The shift to touchless travel and new health safety regimes will be heavily reliant on IoT-enabled technologies. At the same time, data must be protected, with privacy, consent, and transparent data governance at the heart of any solution. IoT presents a unique and substantial opportunity to improve almost all aspects of the airline industry in the wake of Covid, from ground maintenance and operations to crew and passenger safety. Here’s how:
Contactless travel
If one thing is clear it is that the future of airports is contactless travel. Even prior to the pandemic, expanded security measures and other factors meant time spent in airports had increased exponentially and airports had already begun introducing new technology and processes to mitigate waiting times.
In the post-Covid world of air travel the implementation of contactless travel measures will accelerate. In practice this will mean reducing the number of human interaction touchpoints in conjunction with the implementation of social distancing norms. Proximity sensing, contactless, agent-free and automated check-in and boarding will be critical, with things like off-site check-in at, for example, hotels and shopping malls decentralizing processes for passengers. Autonomous, handsfree cargo processing and other airport operations will also reduce human contact.
Additionally, mobile applications already in use can be further enhanced to provide wait-time tracking, boarding calls, and zones to optimize queues and ensure social distancing around areas such as boarding gates, restrooms, and security. And the increased use of biometric corridors at airports will allow passengers to seamlessly pass-through security for verification without ever having to touch anything.
Health requirements
Health screening at airports is now being encouraged or even mandated by governments in order to prevent unwell passengers from traveling or staff from working. Health screening, immunity passports, health certificates – these measures are all on track to become the new norm. Manual thermal and temperature screenings are already being used, while trials are underway for self-service, touch-free technology that can detect a person’s temperature and heart rate, while asking a series of questions from a 1.5-meter distance at airport touchpoints such as bag drop, immigration, security counters, etc. Additionally, wearables will enable travelers to practice safe social distancing, while maintaining other health and safety compliance parameters.
Managed sanitation
Maintaining high standards of sanitation is of paramount importance in the post-Covid world, and this is never truer than when it comes to the closed environment of an airport, where people from all over the world come together for a brief moment in time. Myriad smart cleaning schemes are already being implemented, such as real-time monitoring of supplies like soap and sanitizer dispensers and paper supplies, which not only reduces waste, but also improves labor efficiency.
Some airports are even trialing UV-C lighting, which has been used to disinfect medical equipment for decades, to sanitize notoriously grubby security trays, while others are keeping passengers informed about rigorous cleaning checks, such as when surfaces in any particular zone were last sanitized.
Crowd reduction
Even before Covid, IoT-enabled devices and cameras were being used to determine traffic patterns and crowd movements throughout airports. In the post-Covid world it will be even more important to not just monitor over-crowding but to react quickly to it.
IoT- enabled sensors and cameras ensure real-time communication of crowd status, queue status, and wait times, along with occupancy, passenger density, and capacity volumes in various areas. Not only can passengers be advised when it comes to navigating the airport, facility management can quickly implement measures to reduce crowded areas.
Asset management
Delayed departures cost airports millions each year and leave untold numbers of passengers stuck in the closed environment of the airport. By tracking the huge amount of physical assets in the airport, IoT can significantly improve efficiency while also reducing costs, which in turn will help everyone keep on schedule. Tracking can include anything from ground service vehicles and baggage tugs to water trucks and de-icing vehicles, ensuring everything arrives at the right gate at the right time – and if they don’t, quick action can be taken.
Smart boarding
Optimizing boarding processes reduces queues and avoids the traditional rush towards the gate when boarding begins. A digital sign displays the boarding sequence and passengers are only allowed to board when their seat number/s come up on the display. The result is no queue build-up at the gate, jet bridge, or in the aircraft aisle, with social distancing ensured.
These are just some of the ways IoT will take airports into the post-Covid future – and as airports adjust to the new normal many more innovations will surely come to the fore. The end result will be a smart airport that keeps travelers safe by responding to their needs quickly and effectively, while also streamline processes and operations.
If you would like to learn more about how IoT can help your business, please get in touch.
