IT advancements at BIA

IT advancements at BIA
Wednesday June 11 2008 09:07 IST

Express News Service

BANGALORE: The Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) so far has not been free from problems and complaints from passengers but at the same time has displayed many advancements in terms of applying information technology (IT) for smooth and efficient airport operations.

However, it is yet to be seen how and how far these technologies help BIA and what constraints they have if any.

Some of the technologies employed at BIA:

Free WI-FI: The airport in the IT City provides its users with free Wi-Fi in the terminal building. To use the internet free of cost, a user just needs to follow a simple log on process that requires the user to switch on his laptop and enter his mobile phone number on authentication request.

The user then receives a PIN through an SMS which has to be entered to use the service.

Automated check-in: Passengers travelling through BIA experience a seamless, single check-in process, thanks to the inline screening system that has put an end to the queue for baggage screening before check-in. Bangalore is one of the first airports in India to implement this system.

Common Use Self Service (CUSS): CUSS is a shared kiosk, offering many passenger services like check-in, ticketing, baggage tracking and other allied services, which can be performed by the passengers themselves.

This facility provides the passengers with a convenient and direct interface with the airline system while allowing multiple airlines to maintain branding and functionality.

Common use check-in counters: No airline has dedicated counters as seen at most of the airports across India. At BIA, if a flight is taking off at a particular time, the airline occupies a certain number of counters for that particular flight.

Once the flight’s check-in process is completed, the airline leaves the counters for the next airline to carry out their check-in process.

Baggage Reconciliation System (BRS): This integrated and end-to-end BRS can track baggage in 220 countries by using bar codes and wireless local area network. The system is also linked to a hightech security system to detect explosives in bags.

Automated Parking System: SKIDATA parking system APT-450 deployed at BIA is the latest access management solution to the various requirements of small, mid and large-sized parking facilities. It can accommodate 2,000 cars.

Disabled-friendly initiatives at BIA * The airport parking area is divided into five zones and each zone has up to 12 parking spaces reserved for differently abled passengers.

* The passenger can also avail of the porter service that can be booked (on the internet or telephone) before arriving at the airport.

* The walkway from the parking area to the passenger terminal building has gently sloping ramps throughout and is wide enough to accommodate a large electric powered wheelchair.

* The public convenience buildings located in the car park area have toilets designed for differently abled people and visitors to the airport. These toilets are at a height of 450 mm from the pathway, a small ramp leading up to the toilets to facilitate wheel chair movement.

* The entrance to the passenger terminal building which is at a height of 150 mm from the road, has a ramp to facilitate wheel chair movement.

* All the floors in the terminal building are connected by elevators. These elevators are spacious enough to accommodate wheel chairs and are equipped with a Braille plate at the side of each button.

The airport looks for smooth and efficient operations