BAA taps real-time queue data
Proposed technology will improve customer service and efficiency
Airport operator BAA is planning to install real-time information systems to reduce queues at security checkpoints.
The technology will measure queuing time from when passengers put their cabin baggage through the X-ray machine until they collect their bags.
If successful, the system could also measure queues at check-in, passenger lounges and transfer areas, providing long-term trends for analysis and performance comparison across the group.
A BAA spokesman says the initiative is part of the airport operator’s Delivering Excellence programme, which is intended to improve customer service, management and efficiency.
‘Real-time information can help change the structure of our airports and trim staffing levels to ensure more people are out front doing key jobs,’ he said.
The technology will register when a passenger arrives and determine if actual queuing and processing time exceeds airport targets. BAA will then export the data in a spreadsheet-compatible format to measure overall performance using comparative figures on airports, terminals, queue lanes and date.
The queue measurement will be used for all domestic, international and fast-track passengers, including those using biometric technology to speed the check-in process (Computing, 27 November).
BAA, which operates the Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports, says the technology must be implemented with minimal impact on security infrastructure, processes and passengers.
Butler Group analyst Mark Blowers says real-time information is vital, particularly at airports, to enable staff to respond quickly when problems arise.
‘Airports are time critical, but security has become more time consuming in the past year, so anything it can do to speed up the queuing process will benefit BAA and passengers,’ he said.
‘The technology is already mature in industries like supermarkets, so it is likely to be scalable and robust enough to cope with the expected volumes of passengers,’ he said.
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