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Is technology going to help with the aviation industry recovery in 2021? Are there some technology trends that will be responsible for transforming the air transport industry in 2021 and years to come?
Let me in this article shed light upon top technology trends that will drive the air transport and the aviation industry recovery in 2021.
2020 was not that pleasant to the airline and aviation industry. COVID-19 pandemic has caused borders closure for a while as there was no vaccination to contain the crisis.
Airline Technology Trends
The air transport industry is still struggling as a result of the economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, those challenges have brought some changes to the aviation and air transport industry. Those changes have a lot to do with some emerging technology trends that shall help the air transport industry recover in 2021 and years to come. You can also make sure to register with and travel through LAX departures.
What are some technology trends in the airline industry?
Some technology trends have emerged in the aviation industry such as contactless solutions, digital health passports, and autonomous cleaning robots. In this article some top technology trends will be highlighted. Those technology trends shall play a significant role in driving the air transport industry recovery in 2021 and years to come.
How will technology affect the airline industry?
1- Contactless Solutions at Airports
As the COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly spreading, some contactless solutions at airports have been adopted in order to minimize the spread of the Coronavirus through reducing in-person interactions among passengers and airline staff members.
In 2021 and years to come, the air transport and aviation industry is expected to witness a greater dependence on technology throughout the entire air travel, starting from check-in and security processes to the way passengers pay for supplementary services at the airport terminal, and the way they board the plane and interact with inflight facilities on board.
The contactless solutions encompass changes regarding the way passengers shop at airports. At some airports in North America, The Just Walk Out technology has been introduced, allowing travellers to quickly enter the Hudson store using their credit card, get the products they are searching for, and then walk out of the store. The whole shopping experience of The Just Walk Out technology offers purchasers an innovative contactless experience that makes them avoid touching surfaces and avoid infection.
2- Digital Health Passports and Vaccination Visas to Passengers
The contactless solution of digital health passports is one of the emerging technology trends that is thought of in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of health passports is not new; the focus is now on digitizing health passports and vaccination visas and using them as a tool to authenticate passengers’ health status.
Developing and deploying digital health passports and vaccination visas are currently underway all over the globe. Developing and deploying digital health passports and vaccination visas shall act as a globally recognized and standardized solution to the current confusion with regard to crossing international borders.
In the upcoming months, digital health passports and vaccination visas are expected to be utilized in the air transport market, transforming the airline industry and aviation industry outlook in 2021 and years to come.
3- Advanced Self-Service and Biometric Technologies
Biometric technologies are a part and parcel of the technology trends in the air transport and aviation industry. And surely with the COVID-19 pandemic, advanced self-service and biometric technologies are widely taking over; a strong emphasis is being put on biometric technologies as a technology trend transforming the air transport industry in 2021 and years to come. Truly, the number of airlines and airports that are adopting the biometric technology is exponentially increasing.
VINCI Airports became the first airport operator in the globe to deploy biometric technologies throughout the passenger’s journey from home to plane. A new travel assistant, called Mona, is being deployed by the airport operator, revolutionizing the passenger’ air transport experience.
Putting biometric technologies in mind, the question is, can facial recognition technology assess a traveller’s identity without taking of their facial mask?
Several suppliers of the biometric technologies have been working to enhance their biometric solutions to allow passengers to seamlessly go through the biometric technology checks without the need to take off their facial masks.
One biometric technology supplier is NEC and they succeeded in deploying biometric technologies that are enhanced with an ability to do identifications with high levels of accuracy that reached 98% of success, without the need to make a traveller take off their facial masks.
With the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, biometric technology is undoubtedly a top priority to be deployed at airports as a partial part of the technology trends in the air transport and aviation industry in 2021 and years to come.
Some challenges are brought because of deploying some emerging technology trends in the transport industry in 2021; those challenges have a lot to do with protecting passengers’ data. That is because the very core of such technology solutions is the use of sensitive personal information. And this responsibility of protecting travellers’ data falls on the shoulders of airlines and aviation industry partners. Addressing privacy risks at an early stage of the development of those technology trends is vital. This year, the transport and aviation industry is expected to focus largely on protecting data of passengers.
4- Robotics and Automation
Robots – being a major technology trends in the aviation industry in 2021 – are being depended on in various airport terminal. Last year, depending on robots was more of a way of advancement in deploying technology trends at major airports worldwide. In 2021, the focus is largely on depending on robots as a way to avoid infection spread. A number of airports around the world have adopted autonomous robots with ultraviolet (UV-C) light technology for cleaning services. In some airports departure halls, non-face-to-face automatic body temperature robots are utilized to lessen the risk of COVID-19 infections.
This year, investments in some technology trends such as robots, automation and the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) as well as Machine Learning (ML) technologies are expected to increase as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
The aviation and airline industry is coupled with technology trends in various aspects so as to provide passengers with a safe travelling experience.
It is obvious that applying technology trends in the air transport and aviation industry is already taking some notable steps in the right direction.
Willing to travel safely to various parts of the world, Turkish Airlines, Emirates Airways, and Saudia have got some safety procedures and processes so as to make life easy for you and guarantee a safe flight void of COVID-19 infection.
Check some flight booking procedures that shall make your traveling experience an easy and safe one.
