With passenger numbers continuing to rise following the pandemic, leveraging technologies such as AI – an industry itself that is predicted to reach a valuation of $90B by 2025 – can be revolutionary in creating tangible improvements for airports and reducing any potential barriers to a seamless passenger experience.
Let’s take a look at the ways AI is already enhancing the airport experience through each stage of a passenger’s typical journey.
Virtual queues that reduce wait times at check-in
The integration of AI-powered facial biometrics – a technology that compares the passenger’s passport photo with a live facial image – has brought about a remarkable transformation in the efficiency of airport security procedures. This process empowers travellers to streamline their own journeys through remote check-in, enhancing passenger satisfaction while also moving them swiftly to the concession area.
AI-powered facial biometrics has been particularly ground-breaking for airports in the UK and Europe, whose revenues are greatly reliant on passenger purchases, and so can benefit from an increased amount of time spent by passengers in the likes of duty-free, cafés, shops and bars.
AI technology that enhances bag scanning
Security is a crucial part of every airport experience; however, long queues and extensive bag checks can also lead to understandable frustrations among passengers. For airports, if passengers are spending more time at security this ultimately means they have less time to spend in duty-free – and that has a direct impact on a vital revenue stream. To combat this, numerous European airports, including Amsterdam’s Schiphol, are beginning to implement AI bag scanning within their security procedures.
AI bag scanners rapidly and seamlessly sync with existing X-ray and CT systems, enabling swift and precise detection of prohibited items. This technology doesn’t reduce safety or accuracy – it in fact removes errors that can occur through manual security processes – and instead allows passengers to move freely through security without needing to remove items from their bags. Additionally, it lightens the workload for staff members engaged in this resource-intensive task, freeing them up to be assigned to other airport areas where their presence could be needed more.
Biometric technology for speedier boarding
In the past, you would likely have seen airline staff conducting manual boarding pass checks. Now, AI-powered facial biometric technology is enabling more efficient boarding processes and greater accuracy of passenger identity verification, effectively removing the need for numerous passport and boarding pass checks in the airport.
Currently, many airports collect facial biometrics and scan boarding passes at the security checkpoint, but some are going even further. By leveraging AI-power technology, a number of airports are completely removing the requirement for passengers to show their boarding passes and passports at all. These airports allow passengers to pre-register their biometric information before their flight. And with automated touchpoints, passenger identities can be verified while they travel through the airport, removing the need to continuously present passports and boarding passes.