SmartAirports: Improving Customer Journeys

The increasing popularity and accessibility of air travel mean airports now host millions of travellers each year as they prepare for their onward journeys. Keeping people informed with up-to-date information is key to positive passenger experiences. 

So what does smart journey planning look like? At L.B. Foster our innovation team has been developing technologies that will help deliver the SmartAirport. The SmartAirport is about demonstrating how dynamic information delivered through mobile devices and displays helps travellers make more informed decisions. 

Alastair Norman at L.B. Foster explains: “We’ve all experienced flight delays and travel disruption. SmartAirport is all about providing essential information to improve the user experience. Imagine being able to check which coffee shops have seating available, or which restaurant has the shortest queues, or being able to check flight status in real time so you can delay leaving home in the event of delays. That saves hours wasted waiting at the airport.” 

SmartAirport will deliver improvements to current customer information systems in three areas:

- dynamic wayfinding depending on service and airport usage

- dynamic service updates with live flight details 

- dynamic disruption management using near field communication technology.

Making best use of existing mobile screen technologies in an integrated solution, users will have a more consistent and seamless experience at the airport, with a level of personalisation not available with current deployments. As the service situation evolves during the day information screens can be updated remotely by staff to advise travellers of changes to thejourney in a more accessible way.

Display screens will have the ability to interact with people’s smart devices to provide more detailed and personal information related to the current journey. SmartAirport will integrate near field communication and touch screen displays to deliver localised information to the traveller wherever he or she needs it along the journey line.

Norman concludes: “SmartAirport is all about putting the power of information into the hands of the user. It will change how we navigate our way around airports, improving experiences and enabling everyone to make more informed decisions about journey planning.”

For further information www.lbfoster.eu

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Editors notes

LB Foster delivers world-class engineering solutions in rail, energy and industrial automation. What we do keeps our world moving.