IGI AIRPORT IS GOING ‘SMART’
A raft of cutting-edge technologies is being introduced at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi so that passengers can have a fast and hassle-free travel experience, writes Surajeet Das Gupta
The next time you are passing through the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi, you could be in for a pleasant surprise. The country’s largest airport has recently introduced a smart security-check system that could cut the long, tiring queues and make the whole process a quick and seamless one.
Currently in operation as a pilot, the new smart X-ray machines have automatic tray return systems and can handle as many as 350 passengers an hour — nearly double the 180 passengers an hour handled by the old machines. The smart machines dispense over 650 trays an hour and in a way that four passengers at a time can put in their mobiles, wallets, laptops and other stuff for screening.
There is also a diversion in the conveyor belt for bags that are found to have suspicious content and need to be checked by hand. This is to make sure that the conveyer belt does not have to stop at any time. Moreover, RFID tags are attached to each tray and the X-ray images of the contents of the tray are linked to it for better security.
Says I Prabhakara Rao, executive director, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which is a joint venture between the GMR Group and the Airports Authority of India, “Our aim is to make Delhi airport a digital and smart airport and provide customers a seamless passenger experience which is among the best in the world. The new system will significantly reduce the waiting time of commuters at the point of baggage screening and also lessen chaos and confusion in the security-check area.”
DIAL is also planning to introduce technology to shorten the turnaround time for aircraft, thereby enabling airline companies to save on time and cost. For instance, it typically takes about 10 hours to wash and dry an aircraft so that it can fly out the next day. According to DIAL, about 10 planes undergo the process at IGI airport every day. To step up the speed of the process, DIAL has bought a machine with robotic arms which can do the job in three hours while using much less water. What’s more, the automated process takes just a few people to run rather than the 20-odd that are needed in the old system.
But the main focus is on improving consumer experience at every touch point. Even today 1015 per cent of the passengers who go through the airport are first-time travellers. Keeping them in mind, DIAL is trying to keep the technology as simple and non-intimidating as possible. Its inhouse research and development has developed check-in kiosk machines that have a simple interface and work in regional languages as well. These machines also cost much less than the imported ones.
To resolve the problem of long, snaking queues before check-in counters, especially during peak hours, DIAL is doing a test-run on an automatic baggage tag and baggage drop system which will do away with the need for passengers with checked-in baggage to stand in line. Currently, those travelling only with cabin baggage have the option to check in and print their boarding cards at any of the internet kiosks of the respective airline. DIAL is now offering passengers the facility of printing baggage tags with bar codes by pressing a few more buttons. They can attach the tag to their bags and proceed to a baggage drop machine. Once a passenger scans his boarding pass, the machine allows him to load the bag, check whether it is of the stipulated weight and gives him a printed receipt.
The bag proceeds to the designated aircraft and the passenger can head straight for security check. Sources at DIAL say that if the experiment succeeds, they could import 16-17 of these machines and that this will substantially reduce the bottleneck at check-in counters.
Some of DIAL’s efforts to make IGI “smart” have not taken off, though. For instance, the airport experimented with body scanners which are now common in many countries. But it did not work out because Indian women often have zari on their sarees which emit a red signal on the scanners, forcing the passenger to go through a traditional body check once again.
But there are other technologies that are being tried. Biometric face scanners at the airport entry point could soon replace the physical checking of passengers. Once the data has been fed into the system, every time a passenger walks through, his face would be automatically recognised. The scanners, which DIAL is planning to install on a pilot basis, will also have iris and thumb impressions.
Another measure DIAL has experimented with is the use of a robot to serve as a mobile customer service point. The robot moves across the sprawling airport and passengers can interact with a customer service executive on its LED screen. The idea behind this is that passengers do not have to go up and down the airport hunting for a customer care window. Data on this pilot project is now being collected and will be used for future course of action.
In a first, DIAL has also introduced motorised wheelchairs at IGI. Again, to improve efficiency at the immigration counters, thermal cameras are now being used not only to provide data on the number of passengers at each counter, but also to record the time taken by an immigration officer to clear a passenger.
Rao says that the measure determines the efficiency of its personnel and the information pertaining to it is given to the relevant department regularly. This way, the airport gets live data which is used to switch the number of counters meant for Indian passport and foreign passport holders based on where there are bigger queues. Says a DIAL executive: “We have been able to reduce the time taken to clear immigration to 20 minutes on an average. Our goal is to reduce it by another five minutes through new technology. ”
Clearly, IGI is all set to become a model “smart” airport which will show the way to others around the country.