Manchester Airport, the UK’s global gateway in the north, is continuing to see high passenger volumes after a busy 2023 which saw traffic figures return close to pre-pandemic levels. Now its operator, Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which also owns London Stansted and East Midlands airports, is taking steps to keep queue times at a minimum for consistently smooth arrival, departure and transfer experiences.
MAG has entered a strategic partnership with Veovo, which will result in one of the industry’s leading people flow technology rollouts. Using Veovo’s Passenger Flow Management solution across its three airports, MAG will be able to better understand how people move and spend their time within each airport, and how this differs from flight to flight. The system will provide actionable intelligence to tailor airport services and reduce wait times – at any moment or place in the terminal – for a more seamless and enjoyable journey.
Veovo’s sensor-agnostic analytics platform means MAG can use any combination of sensors that best suit their physical space, ceiling heights, lane layout and business needs. The system will use a combination of LiDAR, 3D Stereo cameras and the airport’s Wi-Fi infrastructure to understand the movement of passengers through the terminal. It will show queue times at key process points and provide flight-specific insights on appearance profiles, dwell times and movement.
“Passenger flow can differ significantly depending on the airline, time of day, and destination – impacting terminal operations in different ways,” said Nick Woods, CIO of Manchester Airports Group (MAG) “By understanding how people travel from kerb to gate with Veovo’s Passenger Flow Management system, we can make data-driven decisions to improve experiences.”
James Williamson, Veovo CEO, “This partnership marks a significant milestone in MAG’s strategy to revolutionise the customer experience by helping passengers seamlessly move from kerb to gate. We’re excited to embark on this journey with MAG and see the positive impact of Veovo’s predictive insights in delivering a great passenger experience today while supporting more data-driven long-term planning.”
