For many years now, airports have begun to introduce self check in kiosks to help eliminate waiting times and to give travelers many check in options. After having implemented these digital kiosks, the airports saw a 30% drop in wait times from about 27 minutes to less than 20 minutes on average for checking in.
Obviously, this was a great benefit to airports. Gradually, LED sign manufacturers began planning different ways in which these digital kiosks could help airports and the several thousands of passengers going through airports every day.
These are the five main ways in which airports can use LED signs.
1. Wayfinding
While some airports are large, some are massive. For travelers, finding their way around can be difficult, confusing and time consuming. Specially when the time between flights is very limited, getting from their arrival point to the next boarding gate is quite a daunting task at huge and busy airports. Imagine you walk and walk for a long time only to find that you are actually heading in the opposite direction to where you are supposed to go?!
Interactive LED displays can be used at digital kiosks to implement wayfinding maps and greatly decrease this confusion. Depending on what software you are using for wayfinding, users will be presented with different overviews of the airport along with an indication of where they currently stand. With interactive features, users can select the location that they want to go to and request for a map on how to get there from their current location. Alongside such wayfinding information, updated flight information can also be displayed so travelers know how much time they have before their next flight.
2. Accommodation, meals and entertainment
Sometimes, air travelling can result in unexpected flight delays. In this case, you might have to exit an airport and spend many hours at an unknown destination until your next flight time. By placing LED kiosks at airport exit points, passengers can be presented with information regarding nearby accommodation options, restaurants and entertainment information. The city can advertise upcoming concerts, sporting events, casinos and such activities on digital kiosks. Promoting the city’s tourist attractions will not only enhance the visitor experience but will also encourage visitors to come back for a longer, planned stay. For such kiosks located outside airports, it is important to use simple software that is easy to navigate.
3. Lost and found
How can a digital kiosk be useful for lost and found items? Well LED sign software manufacturers are designing software particularly for lost and found items at airports. This software is combined with interactive digital kiosks at the airport with an aim to provide a good solution for lost and found services. The user is given the option of entering the missing item along with the user’s contact details. If the item has been found, the user is notified immediately. For lost and found kiosks, an additional VOIP phone handset can be installed for users to call the lost and found hotline. When valuable items are lost by travelers, this system can be a huge lifesaver.
4. Advertising
When a person is using an interactive LED display, their attention is sure to be on the screen and nowhere else. Advertisers should make use of this opportunity at airport kiosks and get their message out to the public. Advertising is also a great means for funding the kiosk at airports. Furthermore, tourists are encouraged to use local businesses and make use of other promotions and benefits during their visit.
How can you present advertisements on an LED screen used for wayfinding or lost and found? These advertisements can be displayed as screen savers, visual splash screens or as small reminders accompanied by other content. The airport itself can also obtain customer feedback on these kiosks with an objective to satisfy customers and improve their services.
5. Security warnings
An airport is a place that has to maintain maximum security. Digital kiosks can help by enhancing mass communication in case of emergency situations. The content manager should be prepared to immediately suspend the existing content and push out emergency messages on every digital kiosk around the airport.
In addition to the above five, more and more potential uses for LED signs at airports are being realized. With improved software for digital signage, customized solutions are providing better travel experiences to passengers.
