Brussels Airport has put in place 90 beacons airport-wide that now enable passengers to directly receive information and messages that are relevant to them on their smartphone.
Examples include welcome messages, operational messages after security screening or promotional offers and vouchers at the shop passengers have popped into. In doing so, Brussels Airport is looking to facilitate and enhance its communication with its passengers.
Beacons are tiny transmitters that relay information to visitors’ smartphones courtesy of Bluetooth Low Energy technology, which prevents the smartphone’s battery from being unduly taxed. 90 beacons have been fitted throughout the airport, including at the entrance doors, the check-in desks, at security screening, in the shops and the piers.
Each beacon transmits a unique signal that activates the Brussels Airport app for it to display a location-specific message on the passenger’s smartphone.
This way passengers who have passed security can be reminded to check if they have not left anything behind in the trays or at the screening lane or be sent a discount voucher if they’re browsing around in a shop.
With these beacons, Brussels Airport is keen to offer passengers a new and personalised communication channel, making the time they spend at the airport more pleasant by providing accurate and pertinent information at the right location and in the right context.
Transmitting information with respect for privacy
Passengers get to decide for themselves whether or not they want to receive messages from the beacons through the app. Anyone who has installed the Brussels Airport app will be asked if they want to receive messages on their next visit. The app will send out only targeted messages on each visit.
Brussels Airport app is a great success
The “Brussels Airport” app was launched in June 2012 and has been downloaded over 155,000 times since then, with 4,000 to 6,000 new app users joining each month.
Half of them download the iOS app with the other half going for the Android app. Each day, the app is used by some 500 people, usually to look up information about their flight, waiting times, information about the airport shops or the airport’s services.
June 2, 2015