Cincinnati Airport uses tech to improve wait times

Technology from Blip Systems has helped reduce wait times significantly

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are working with BlipTrack to improve passenger wait times.

With almost seven million passengers a year, CVG  opted to use live and empiric data to provide information on passenger queue and dwell times.

Since 2014 the airport has been using technology called BlipTrack from Danish company Blip.

This allows them to measure, understand and improve the passenger experience. It also helps them better plan and allocate resources in cooperation with TSA.

After one year of use, the airport had successfully reduced TSA security line wait times by one third. In 2015, standard wait times had dropped by nearly over four minutes from 13.2 minutes to 8.9 minutes, compared to 2011.

Improved features

Since starting to use BlipTrack, the airport has added new features to help streamline operations further.

Passenger-facing wait time monitors and CVGairport.com interfaces provide immediate wait-time status, easing natural travel anxieties associated with queue lines and setting realistic expectations.

Additionally, CVG has established standards for self-accountability, ensuring average wait times below 15 minutes are consistently delivered.

CVG has added another feature that allows the airport to understand the pattern of how lanes are being used throughout the day. The aim is to pair this information with passenger show-up profiles and wait-time inputs to complete a story of how the check point is operating as a whole. It also helps the TSA develop lane open/close plans based on predicted throughputs.

Outside the terminal

CVG and BLIP Systems are working together to expand the solution to the outside of the terminal and throughout the airport grounds.

CVG is hopeful to gain a better understanding with improved parking data analysis to discover whether more passengers are using off-site competitor parking lots, and show where passengers dwell once inside their facilities.

The information helps them both target their marketing and better compete in an area where the race for passengers is fierce.

BlipTrack

Today, more than 25 international airports, including JFK, San Diego, Billund, Birmingham, Bristol, Brussels, Edinburgh, San Diego, Keflavik, Amsterdam and Manchester are using the BlipTrack technology.

N.B. Image credit: cvgairport.com

Internet links

Cincinnati Airport (CVG)

Blip Systems