VIDEO: Building a digital connection between airlines and passengers

Ask any traveler what the most frustrating part of the travel experience is and they’re likely to say the airport.

While having trouble navigating the airport is nothing new, the experience has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing airlines, airports and other stakeholders to consider how to further reduce friction in the process.

The solution involves “looking for places that lead to anxiety for passengers” and empowering them to have a better experience at the airport, says Gustavo Piña, director of SITA Lab.

That means airports and governments need to seek out passenger input on how to control flow and smooth out congestion, he continues, and as processes improve, the “digital relationship between airlines and passengers will get stronger.”

Speaking during PhocusWire Pulse: A New Traveler Experience, Piña explains the role trust plays in adopting digital solutions – particularly as they relate to ID – at scale, and how upstream problems can be anticipated downstream.

He also discusses the progress SITA has made with blockchain-based solutions such as the Aruba Health App and what the airport experience could look like in the next five years.

Watch the full interview with PhocusWire’s Jill Menze below.