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San Diego Airport Aims At Startups With New Accelerator

In an unusual move, the San Diego International Airport is hoping to make it easier for startup and innovators to figure out how well their services work in an airport setting, with a new Innovation Lab, the airpot said on Monday. According to the airport, the new accelerator program hopes to help startups and others bypass what normally has been an "arduous and lengthy" RFP process which typically occurs when companies want to try to implement their services at airports, which can take up to 2 years. According to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, the new "Innovation Lab" is an accelerator for innovative products and ideas in the airport industry, and will be run by Detecon Inc, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom (the owner of T-Mobile). The program wil run for 16 weeks, and offer up mentoring, network contacts, and input on airport specific topics--plus, the abiliy to test their ideas in live operation at the airport. SAN said the new Innovation Lab will be housed in its Commuter Terminal, which was decommissioned in June 2015. That space includes 3,500 square feet--and includes a functional mini-terminal area with ticket counters and a bag claim carousel.