Recent challenges at airports, with staff shortages and other bottlenecks, have made people think more about future changes that could avert problems. Changing and improving technology at airports is nothing new. Ticketing processes and checks, security, and baggage handling have all undergone major changes over the past decades. There is plenty more underway these days – this article looks at some of the main ones.
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Passenger screening and security
Security screening technology developed from the early 1970s, initially following several aircraft hijackings in the United States. The first passenger “metal detector” as we know today was not introduced until 1970 (at New Orleans International airport in Louisiana).
Security screening procedures and technology have, of course, developed since then. Many of the major advances have been related to specific incidents or threats. In many ways, this has moved faster than technology can keep up. This has led to the situation currently where passengers need to remove electronics, liquids and often even shoes when clearing security.
Major changes, however, are on the way. We have already seen the introduction at many airports of millimetre wave scanners. These use electromagnetic radiation to detect any items around a person. This is faster, and we will see increased use of this.
The next technology change will improve baggage scanning. CT (or computed tomography) technology has been adopted widely in the medical sector and is now finding its way into airport scanning technology. These scanners combine a series of single X-rays to create an overall image of luggage and its contents. Alongside human inspection of images, AI technology can also be used to recognise dangerous or prohibited items.
Use of biometrics and facial recognition
The switch from paper tickets to electronic tickets caused big changes in the travel industry. Issuing and changing tickets became much easier, and airport and airline staff no longer had to deal with complex coupons and paperwork.
We are currently seeing the next set of changes in this area. The adoption of biometric processing of passenger details will make the airport experience faster and more seamless. Biometrics is already being used for facial recognition at check-in and immigration in several countries, and use of this will expand. Its contactless nature is both faster, and touch-free – an important consideration in the COVID environment.
Ticket and boarding pass free travel is another possibility. Integration with mobile apps has already made a big difference here, and biometrics can take it further. As just one major example, British Airways has recently expanded biometric boarding (with automated face recognition) from domestic trials in the UK to international routes to the US.
VR, AR, and beacon technology
Virtual Reality is another technology with plenty of applications in aviation – including onboard for passenger entertainment, and for crew and maintenance training. In the airport, it can be used to guide and inform passengers with app-based visualisations.
This can improve the passenger experience, with accurate information on location, flight data, and surrounding services. Especially at large airports, there are benefits too for the airport in managing passenger flow, and for airlines in reducing gate delays. There are obvious applications as well for retail and services promotions. Several airports have already adopted some form of VR or AR (Augmented Reality), but with plenty of scope for further improvement.
Beacon technology is another new development being used alongside AR. This uses Bluetooth signals from fixed devices placed around the airport to track and guide passengers. This is all incorporated into apps for an accurate and live guide.
Improvements in baggage handling
Baggage handling – and its failures – has made headlines too often in recent years. As airports have expanded in size and use, so has the need to handle bags. This is particularly complex at large hub airports. Connecting luggage needs to be sorted and stored, and more passengers will check in luggage on longer flights.
Many airports now have large and complex baggage systems, and these continue to improve. London Stansted Airport, as just one example, installed a new £70 million system in 2021 with over two kilometres of conveyor belts and 180 automated carts. London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 has a similarly complex system. Such systems may attract media attention when they go wrong (with mountains of bags then piling up), but technology will continue to improve and they will become more common.
There has also been experimentation with automated baggage transportation and aircraft loading (including automated cart trials by British Airways at Heathrow). This remains a very manual task, but there are big possibilities for automation here.
Final Thoughts
Along with the rest of the aviation industry, airports have continually improved and upgraded technology over many decades. With the staffing shortages seen recently, this has taken a new focus. In some areas, there is more of a need than ever for changes.
