WRITTEN BY: FELICITY STREDDER | 11/08/2016
Dublin airport is using Bluetooth/wi-fi technology to manage queues and display wait times, as passenger numbers grow.
To help monitor these increasing numbers, the airport has enlisted the expertise of Lockheed Martin to design and implement the BlipTrack solution from Denmark-based BLIP Systems.
The data collected can identify bottlenecks and keeps the airport informed if queues become congested. In addition, it can provide live, minute-by-minute forecasts of wait times for the remaining hours of the day, displayed on monitors around the airport and the mobile app. The airport can therefore strategise accordingly if expected wait times deviate from original forecasts, preventing queue build-up and avoiding potential KPI violations.
David Nugent, Terminal Two Operations Manager at Dublin airport, also commented: “It tells us how many passengers have passed through a point at a given time. This gives us an exact real-time piece of information of about how long it took a group of passengers just to pass from one point to another point. Effectively ensuring that every passenger who comes through the building, gets to their gate on time, and that their flight departs on time, giving them the best experience that they can possibly have.”
“Having this information to hand means they are more relaxed when they come through, they don't just see it as a queue with no end in sight. They know that it's going to take them that length time”, adds Karen Smyth, TI Security Duty Manager, DAA.
The system has helped Dublin airport to ensure that their passengers spend no longer than half an hour in the queue for security checks, minimising stress and optimising the passenger experience.
Also displaying real-time wait times, based on BlipTrack data, are JFK airport, Amsterdam Schiphol, Barcelona El-Prat, Copenhagen, Cincinnati, Keflavik and Oslo airport.
news cited from magazine.groundhandling.com
