The technology and “equipment” involved in building, monitoring, and maintaining queues throughout an airport environment ultimately have one big job to do: Keep passengers flowing from point to point. A well-managed queuing approach is one that prevents passenger bottlenecks, directs passengers in and out of the queues, and keeps wait times to a minimum. In an airport, time is critical. Someone may have arrived hours early for their flight, another passenger may have arrived with just enough time to spare, but they’re both standing in the same line. One person is far more stressed about getting where they need to be. The other person is likely to be a bit more confident and relaxed. Either way, their travel from ticketing to security to their gate should be the same – smooth, efficient, and with the least amount of worry.
Keeping Up the Appearance of a Well-Run Queue
Wait times commonly fall out of compliance, but no passenger needs to know about it, and they certainly don’t want to feel the effects of wait times that are clearly beyond acceptable. When the waiting times in your queues fall out of acceptable range, every second counts. Managers need to be able to identify the problem immediately so that they can deploy the appropriate resources to solve the issue before it gets out of hand. An intelligent queue management system can alert managers in real-time via text or email when a problem occurs. Notifications can even be programmed to be delivered before key performance indicators are off to ensure problems are dealt with sooner. Intelligent queue management systems gather historical information which makes it possible to predict, for example, when a line might get too lengthy because of an anticipated uptick in passenger flow. Additionally, data from other airport systems, such as arrivals/departures or weather, can be integrated into queue analytics systems to help predict peak traffic and plan resources. Smart queue management with real-time alerts is about having the right data delivered at the right time. Information delivered in real-time gives you the power to reallocate resources or redirect customer flow, fill up empty queues, and ease the worries of rushing and frazzled travelers. Your ability to react quickly to queue problems can go a long way toward appeasing unhappy passengers and maintaining their loyalty as future travelers through your airport. A great deal of passengers come to the airport anticipating a tedious journey leading up to their actual flight. With real-time alerts your passengers might just be pleasantly surprised to find the opposite is true. Learn more about managing passenger expectations and creating a positive queue experience for travelers in our latest guide, The Passenger Experience: Managing Crowds, Decreasing Wait Times, and Improving the Passenger Journey.
