricks was the right platform to power CPH’s journey toward a data-driven, AI-ready airport.

With the roadmap and POC confirmed, CPH moved forward to implement a full Lakehouse platform on Databricks, creating a scalable, governed platform where data engineering, data science, and business analytics converge.  
 
Key drivers for modernization:  

• Cost flexibility – clusters only run when needed, unlike always-on SQL servers
• One unified platform for ingestion, transformation, ML and BI ensuring single-source-of-truth
• Built-in governance with Unity Catalog securing data access across departments
• Scalable architecture enabling rapid integration of new data sources  
  

This foundation ensures that CPH’s data is reliable, accessible, and ready for innovation at scale.

“We evaluated several options but ultimately chose Databricks because it stands out! Built on opensource technologies and backed by a vibrant global community, it gives us access to continuous innovation and proven best practices. This flexibility, combined with freedom from vendor lock-in, means we can adapt quickly as technology evolves – and that’s exactly what we need for the future.” 

From day one, CPH worked closely with Twoday, who brought experience, strategy advisory, frameworks, and technical expertise to accelerate the journey.  

”I was looking to partner with someone who understood our vision, not just a vendor. Our strategy is to own this internally, so it was crucial to bring in a partner who could deliver something sustainable and then step out of the equation eventually. Twoday accelerated our start and is now gradually handing over, leaving us fully in charge to take it forward,”  says Tenna.