How Airports Embrace Technology Solutions to Reduce Disease Transmission in 2021

Despite some positive predictions, the COVID-19 crisis is still far from over. So, airports and other industries that deal with high traffic on a daily basis continue to seek out inventive ways of ensuring public safety while resuming their operations. Interestingly, many of such solutions can actually enhance the customer experience even after the current outbreak subsides. Below is an overview of four such solutions the value of which transcends the current immediate demand for safety.

Face Recognition Algorithms

Once it became clear that SARS-CoV-2 could be contracted by touching a contaminated surface, the transportation industry sought to strengthen the safety of passengers in this domain. One solution was to introduce regular cleaning of high-touch surfaces. However, in the case of airports, one contact point could not be subject to disinfection – handing over an ID or a ticket to the facility’s staff. Recently, a contactless alternative has been introduced that can eliminate this risk – a biometric scanner with face recognition technology. With it, the entire verification procedure amounts to approaching the scanning area. In fact, the technology has been used in some terminals even before the pandemic as a fast and convenient alternative to traditional verification.

Interestingly, face recognition can contribute to passenger safety in other ways. For instance, it has been featured in a disinfection channel as a way of maintaining safety guidelines. In this case, the scanner was used to determine whether the person was wearing a mask and either prevented the violators from passing through or alerted the airport personnel. While not a definitive measure, it is an additional layer of protection that is both seamless and affordable and may become a mainstay in airports soon.high-touch surfacesdisinfection channelhigh-touch surfacesdisinfection channel

Media credits: Unsplash

Power to the Passengers

Another innovation that has been sped up by the COVID-19 outbreak is the shift of services to passengers’ personal devices. Checking and booking flights became quite common in many industries, including transportation, far before 2020. However, now that the demand for touchless operations is on the rise, we might see even more features redirected to passengers’ phones.

For instance, the NFC functionality can be used as another alternative for providing identification without handling physical items. Not only that, having better access to airport services remotely will reduce the crowding of people within the facility and may help dissipate the long lines airports are notorious for. Combined with analytics, the latter can actually help the airport’s administration find out whether their safety policies are effective.

Such a solution has already been deployed in some airports to track the motion dynamics of visitors and help the authorities adjust the approaches to managing the passenger flow. It would not be a stretch to imagine a similar system installed on phones and using crowdsourced data to detect and avoid crowded places. Again, this feature can be useful not only during a public health crisis but as a general quality-of-life improvement in highly trafficked areas.

Smart Disinfection

Identifying people with symptoms is an important part of the preventive effort but certainly not the only one. Disinfection, which has been included in nearly every set of guidelines, also requires special consideration in busy places like a terminal. So, the smart solutions in this domain solve two problems: the duration of procedure and its reliability with different materials. While wiping with a cloth will work well for solid surfaces, such as handrails and counters, passengers’ personal belongings will require a different approach.

One example of how this issue can be solved is a luggage disinfection tunnel – a unit that applies the disinfectant and/or UV light while items pass through it on a conveyor belt. To avoid damaging the goods, the agent is dispersed into tiny particles that form what is known as a dry mist. In this state, it can thoroughly cover fabric and other non-smooth surfaces without making them wet or leaving residue. The entire procedure takes several seconds and can be integrated with other baggage handling processes.

Health Screening

Going through more checks while boarding a plane certainly doesn’t sound thrilling. Of course, it’s not the screening itself that raises suspicion but rather the delay it creates. Fortunately, there are several modern solutions that can eliminate the latter without compromising the quality of service.

The most ubiquitous ones are contactless thermometers we have become so accustomed to recently. The most familiar handheld variety is not particularly efficient, requiring a human operator who is also exposed to risks of contracting the disease. However, several automated solutions have already been developed that can take measurements and produce results in seconds while the person is walking through a gate similar to a metal detector.

This principle can be implemented both in the form of a standalone unit and as a part of a comprehensive protection system. For instance, contactless temperature measurement has been used as a part of a sanitizer tunnel working principle. Since airports are among the main culprits when it comes to large-scale disease outbreaks, these measures will remain relevant even after the current pandemic subsides.

The Way Forward

It is fair to say that the COVID-19 outbreak caught us unprepared. Not only the healthcare system but also the infrastructure in any given industry turned out under-equipped for such a threat. However, with the current knowledge and experience, we can probably demonstrate better results should a similar scenario play out in the future. Moreover, at least some of the solutions that were developed as a response to the virus can actually bring value to the field even after the pandemic is over, making travel safer and more convenient.

About the Author

Sophie Zoria

Sophie Zoria is a content writer passionate about influencing business and tech audiences. She's thrilled to write about tech trends that influence society.