Mobile phones improve passenger experience at Brussels Airport

Brussels Airport sees success and extends the use of BlipTrack data-collecting sensors to improve services and operations in one of Europe´s soon to be largest security screening areas.

Optimizing one of Europe´s largest airport security areas

One of the most striking innovations at Brussels Airport is the new Connector, a building that links the passenger terminal to Pier A, above-ground. The new Connector building, opening March 2015, will contain one of Europe´s largest central security areas and will annually serve over 10 million passengers.

Sensors help passengers travel faster through airport processes

To help ensure that Brussels Airport travellers experience a quick and easy passage through the first stage of their journey in the new Connector building, it is important that airport management is able to monitor passenger queue and wait times, and receive real-time information about the operational status and unexpected changes. For more than 5 years, Brussels Airport has relied on data from BlipTrack sensors, from Danish technology company BLIP systems, to accomplish this task.

Wait time information reduces passenger frustration

With this information, Brussels Airport has been able to provide optimum passenger service by displaying wait times on signs, websites and mobile applications, helping the passengers to reduce frustration and enjoy a more stress-free and pleasant transit experience by better utilizing wait times.

Improving operation and passenger experience

The solution also enables Brussels Airport to respond promptly and effectively to irregular operations and disruptions, improve services and performance, efficiently allocate staff resources, comply with airline service-level agreements and billing of third-party operators serving the various airport processes.

Sensors monitor passengers in all airport processes

In addition to the new Connector building, Brussels Airport is already using the BlipTrack solution with great success in all major airport processes: security, passport, immigration, transfer, arrival baggage claim and most recently, the taxi rank.

“BlipTrack enables Brussels Airport to monitor the quality of the terminal processes and to improve the resource planning. The collected wait time data and throughput is also used to perform consistent reporting to internal and external stakeholders. For the new Connector building, Brussels Airport relies on the experience of BLIP Systems to develop a network of measuring points based on the passenger flows and Brussels Airport’s preferences,” says Thomas Sterken, Project Manager of Operations at Brussels Airport.

“Brussels Airport has been a customer of BLIP Systems since 2010. At BLIP Systems, we value the long-term cooperation with Brussels Airport and their professional approach in using data to ensure efficient operations and passenger satisfaction—while increasing passenger numbers. The implementation of BlipTrack sensors covering the new Connector building will ensure that passengers experience a quick and easy passage through the first stage of the journey, while significantly increasing the opportunity for a positive experience throughout the airport. We look forward to be a part of Brussels Airport ongoing plan in becoming one of Europe’s most progressive and service-minded airports,” says Peter Knudsen, CEO at BLIP Systems.

The solution works by placing BlipTrack sensors on pre-set paths, such as in the security screening process. The sensors collect the unique Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of phones and other wireless devices actively searching for a WiFi or Bluetooth connection. As a person passes a sensor, the MAC address, when enabled, is matched between sensors to provide origin and destination data as well as travel time. The solution protects individual´s privacy by having the individual sensors convert the detected mobile devices, which contain no personal information, into anonymized and encrypted hashes.