Passengers to face an altered travel landscape post-Covid
Touchless technology will be crucial in restoring passenger confidence in air travel
Air travel will feel different in a post-Covid world. As air travel recovers from the devastation wrought by the coronavirus, the industry will need to re- establish the confidence of passengers to revive demand. Low-touch solutions, in addition to hygiene, sanitisation and screening measures, will be critical in restoring passenger confidence in flying and stimulating demand for air travel.
Low-touch travel will be critical in helping passengers limit physical contact with airport surfaces, in turn facilitating a safe journey through the airport, says Jihad Boueri, vice president of Airports and Airlines for the Middle East, India and Africa at SITA.
“Accordingly, airlines and airports are going to need the adaptability and automation offered by digital transformation to ride out the pandemic’s fallout, adjust their business models and succeed in the future,” says Boueri.
By enabling passengers to use their smartphones to check-in bags and navigate through the airport, you eliminate the need to touch surfaces and interact with other agents.
Automation is of paramount importance, says Boueri. “Contactless, self- service technologies at every step will facilitate passenger flow, cutting queues while ensuring a social distancing-friendly passenger experience,” he adds.
SITA, which has supplied technology for airports and airlines for years, provides solutions that enable passengers to take charge of their journey, right from checking-in their bag using their mobile to simply having to scan their face to board an aircraft.
SITA Smart Path is a good example of touchless technology currently in use at airports around the world today. This uses biometric technology to verify a passenger’s identity to create a secure digital travel ID that can be used from the self-service checkin to boarding, minimising the need to touch any airport hardware, explains Boueri.
Beyond passenger processing, SITA Smart Path also enables hands-free and touchless duty free shopping without the need to retrieve and show a boarding pass. “This significantly improves the customer experience making duty free shopping quicker, contactless and convenient,” Boueri says.
SITA Flex, which has been implemented at San Francisco Airport, is another good example of technology that enables a full mobile and touchless passenger journey. “By allowing passengers to print bag tags directly from their mobile phones, this technology gives passengers control over their journey through the airport and creates a safe environment for passengers to restore their confidence in travelling following the pandemic,” Boueri says.
The passenger journey will become more automated and touchless