How new technology could make airport social distancing possible

Technology company Veovo is attempting to make social distancing in airports possible with its latest products. The technology promises to provide both real-time and predictive insights to airports about passenger movements through a combination of movement monitoring and machine learning.

The pair of new products are Virtual Queuing and a Passenger Density Management Tool, which Veovo hopes will be able to help airports adapt as well as help passengers to regain confidence for flying again as restrictions start to ease.

With lining up being commonplace at several points during the airport experience, it's a considerable pain point when it comes to social distancing. Veovo's Virtual Queuing product provides pre-booked time slots for various different checkpoints throughout airports, meaning that passengers won't have to come close together in long lines.

The slots are constantly updated in real-time and take into consideration wait times, changes to incoming passenger numbers due to delays as well as processing capacity in areas throughout the airport.

The second product is a Passenger Density Management tool. It's tasked with monitoring the accumulation of crowds in spaces that are prone to getting busy with passengers like in check-in and at security. Additionally, it monitors airside departure gates, shops and restaurants. Information from the monitors will be gathered in real-time to constantly assess the risk in various areas of the airport.

Airport managers will have access to live heatmaps and dashboards, which will trigger customized alarms and automatic actions that can be based on current guidelines relevant to the country that the airport is in.

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Not only that, but the system will help to advise on which areas of the airport are most critical for cleaning.

Veovo already has airport clients across the world. One of the biggest being Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), which has been using the tech company's Passenger Predictability technology for more than eight years. In the U.K., Birmingham (BHX), Bristol (BRS), Edinburgh (EDI) and Manchester (MAN) airports are also using the Passenger Predictability Solution.

Related: TPG UK special report: The best and worst UK airports

This new technology could help airports with the problems that they already know exist, such as how to implement social distancing. Earlier in May, Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said social distancing in airports would be impossible.