Passengers in the US rank time-consuming baggage and security procedures as the top areas for improvement, according to a recent survey conducted by air transport IT specialist Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA).
The 9th annual SITA Air Transport World Passenger IT Trends Survey showed that when asked about areas of improvement, 77% of respondents cited security and border patrol procedures, while 73% reported baggage collection upon arrival as their top concern.
While automated baggage and border solutions are just beginning to take hold in the US, their availability is likely to grow as airports automate a greater number of processes and passengers continue to demand more convenience at their fingertips.
Just 24% of respondents to the annual SITA survey report using a self-service bag-drop station, yet 30% said they would use it if it was available in the future. Furthermore, 65% of respondents said they would like to receive real-time baggage updates on their mobile device.
Paul Houghton, president, Americas, SITA, said, “As mobile adoption and the expectation for self-service convenience continue to grow, there is an even greater opportunity for airports to streamline cumbersome processes and give their customers greater control over their travel experience – from check-in to border entry to baggage collection.
“A great example of this is the growing use of SITA’s automated passport control kiosks, installed at Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia and Logan [Boston] international airports, which have cut passenger wait times by up to 40%.”