Prague’s Airport Testing Digital Signage Display Tied To Predominant Passenger Languages

August 14, 2019 by Dave Haynes

The international airport at Prague, in the Czech Republic, is testing a digital signage-driven communications system that tailors content to the predominant language of arriving travelers.

I’ve seen this done in places like Dubai for advertising at baggage carousels, but in this case, it is entirely driven by the airport management’s desire to relay passenger and facility navigation information.

The airport has a set of eight screens at the entrance to pier B in Terminal 1 that delivers pertinent information in Czech, English, Korean, Chinese, Arabic and Russian. What language is on the screens is tied to current traffic and passenger flow throughout the airport’s operating day.

Right now, it’s a test, and the airport says if it proves successful, it will be used around the rest of the airport.

“As the number of flights at Prague Airport continues increasing, so does the number of passengers with specific language requirements. The growing amount of air traffic calls for information to be provided faster and more efficiently. Therefore, digital signage is another project of Prague Airport´s technology development, which goes hand-in-hand with its construction development,” says Václav ?eho?, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Letišt? Praha.

The content mix includes gate information for departing passengers, and pictograms for services like restrooms and dining options. It also does things like directs arriving passengers to passport control, makes them aware of baggage carousels and tells them what thed weather will be like when they’re leaving the airport.

It’s also set-up for emergency notifications.

The test is being run through October, at which point the airport will have a go/no go decision on expanding this effort or going back to the drawing board.

I like this, and would suggest adding tech like computer vision to analyze and report on things like security screening and passport control lineups – which would not only inform travelers but help airport ops make staffing assignment decisions.

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