Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) has become the first airport in the world to introduce a workforce use of the Apple Watch. The watches will be used to connect to the SITA Airport Management solution to push regular operational alerts to duty managers and ensure operations run smoothly.
Marc-André Bédard, vice president, information technology, Aéroport de Québec, said, “We are always looking for new technology to help enhance our operations, and ultimately better serve our passengers. Wearable technology is one area of interest to us and with the Apple Watch and SITA’s Airport Management solution our duty managers will receive important notifications at just the right time to take action as needed.
“For example, they may get an alert to say that two planes are arriving simultaneously and have been assigned to the same gate or that there is a delay at a certain gate. Previously, they would have checked their tablets regularly for updates. With the watch, a vibration alerts them to an update so they receive vital information just by glancing at their wrist. They can then take immediate action.”
The SITA Lab team built the application for the airport and conducted all the systems integration work to link the Apple Watch to the SITA Airport Management solution. SITA’s solution streamlines airport operations by enabling the airport to control all its operations from a single central control center and adapt to an ever-changing environment.
Jim Peters, chief technology officer, SITA, said, “This is another example of how SITA is leading the way in exploring new technology for the air transport community. Using the Apple Watch at Quebec Airport harnesses all the power of SITA’s Airport Management solution to deliver information and updates to staff in a faster, more agile way. Of course, SITA’s boarding pass API already works with the watch, and the team wanted to trial different ways to harness the benefits of Apple’s new technology.”
