A survey from SITA shows airport operators are investing more in technology to meet the increasing expectations of passengers for a hassle-free experience.
According to the 8th annual SITA Airport IT Trends Survey, IT investment as a percentage of revenue, rose to 4.4% in 2010 compared to 3.6% in 2009.
Improving customer service has become the top driver for new technology investment for 63% of airport operators while airport safety and security also emerged as a top priority for 53%.
Reducing the cost of business ranked lower than in other years but is still a priority for 46% of respondents.
Overall the research found that more than half of airports are planning major investment to upgrade existing IT infrastructure to support passenger solutions.
- 53% of operators plan to increase the number of check-in kiosks
- 25% plan to introduce kiosks dedicated to other services
- 38% will have introducced e-gates for self-boarding by 2014
- 51% plan to have common-use bag drop locations
The survey also looks at the use of mobile services with half of respondents saying they currently provide flight information and updates and more than 80% will offer services by 2014.
Passenger flow monitoring is also increasing with airports using technology to prevent bottle necks - 22% of operators say they already use it while 49% plan to introduce monitoring by 2014 via a range of technologies including bluetooth and wifi.
The survey is based on responses from 100 airport operators responsible for 198 airports and 43% of global passenger traffic.