Airports become smarter to attract more passengers



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With the increase in air traffic, some airports, at the edge of congestion, are modernized through digital technology and artificial intelligence, to improve the flow of passengers through the interaction of the users themselves.

"In the next ten years, if nothing changes, at least 200 airports in the world will be structurally unable to meet the demand," said Sergio Colella, president of Sita Europe, technology branch and field of digital innovation in the world. air sector.

By 2036 at the latest, the number of passengers will have doubled in a context of rising middle classes in emerging countries, development of low-cost airlines and air links.

In Europe, several large airports, such as Frankfurt or London Heathrow, are already saturated and suffer from limited expansion due to environmental imperatives or lack of space.

From online registration or automatic terminals – already widely developed – to biometric shipping – that Sita tested at Boston's Logan Airport -, including registration Automatic baggage, border crossing – automatic passport reading, parking (when a robot parks the car), digital technology seeks to optimize the flow of passengers to avoid lines, absorb more travelers and save space.

According to Sita, self-service teams are already present in more than 20% of airports.

Emerging companies compete in imagination and, if the technology already exists, there remains only to "identify and integrate the most relevant use cases", according to Jean-Baptiste Nau , air transport expert of the Wavestone firm and co-author of a study on "The terminal of the airport of tomorrow".

The only thing that continues to cause congestion and for which no solution has been found, for the moment, are the security checks, the border inspection posts (PIFs ).

"Everyone dreams of a tunnel-type post, which would sweep passengers and their luggage without stopping them, but we are still far from that, because of the complexity of the checks that must be made", Nau points out.

Regarding mobility, some airports are testing passenger tracking with the help of the smartphone.

With this system, the traveler can be located and the traveler receives personalized information in real time – on, for example, a change of boarding gate – through an application or with sensors distributed around it from the airport.

In addition, artificial intelligence can also be applied to anticipate the consequences of weather changes, strikes, traffic jams, work; inform the passenger and thus better manage the flow. A digital tracking of the passenger that can also be used to obtain additional income.

Eat more

In 2015, according to data from the international airport organization ACI, the fees paid by the airlines were down and accounted for only 55% of airport revenues. The turnover of non-aeronautical activities (shops, car parks, real estate, catering …) is up and represents 45%.

Thus, we try to take advantage of the new services created by the boom of the digital sector.

At the Farnborough Air Show, near London, the industry is trying to collect, analyze and exploit – for example, in predictive maintenance – the valuable data of each aircraft.

Tomorrow, the traveler will not only receive information about his trip but also personalized ads to consume in the shops or restaurants of

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