Hamad International Airport’s exhibition booth at QITCOM 2019.
Hamad International Airport (HIA) has concluded its participation at the Qatar IT Conference and Exhibition (QITCOM 2019) by demonstrating key elements of its innovative Smart Airport program. The event was organized by the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) under the patronage of Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
QITCOM 2019 was held from October 29 to November 1 at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) and was attended by global start-ups, innovators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, academics and investors.
In line with QITCOM’s theme this year, ‘Safe, Smart Cities’, HIA’s exhibition booth showcased the airport’s paperless air travel experience, whereby passenger verification is performed seamlessly across check-in, bag drop, security check and aircraft boarding using facial biometric identification. Passengers checking in at HIA will be able to use a biometric-enabled check-in kiosk to create a Digital ID by taking their photo. In future, travellers would also create a secure and reusable Digital ID on their smartphones, making their experience swifter and more convenient.
Underlining its vision for the airport-of-the-future, HIA also unveiled its new ‘Wayfinding and Information’ system, where passengers can simply walk up to an information screen, be recognised by their face, and instantly provided with personalised flight and gate information. This capability produced many ‘Wow’ moments for visitors throughout the exhibition.
The five-star airport also demonstrated its mobile app ‘HIAQatar’ featuring: real-time airport navigation using Bluetooth beacon technology; flight and gate information notifications; easily searchable information about services, amenities, shops, cafés and restaurants for passengers to enjoy their experience.
Recognising the highly intuitive, relevant features and content of the HIA mobile app, the airport has been awarded ‘Mobile App of the Year’. The award was received by Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at HIA from the Minister of Transport and Communications (MoTC) H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti which took place during QITCOM’s Gala Dinner and Qatar Digital Business Awards 2019 ceremony.
The airport also exhibited its ‘Digital Twin” prototype which is designed to provide visual 3D situational awareness in real-time on what is working well and what needs attention to maintain operational excellence or world-class passenger experience that HIA is renowned for.
Visitors, particularly student groups from schools in Qatar, were also mesmerized by HIA’s high-tech yet high-touch robot concept for assisting passengers.
HIA was recognized as the fourth-best airport in the world and the best airport in the Middle East at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2019. HIA is currently a candidate for ‘World Best Airport’ for the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020.
The results will be announced in March 2020 at the Skytrax World Airport Awards.
