Check points

How passengers are processed through an airport has a significant impact on commercial revenues.

Processing touchpoints include transport to the airport, finding parking, locating the proper terminal, checking in, queuing up at security, and passing through passport control, all of which have an emotional and physical impact on passengers.

Emotional
Various studies have been completed on the impact of passenger satisfaction at airports and the effect it has on spending behaviour. ACI found that an increase of 1% in global passenger satisfaction generates an average growth of 1.5% in non-aeronautical revenue.  This may not sound much, but a major airport can have up to c.£700 million in commercial revenues and a 1.5% increase would represent an additional £10.5 million in commercial revenues.

Most passenger dissatisfaction arises from the processing touchpoints, as per ACI's, ASQ 2022 Q1 barometer, which are:

• Arrival into the airport: difficulty with parking facilities, surface access congestion, taxi-drop off zones

• Security screening: long queuing times and operating only a limited number of security lanes

• Border control: long queuing times and operating a limited number of counters

Checking-in is the touchpoint passengers are most happy about, because of the convenience and availability of various methods of check-in, from online check-in to Common Use Self Service (CUSS) kiosks where passengers can easily check-themselves in, download or print out boarding passes and baggage tags and do a bag drop.

The main source of unhappiness is long waiting times in queues and the fear of having to rush towards the gate to catch their flight. This can be alleviated by giving prior information on approximate wait times for specific times of the day and wayfinding which enables passengers to easily navigate the airport and increase their dwell time.

The courtesy, helpfulness and efficiency of staff manning the process counters and machines also plays a major role in increasing passenger satisfaction and releasing anxiety and stress before entering the retail environment.

Physical
Airports are moving away from traditional queue management by investing in technological and infrastructure developments to deliver a more holistic passenger process management approach. As per SITA's "2019 Air Transport IT Insights Report" 63% of airports which have invested in passenger process management have up to 20% improvement in passenger satisfaction ratings compared to the previous year.

For example, Auckland Airport launched a home-to-gate journey planner on its airport app that predicts processing times depending on the time of the day.

Machine learning and data analytics of historical processing times and peak hours helps airports by using advanced computer simulations to determine enhancements in processing areas. This was utilised by Heathrow T5 in redesigning and automating the transfer hall for more efficient passport scanning. Technology that provides smooth and efficient processing flows for passengers increase their general satisfaction of the airport and increase their dwell time within the airside. This in turn provides more time for browsing the commercial offer and increases the probability of purchase.


As the aviation industry emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic with more health and wellbeing conscious passengers, it is increasingly important for airports to re-invigorate their efforts into increasing efficiency in the airport processes for increased passenger satisfaction which would result in better returns for the airport in the long term.

Airports will most likely resume their pre-pandemic investments in technology and infrastructure to provide a more efficient and holistic end-to-end passenger journey to achieve maximum passenger satisfaction which translates to better commercial returns for the airport.

Mohamed Hisham