Airport Scanning Apps: The Route for Air Travel Recovery

No one can dispute 2020 and 2021 were very turbulent years for the air travel industry and the challenges are certainly not over yet.

Having experienced an estimated $370 bn loss in 2020, with further headwinds from high fuel prices and staff shortages, airlines are eager to recoup some of the losses and scale back to pre-pandemic levels.

The pressure is on to implement cost-effective solutions that can flex with fluctuating passenger volumes.

As borders have reopened, and the world’s much-needed air travel industry ramps up, smartphone apps enabled with smart data capture are set to take off in a big way.

A solution that streamlines workflows and offers increasingly less reliance on dedicated hardware will make air travel operations more cost-efficient and a smoother experience for passengers.

In our online guide, we explore how Scandit Smart Data Capture can help tackle air travel’s new challenges by increasing efficiencies while reducing operational costs. It outlines how both passengers and air travel employees can be empowered with smart devices enabled with an airport scanner app to help air travel operators scale back up.

1. Automate passenger flow with ease and efficiency

Self-scanning mobile apps – These can be added to passenger smartphone apps (compatible with over 20,000 models) to scan passports to support check-in, bag drops, and access to lounges and gates. Used in conjunction with automatic barriers, an airport scanner app reduces the need for fixed infrastructure and requires less airport staff.

Remove friction before leaving home – Even before passengers get to the airport, they can use an airport scanner app on their mobile device to scan passports for checking-in online from home. And while at the airport, flight information, such as gate number and delays can be easily accessed by scanning the barcode or QR code on their boarding pass.

Ease congestion and keep passengers moving – Airports are getting busier now and restrictions have eased. Scandit-powered smart data capture apps can speed up passenger journeys through the airport, improving queuing and congestion, reducing the need for contact and face-to-face interaction – making self-serve kiosks (with the potential to spread germs) redundant. IDs or boarding cards can limit access to an area at certain times to avoid overcrowding and provide a smoother experience for passengers and greater control.

2. Mobilize airport operations with accuracy

One device for any task – Employing smart data capture technology enables agents to use a single device to fast-track processes by moving routine tasks, like check-in and boarding gate checks onto smart mobile devices. Costly dedicated scanning equipment (hardware scanners or podiums with fixed scanners) can be replaced with familiar smartphones, saving on costs without compromising scanning performance and enabling the swift onboarding of new employees.

Scan performance enables more efficient operations – The speed of data capture is improved by the ability to scan barcodes on paper or digital boarding passes and ID tags at all angles and in poor light with poor contrast or brightness – even through plexiglass barriers. All kinds of barcodes, including damaged luggage labels can also be scanned from a distance.

Innovation without disruption – Scandit MatrixScan AR allows missing luggage or the luggage of no-show passengers to be located quickly with a search and find functionality, while Optical Character Recognition (OCR) functionality or text recognition lends itself to most operational functions.

3. Support vaccine passport checks with confidence and convenience

Technology that supports changings circumstances – Scandit’s smart data capture technology is flexible enough to support any introduction of further compulsory travel documentation when new processes are required, such as that witnessed with the scanning of EU Digital Green Certificate vaccine passports.

Mobile airport scanning apps are able to validate vaccination passports, when required in certain jurisdictions.

Scan paper or digital QR and Aztec codes – Scandit-powered mobile apps have significantly outperformed other scanning software, on most devices and under any condition with all types of barcodes, online or offline, making it the ideal way to scan both paper and digital vaccine passports in all environments.

Data captured from scanning a vaccine passport is immediately required by multiple users such as local and national government officials, travel companies, border control agencies, airlines, port authorities and, of course, the travelers themselves. A smart device using an airport scanner app is perfectly capable of completing this task, where dedicated devices would struggle.

Step up Scandit with an affordable, easy-to-implement, non-disruptive solution – mobile computer vision. Barcode scanning, text recognition, ID scanning and augmented reality capabilities can be made available to all via Scandit’s data capture engine integrated into any native mobile app on any smart device. Scandit even enables scanning to be added to web apps to scan via a browser. Unrivalled enterprise-grade performance will allow the easy completion of various tasks and workflows, without compromising accuracy.

Cut costs, increase efficiency and keep passengers happy with airport scanner apps

With a software-based smart device scanning solution costing around one-third of the TCO (total cost of ownership) of dedicated scanning hardware, Scandit smart data capture offers operators an affordable, safe and easy-to-deploy way of streamlining operations. It offers the all-important two-sided advantage of reducing costs and user error while supporting a frictionless and enjoyable passenger experience.

Flexible deployment options

Barcode scanning, text recognition, ID scanning and augmented reality capabilities are all supported with Scandit’s technology integrated into any native mobile app on any smart device. Functionalities can also be added to web apps to scan via a browser. Leading enterprise-grade performance enables the easy completion of various air travel tasks and workflows.

Check-out our online guide on how to scale air travel operations back to normal to ensure you are following the right technological flightpath to getting your air travel operations back off the ground.