Travelers today have numerous ways to check-in, be it online, at the airport or even outside in the parking lot. However, for airports this can mean multiple systems and expensive infrastructure.
To combat this, Hong Kong International Airport in China and technology developer Amadeus are planning to deploy the world’s first hot-swappable battery powered movable check-in kiosks, called iCUSS, with both a self-service and full-service mode. The versatile cloud-based mobile kiosks are powered by Amadeus’s common-use technology and can be rapidly deployed and relocated to combat peaks in passenger traffic.
Vivian Cheung, deputy director of airport operations, Airport Authority Hong Kong, the airport operator, said, “With an increasing number of passengers and infrastructure constraints at the airport, we now need a more sustainable way to check-in passengers faster and from anywhere. We also wanted to give the option to travelers to check-in at their convenience.
“We choose to partner with Amadeus as we share the same vision to reinvent the traditional way travelers check-in. We look forward to working with Amadeus to significantly reduce passenger process times, save airlines resources, and free up space in the terminal – and together we hope to extend this to other airports and set a new check-in standard in the airport industry.”
Sarah Samuel, head of airport IT Sales, Asia-Pacific, at Amadeus, said, “The airline check-in process at an airport can sometimes be the most frustrating and nerve-racking part of the traveler journey. Through this partnership, we will provide innovative technology that makes better journeys for all travelers flying through Hong Kong International Airport.
“We are very pleased to be working with such an innovative and forward-thinking airport to transform the travel experience and enhance airport operations efficiency.”
Thanks to Amadeus’s common-use cloud-based technology, airport staff and travelers can access any airline from any kiosk. All passengers can check-in, validate their travel documents including passports and visas, pick their seat, and print bag tags and boarding passes.
By pairing it with self-bag drop and by integrating the travel document validation with the kiosk check-in, airports significantly reduce the time to process passengers as travelers only need to make two stops before making their way to the terminal.