3 Ways Airports Can Use Technology to Build Passenger Trust

There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed passenger perceptions of air travel.

Studies by ISSA, The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association, showed that a passenger’s attention is heightened by uncleanliness and it will influence their purchasing decisions throughout their entire airport experience. By creating a positive experience from the moment the passenger walks through your doors, it will allow you to generate a strong baseline of trust and develop loyal and happy customers.

Seeing is believing – discover more about building passenger confidence with consistency through the use of technology in this ACI webinar featuring Trax and Flagship.

Research has shown that a consistent experience is critical for building brand resonance. And there is no better way than implementing digital solutions into your airport to help you create that consistent experience and build passenger trust.

Three Ways to Use Technology to Build Passenger Trust

Digital Signage – This is a fast an easy way to implement smart technology into your airport without a huge expense. Digital signage allows you to create completely customizable messaging and display important information provided by the CDC or WHO. You can also display other guidelines and precautions that will give power back to the passenger so that they can make educated decisions based on your transparent information.

Examples of digital communications can include:

• Displaying how many people are in the restroom – This will allow passengers to make a choice of whether the restroom is too busy for them or not
• Distance to the next restroom – Especially when paired with current occupancy, this is a good tool to show passengers how far the next restroom is if the current one is crowded
• Time of the last cleaning, disinfection and/or restocking – Passengers may feel more comfortable in a restroom that was recently maintained
• Guidance from experts – You can display messages from experts to encourage passengers to wash their hands, use sanitizer, keep their masks covering their nose, etc.
• Transparent communication – Digital displays let you communicate what is happening, what is going on, or behind the scenes videos (i.e., electrostatic spraying, disinfecting, what is open, what is closed, what is mandated, etc. or that a PUREClean process just occurred).
• The opportunity to receive real live feedback - Touchless guest feedback allows passengers to share their experience via their mobile phone and get that information to the right person right away. Signage can prompt passengers to share their experience immediately. If the experience is poor, you will know in real time and a notification can be sent directly to a supervisor or attendant.

By giving passengers transparent communications and a way to express their experience, it helps keep any negative feedback within your walls (versus blasted all over social media). It gives passengers an easy way to communicate directly with the airport and get results.

Throughput counting technology – Using technology that can be placed outside the restroom or other areas and count the number of people going in and out, can save you time and money.

Do you clean areas based on time or visual inspections? As COVID-19 spread, the number of passengers coming through your airport dropped, but the need for cleaning and disinfection increased. As new vaccines help give new life to travel, your scope will continuously change.

Throughput counting technology helps your airport keep up with the ebbs and flows of passengers within different terminals and across your entire airport. As passengers pass by, it triggers an alert based on your SLA for cleaning and restocking. It will also allow you to have a better understanding of the flow of passengers throughout the airport. As passengers return, it will show you where to put the most staffing emphasis.

The throughput counting technology can also integrate with additional tools that take in the data from your multiple sensors to alert staff about what to clean, how to clean and when to clean. It gives power to the custodian and this demand-based data can help you reallocate your resources more efficiently, improving user experience and passenger confidence.

Robust inspection platform – you can create consistency throughout the airport with a robust inspection platform. You want the quality of the cleanliness to match no matter where passengers go within the airport – so that areas on landside and airside are equal. This will also ensure that each area is meeting the scope of work (SOW) and level of SLAs that the airport has put in place. It helps to create consistency from terminal to terminal and throughout the airport.

Benefits of Data-Based Solutions

When you implement the right technological solutions, it allows you to aggregate information you collect from various points of customer engagement and create new value by fostering communication and delivering results.

Each interaction is a data point. The combination of all the data from these individual interactions will help you create a holistic view of the customer, their experiences and add context to that customer’s unique relationship with you. It will also allow you to focus on actionable analytics and discover new opportunities to enrich and personalize your consumer-facing programs.

The simple truth is, beyond just accepting it, your customers are beginning to expect technological improvements and consistent experiences. They’re already experiencing holistic, consistent and customized experiences in retail, media and other industries. So, now is the time for your airport to begin connecting with passengers in new ways and tailor communications and experiences to their preferences.

Results at Every Budget

We know that you may feel bombarded by the amount of technology that is available and the different ways to make your airport more digital. No matter what your budget, we can work with you. We can help you drive all your technology and data towards one single reporting platform that grows with you to make your job easier and get the best return on your investment.