(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Airports are expected to offer faster and better-connected journeys to passengers whose number will double to 6.6 billion globally by 2020.
Dubai: The global market for smart airports is estimated to reach $13.5 billion by 2020 up from $9.7 billion in 2014 according to a study by Markets and Markets a market research firm.
The Arabian Gulf airports lead in the region in deploying technology to improve passenger experiences reduce the burden on customer services and increase revenues.
As part of an initiative to turn Dubai International Airport into a next-gen travel hub smart gates equipped with technology such as automatic identification system facial imprint and automatic iris scan have been deployed. UAE airports are also going in for the phased implementation of Advance Passenger Information System (APIS).
Airports are expected to offer faster and better-connected journeys to passengers whose number will double to 6.6 billion globally by 2020. They are investing in Beacon Near Field Technology (NFC) mobile and wearable technologies to ease the journey through the airport.
“Airports are now more open to new and smart technologies than ever before because they’ve seen the benefits these bring to operations performance and passenger satisfaction” said Daniyal Qureshi group exhibition director at Reed Exhibitions Middle East the organisers of Airport Show due to take place in Dubai from May 10 to 12. The 15th edition of the B2B event will showcase the latest technologies and innovations that will change the way people travel through airports now and in the future.
He added: “Airports need to turn smart to ensure that their facilities are able to cope with evolving needs and expectations of passengers. Having smart technologies in place is integral to delivering a hassle-free passenger experience that can put an airport ahead of its competitors. New technology promises to make travel easier more efficient and safer.”
Airports need to prepare themselves for the connected traveller according to the 2014 SITA/ACI Global Airport Trend Survey.
The majority of total airport investments of $6.8 billon will be for IT. Thirty three per cent will implement Beacon technology 84 per cent in mobile applications 16 per cent in wearable technologies and 49 per cent in NFC by 2020.
According to the survey improving passenger experience remains the most important driving force for IT investment for 68 per cent of the airports. Over half of airports have major programmess related to self-service and passenger mobile apps.
In addition two-thirds of airports have major infrastructure programmes to deploy common-use systems for passengers such as kiosks and implementation of Wi-Fi.
By 2017 SITA reports that 86 per cent of airports expect the majority of their passengers to use self-service check-in and by 2020 80 per cent of global passengers will have access to self-service options. More investments are being made in check-in technologies flight information displays and access control.
The International Air Transport Association (Iata) says the mix of devices applications networks and services will open up a whole new world for systems integration in the airports environment.
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