Trondheim Airport serves over four million passengers a year. Before Sensade, drivers arriving at the parking facility had no reliable guidance. The existing park guiding system was not working properly. Spaces were found by circling.
The question was not whether the airport needed a better solution. It was whether a new one could be trusted to perform.
sensors installed
ceiling parking lamps
floors covered
parking garage
The Challenge
Without a functioning guidance system, drivers arriving at Trondheim Airport had no way to know where available spaces were before they were already inside the facility. The result was unnecessary circulation, congestion, and a frustrating start to the journey for passengers at one of Norway’s busiest airports.
The airport also lacked reliable operational data on how its parking facility was actually being used. Without that visibility, managing capacity and planning ahead was based on observation rather than evidence
The Solution
APCOA Norway partnered with Sensade to replace the non-functioning system with a complete smart parking guidance solution. The initial deployment covered 500 spaces across the three-floor parking garage, equipping each space with a wireless sensor and installing ceiling parking lamps to give drivers clear visual signals at the point where they need them.
Sensade provides live occupancy data directly to APCOA Norway, who use it to feed the airport’s existing entrance screens — giving drivers reliable information before they commit to a route inside the garage.
The system is built for the demands of a northern Norwegian environment. Sensors and lamps operate reliably at temperatures as low as -30°C, without calibration or manual intervention.
The Impact
For passengers arriving at Trondheim Airport, the change is immediate. Drivers are guided directly to available spaces from the moment they enter the facility. Circulation inside the garage has decreased and the arrival experience is smoother from the first moment.
For APCOA Norway, the system delivers something the previous infrastructure never could: a continuous, reliable picture of how the parking facility is used. Real-time data supports operational decisions and gives the airport a foundation for managing capacity with confidence.
Time saved in the car park is time gained in the terminal. Across the volume of passengers Trondheim Airport handles, even small reductions in search time translate into more hours spent in retail and dining areas every year.
A Pilot That Proved Its Value
Approximately one year after the initial deployment, APCOA Norway chose to expand. Satisfied with how the system had performed, they ordered an additional 1,000 sensors and lamps, bringing the total to 1,500 sensors and 142 ceiling parking lamps across the full facility.
The expansion was not part of a pre-planned rollout. It was a direct response to a system that worked. From 500 to 1,500 spaces, the Trondheim Airport project is a demonstration of what happens when technology performs as promised. You start with what you can prove. Then you scale.
