Inside Uruguay’s Largest Airport: How Carrasco International Automated Key Control for 400+ Staff

Before adopting Keycafe, Aeropuertos Uruguay managed hundreds of keys through a fully manual process at Carrasco International, Uruguay’s largest airport. The operation involved tracking keys for a fleet of ground support vehicles, restricted facility zones, and specialized aviation equipment across the airport, with every key withdrawal and return recorded in a spreadsheet by hand.

As the number of keys grew, the process became increasingly difficult to manage for the 400+ staff and external contractors. Staff often spent valuable time searching through crowded key cabinets to locate specific keys, slowing down daily operations and limiting visibility into key usage. Delays in finding or retrieving keys disrupted scheduled work with external providers, affecting operational efficiency and creating unnecessary administrative workload.

Aeropuertos Uruguay implemented Keycafe to replace its manual key management process with a secure, automated system that provides controlled access and real-time visibility across airport operations. The platform was configured to match the airport's organizational structure, ensuring that employees and external providers can access only the keys relevant to their responsibilities — a critical requirement for a facility operating under strict aviation security standards.

Administrators manage the overall system by configuring settings, creating users, organizing key groups, and defining access permissions. Managers, such as area heads, oversee keys within their departments and can grant temporary access to employees or external providers when required. Base users have ongoing access to the operational keys they need for their daily responsibilities, while external providers receive time-limited access only for approved tasks.

This structure allows users to quickly locate and retrieve authorized keys while maintaining accountability through automated activity tracking and centralized oversight.

At a facility where every minute of operational delay can ripple across flight schedules, contractor work, and passenger services, Aeropuertos Uruguay saw immediate improvements in efficiency and response times after implementing Keycafe. Employees can now independently retrieve and return authorized keys through a faster, more streamlined process, while access-based search filtering helps users quickly find exactly what they need.

The airport also reduced costs associated with duplicate keys, lock replacements, and rescheduled contractor work. By adapting to the specific requirements of security, maintenance, operations, and external providers, Keycafe delivered a solution that fit seamlessly into the airport's day-to-day workflows.