September-October 2022 - 13

CUSTOMER SERVICE
Leveraging Improved Technology
The increase in air traffic is very real - in 2022,
global air traffic volume is expected to exceed 3.4
billion passengers. While this is still down from
pre-pandemic levels, it is roughly a 50 percent
increase over the 2.2 billion passengers who
traveled by air in 2021. As the demands continue
to increase, airports are considering how
to manage the increased volume as efficiently as
possible. Security teams at many of the globe's
most forward-thinking airports now recognize
that surveillance technology like internet protocol
(IP) cameras equipped with advanced analytics
can play a role that goes well beyond traditional
security measures. In fact, many users of the video
system are of non-security-related functions
including operations, maintenance and others.
The vital surveillance role these devices play helps
improve the overall traveler experience in three
ways: it can drive efficiency, increase profitability,
and -even in the face of lengthening queues -
assist with creating a better passenger journey.
Before the invention of the IP camera, surveilSurveillance
technologies
and
edge analytics
can assist airport
operations.
PHOTO BY IWAN
SHIMKO; 1355569095 |
SEAMARTINI | GETTY
IMAGES
lance devices had limited utility in airports, serving
primarily to help investigate crimes after the fact.
True, a security team member might notice a significant
commotion occurring on a bank of wall
monitors, but in general, the technology was reactive
rather than proactive. Continuous advances in
camera technology have changed this. Not only
has image quality improved dramatically over the
past decade, but chipsets have also become more
advanced, increasing processing power and enabling
these devices to run analytics applications
natively at the network edge. Thanks to today's
AI capabilities, data can now be aggregated and
analyzed on the devices themselves, sending relevant
metadata to cloud servers and decreasing the
amount of bandwidth and data storage needed to
operate. This has made modern analytics solutions
significantly more accessible and allowed
airports to handle larger deployments of cameras
with vastly improved capabilities.
Among the new abilities the technology has
enabled are immediate alerts that are more suitable
for real-time operations. Today's AI-enabled IP
cameras are better than ever at tasks like object
recognition, motion tracking, and more. They
can be trained to issue alerts when certain conditions
are met - such as trespassers in a restricted
area, a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction,
or aggressive or violent behavior within the terminal.
By raising an alarm as soon as suspicious
or offending behavior is detected, this technology
can dramatically decrease response times and
even allow potentially dangerous incidents to be
stopped before they can escalate.
While this technology has its roots in security,
it has also enabled airports to optimize their
operations at the speed at which situations happen
when they happen. Airports are now deploying
this same technology in ways that allow them to
not just keep their facilities safe, but drive further
operational efficiency.
Keeping an Eye on
Passenger Flow
Landside traffic can be hard to keep track of, and
there are many stops a passenger makes before
getting on an airplane, including the check-in
and security screening processes. There is a reason
why many flyers arrive hours early: they know the
process of navigating an airport can be difficult
and time consuming, especially when there will
be an abundance of other travelers simultaneously
doing the same.
Surveillance technologies and edge analytics
can assist airport operations in monitoring the
number of passengers on the premises. Cameras
in the airport parking lot can do much more than
look out for car thieves and muggings - they
can also be equipped with occupancy analytics
technology that can be used to help provide a
snapshot of parking space availability, passenger
counts leaving parking areas and heading to the
terminals, and other interesting use cases. This is
effective in real time, allowing operators to make
informed decisions. This data can be analyzed
to identify peaks and valleys over time, helping
airports (and airport businesses) better understand
their staffing needs.
As passengers migrate from curb to gate, queue
monitoring technology can also add significant
value. Queue monitoring enables analysis of activity
levels in specific regions while tracking how
many people are standing in predefined areas,
including airline check-in desks and kiosks, passport
control, and security. As the system collects
data, it generates real-time push alerts to airport
staff. It can also trigger a pre-recorded audio
message if the queue is too long, urging passengers
to maintain social distancing or disperse. This
technology can also display the average wait time
and churn rates, which can help staff members
make adjustments as needed, such as opening new
check-in desks when there is an influx of people
in need of assistance. This technology can all be
operated entirely from a central control room,
offering airport security and operations teams
complete visibility of the entire operation.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 \ AVIATIONPROS.COM / 13
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September-October 2022

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