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Our latest blog by our CTO, Ian Ford Smith, shines a light on why data is key and four ways in which it can be effectively used to improve the customer experience...

When COVID restrictions ended last year, air travel was finally able to start getting back on track. And, for the first time since 2020, the UN Aviation Agency recently reported that air passenger demand would recover to pre-pandemic levels later this year. 

Although positive, the industry continues to face issues – from staff shortages to operating under tighter budgets. So, the pressure will be on airports to cope with this influx and protect the customer experience while navigating these existing challenges. 

A major area airports will need to get right is ensuring that passenger flow through the airport is frictionless – from check-in and bag drop to passing through security and departure halls and boarding. Essentially, the full journey from kerb to gate. And if one falls, then it’s quite literally a domino effect that can lead to long queues, delayed flights and disgruntled passengers. 

So, what can airports do to set themselves up for success as air travel demand increases? 

**Data, data and more data** 

The answer to seamless operations and a frictionless passenger journey is data. And lots of it. 

Small to mid-sized airports often use manual processes to monitor vital information, such as passenger queue data, flow patterns, and the time it takes for an individual to move from zone to zone. 

This is resource heavy, slow to conduct, and can deliver inaccurate information to the airport operation and management systems. For instance, it can skew predictions and planning decisions on resourcing needs. Manual processes also don’t give a centralised, real-time view of what’s happening across the airport, which means decision-making is made in a silo and doesn’t necessarily deliver the optimum outcome. 

However, airports can now use technologies to automate this process, tapping into computer vision to intelligently and anonymously accurately track passengers as they journey through the airport while being compliant with local privacy legislation, such as GDPR. When this data is combined with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), airports can spot trends, draw learnings, and predict future scenarios to inform more accurate decision-making. 

**How data can improve airport operations and experience**

So, we know that having data is good, but what does this mean in practice? Here are four ways that airports can use data effectively: 

Firstly, improved operational decisions: With real-time data, staff can be alerted to the unexpected and fix operational bottlenecks quicker and more effectively. For example, they’ll be notified when travellers have been standing, waiting at a check-in desk for over 20 minutes, which may mean they need to decide to open additional desks to fix the backlog immediately. 

Secondly, better resource planning: By combining data insights with AI and ML, airports can maximise resourcing by redistributing employees based on operational needs. So, suppose they know that every Friday afternoon, departure halls are extremely busy between 2 pm to 4 pm. In that case, they may consider adding extra maintenance checks on the bathroom facilities or regularly emptying the bins.

Thirdly, frictionless passenger experience: Having the correct number of staff on duty according to passenger demand helps to deliver a better experience for travellers, such as limiting the likelihood of queues and ensuring facilities are up to standard. For passengers with access to a few different local airports, a good experience will also help nurture loyalty and encourage them to return to fly from your airport when their travel plans allow.

And fourthly, maximise concession revenues: For UK and European airports in particular, getting passengers through security and into departure halls to spend is a key source of revenue. Data on passenger movements will provide more commercial value to concessions partners like Duty-Free, retailers and hospitality providers as they can use insights to maximise spending. For example, if there is an influx of passengers at a certain time of day, they could consider running promotions or setting up a pop-up to entice sales. From an airport perspective, it also helps when considering layout changes, such as moving a seating area if it stops travellers from walking past shops.

**It’s crunch time for airports’ innovation**

It’s an exciting time for the industry as travel finally has started looking like it’s ‘getting back to normal’. However, the game is different to what it was before March 2020, with tightened budgets and staff shortages just two of the many challenges airports have to navigate. Those who weren’t previously investigating new technologies like computer vision, AI and ML – and the data and insights they deliver – will undoubtedly say they can’t survive without them this year.

My advice? Get on the front foot now and use technology to drive better operations, frictionless passenger experiences and, ultimately, healthier bottom lines.

Four ways that data bolsters airport operations and traveller experiences

<a href="https://www.aerocloudsystems.com/" target="_blank">AeroCloud</a> has launched its latest new product - AeroCloud Optic. This follows successful trials at <a href="https://www.liverpoolairport.com/" target="_blank">Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL)</a> and <a href="https://flysrq.com/" target="_blank">Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ)</a> in Florida.

Announced at Passenger Terminal Expo 2023, AeroCloud Optic is the first solution to effectively solve the decades-old issue of how to gain an accurate understanding of how passengers move through an airport, from kerb to gate. 

As the  <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/02/1133347/" target="_blank">UN Aviation Agency</a> predicts air travel to resume to pre-pandemic levels this year, airports need to ensure a frictionless flow of passengers at every stage of their journey, from kerb to gate.

AeroCloud Optic uses computer vision to intelligently, anonymously and accurately track passengers as they move through an airport. The real-time monitoring of passenger flow means alerts are triggered in response to operational bottlenecks, such as extended wait times at check-in or security, which can be immediately addressed with additional resources.

AeroCloud’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms also allow airport staff to identify trends, draw learnings, and predict future scenarios to inform more accurate decision-making and long-term planning. This enables better resource management and enhanced retail opportunities for concession partners, improving the airport's passenger experience.

George Richardson, co-founder and CEO of AeroCloud, explains:

<q>With AeroCloud Optic, airports can resolve operational issues in real-time and plan better for the future in a revolutionary way. Optic accurately predicts the future flow of travellers so leaders can make confident decisions on everything from resource allocation to commercial opportunities. When airports need to improve the bottom line, AeroCloud Optic can help airport operations teams streamline the check-in and security experience to get people through to retail areas faster, reducing passengers’ queue time and encouraging spending in a GDPR conformant way. AeroCloud Optic was recently described as the "holy grail" of continuous improvement, and I am incredibly proud of my co-founder and team for bringing this technology to fruition.</q>

**AeroCloud Optic in operation**

<p>AeroCloud Optic has been trialled in UK and US airports. At LPL, the solution has been used to better understand movement in the building – identifying peaks and bottlenecks and where queues are likely to be – flattening any planning curves and increasing efficiency.</p>

Paul Staples, Operations Director at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, comments:

<q>Our slogan is ‘faster, easier and friendlier’, which means getting our customers through to the departure lounge as quickly as possible through efficient operations. Historically, we’ve used other systems and manual methods like queue counting to track how individuals travel through our airport, but this didn’t deliver what we needed. With AeroCloud Optic, we now have accurate information that allows us to plan more effectively at an operational level while also helping to inform decision-
making for marketing and spend per head in retail and concession environments. We’ve never been able to do this in the past – it is the holy grail of commercial activity in an airport.</q>

**Industry-first innovation**

<p>Though airports have trialled technologies, including Bluetooth and WiFi, to solve this sector issue, AeroCloud Optic is the first technology capable of anonymously tracking passengers through the entire process – from arrival to security and departure halls to boarding an aircraft.</p>

Ian Forde-Smith, co-founder and CTO of AeroCloud, explains:

<q>Understanding passengers' journey from kerb to gate is a challenge that airports have been grappling with for years, and no solution till now has been able to offer them this level of passenger insight without compromising privacy. Working in partnership with our customers to develop AeroCloud Optic has enabled us to overcome this challenge with a real-time SaaS solution that replaces the resource-heavy, slow, and often inaccurate assumptions that were previously informing operational decisions.</q>

**The next stage in AeroCloud's growth story**

<p>The launch of AeroCloud Optic follows AeroCloud’s recent $12.6 million Series A funding round, led by US fund Stage 2 Capital with participation from I2BF Global Ventures, Triple Point Ventures, Praetura Venture, Starburst Ventures and existing investors Playfair Capital and Haatch. The funding will enable AeroCloud to scale up, with plans to double its team of 40 by the end of the year across its HQ in Macclesfield and its offices in London and Florida. This will help it reach its target of over 100 customers by 2023 and deliver innovative new product launches based on AI, ML, and self-service.</p>
</br>

**Press contact**

Email: <a href="mailto:aerocloud@theflywheelers.com">aerocloud@theflywheelers.com</a> 

AeroCloud launches AeroCloud Optic

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AeroCloud has created AeroCloud Optic, its passenger count and tracking software, in partnership with Liverpool John Lennon Airport in the UK. This case study provides an overview of the problems and challenges presented to us and the ground-breaking solution we have created.

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Four ways that data bolsters airport operations and traveller experiences

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