b'PHOTO: VANTAGE AIRPORT GROUP / 59LAGUARDIA GATEWAY PARTNERS INFO TECHNOLOGYLGA | YYZshowing individual guests as colored dotstime periods and work with our partners to on a computer dashboard. This quicklymake sure they are prepared. identifies crowded areas and bottlenecks, calculates and displays wait times, andEnsuring Privacy allows playback of specific time periodsShulman notes that Xovis designed its for further study at a later date. software with a privacy-first approach. In the security screening area and taxiThe system does not record any video queue, we use Xovis to measure waitnor imagery and only transmits coordinate times, which we display prominently fordata of identified passengers, he explains. our guests, says DAngelo. We knowEach airport or terminal operator owns the that security screening can be especiallydata collected on site and is responsible stressful for our travelers, so we are takingto use it appropriately for operational the guesswork of wait times out of thedecisions with security at the forefront. equation for ourselves and them. At LGA, for instance, the Port Authority The software allows LaGuardiaonly has access to data about taxi stand Gateway Partners to establish andoperations. As the operator of Terminal B, monitor key performance indicators thatLaGuardia Gateway Partners receives all help inform in-the-moment decisionsthe data that is collected.regarding passenger flow. PersonnelThe airport owns the data; Xovis also study the data retrospectively todoesnt, Shulman emphasizes. Each improve future operations. Measurementsairport can choose how long they keep include wait times, processing times andthe data. They can store data for a month, passenger throughput, with informationa year, or over a year and be able to do about specific checkpoint lanes measuredcomparisons and predictions depending on to the minute. Data that is pertinent towhat they decide.passengers (wait times) is shared onPrivacy features were top-of-mind for display screens. officials at YYZ when they were looking The softwarefor software to help improve operations Terminal B at LGA, the private operatorallows LGA toand passenger flow. The Greater Toronto included provisions for a software systemreceive real-timeAirports Authority (GTAA) initially began to help improve throughput efficiency byalerts if a threshold isdiscussions with Xovis in late 2017, and the addressing queuing.exceeded, explainsnew system was activated at YYZ in 2020. At the time, [weCody Shulman, head were] also operatingof Airports ProductToronto Pearson Goes Bigthe original TerminalManagement forCODY SHULMAN The partnership that ensued between B, explains EdwardXovis. Each airportXovis and YYZ resulted in the largest North DAngelo, directorcan set their own thresholds dependentAmerican installation of passenger flow of informationon the data they would like to measure. management technology in a check-in technology forThis feature boosts efficiency at LGAenvironment. In all, more than 400 sensors LaGuardia Gatewayby allowing queue zones and otherwere installed at check-in and security areas. Partners. DuringEDWARD DANGELO operations to be adjusted at any moment, We are one of the biggest airports the redevelopment, we launched a pilotadds Shulman.to scale and implement Xovis as a program with Xovis in the old facility.For DAngelo, its all about improving thesolution that captures our entire check-in Based on its success, we moved forwardguest experience. If our operations teamfootprintevery single check-in resource, with implementing the technology in thesees queue times building or travelersself-service kiosk and automated bag new terminal.getting too close together at securitydrop across both When the 850,000-square-foot Terminalscreening, we reach out to our partnersTerminals 1 and 3 B Arrivals and Departures Hall opened inat the TSA to suggest opening additionalwith over 45 different June 2020, it included nearly 100 Xovisscreening lanes, he explains. Similarly,airlines, says Faiyaz sensors in key circulation areas, includingif we see the taxi queue building, we alertPatel, manager of outside at the taxi stand and inside nearour partners at the Port Authority of NewAirline Program TSA screening checkpoints. The 3DYork and New Jersey, who oversee taxiDevelopment at sensors attach to the ceiling and measureoperations at the airport. We also canYYZ. It was a huge passenger flow in real-time, anonymouslyreview historical data to help predict busyundertaking. FAIYAZ PATELAirportImprovement.comJuly | August 2022'