Using AI to Improve Airport Assisted Travel and Aid Self Mobilisation

For many passengers, airport accessibility goes beyond physical access. It's about knowing where to go, understanding what will happen next and being able to get help when needed, all of which make a significant difference to the airport.

‍

AI is creating new opportunities for airports to support passengers requiring assistance, including people with reduced mobility (PRM), neurodiverse passengers and people who may experience anxiety or cognitive difficulties.

‍

Making assisted travel information easier to access

‍

Airport assisted travel and self mobilisation services can involve detailed information about booking assistance, meeting points, security, boarding and what passengers should expect during their journey.

‍

For some passengers, finding and understanding this information can itself be challenging. An AI airport accessibility assistant provides a conversational way to access information. Instead of searching through multiple pages, passengers can ask questions in their own words.

‍

• "Where do I go when I arrive?"
• "How do I request assistance?"
• "Can I visit the airport before my flight?"
• "What happens when I reach security?"

‍

This creates a more accessible route into existing information.

‍

‍

Supporting passengers discreetly

‍

Not everyone who needs reassurance will approach a member of staff. Some passengers may feel uncomfortable asking questions publicly. Others may be unsure whether they qualify for assistance. The same barriers exist for the latest 3D AI avatar assistant that many passengers feel too embarrassed to use. 

‍

A Digital Team Member can provide a private and discreet way to explore available support,  allowing passengers to rehearse journeys, clarify assistance options and reduce psychological friction before and during travel. That can be particularly valuable in an airport environment where uncertainty can increase stress.

‍

Supporting passengers throughout the journey

‍

Accessibility information shouldn't stop when a passenger has booked assistance. Passengers may need information before leaving home, when arriving at the airport, while moving through the terminal and when preparing to board.

‍

A location-aware AI passenger assistant can provide support based on where the passenger is in their journey. This can include navigation to facilities, information about assistance points and answers to questions about the next stage of the process.

‍

AI can support assisted travel teams too

‍

The objective isn't to replace PRM or assisted travel teams, it is simply to reduce the repetitive information workload surrounding them.

‍

At Glasgow Airport, Hello Airport has contributed to a 50% reduction in PRM and customer service queries requiring manual intervention, while supporting more than 4,000 passengers annually. The deployment also recorded an 86% satisfaction rate with the digital tools.

‍

This approach creates additional capacity for staff to focus on passengers who require direct human assistance.

‍

‍

Accessibility and multilingual support

‍

Airport passengers come from diverse backgrounds and may speak different languages. The latest AI passenger assistance tools can provide multilingual passenger information without requiring an equivalent increase in staffing across every language.

‍

For accessibility, however, language is only one consideration. The experience also needs to be simple, discreet and designed around the needs of people who may find traditional airport environments difficult to navigate.

‍

Making airports easier to navigate

‍

Wayfinding is closely connected to assisted travel. For a passenger who is anxious about navigating a large terminal, knowing exactly where to go can be as important as knowing what assistance is available.

‍

AI navigation assistants can provide location-specific guidance and help passengers understand their route through the airport but these need to be integrated into the passenger experience and is often an area where AI chatbots fall-short. The Hello Airport model incorporates location-specific guidance covering maps, navigation, gates and facilities.

‍

AI as another layer of accessibility

‍

The strongest use of AI in assisted travel isn't about replacing existing services. It is about making those services easier to understand and access.

‍

As already discussed, Digital Team Member provides information 24/7, allows passengers to ask questions privately, supports multiple languages and reduces repetitive enquiries reaching staff. For airports, that means accessibility becomes part of the wider passenger experience rather than a separate service passengers have to navigate independently. Importantly it helps passengers self mobilise and gives them independence throughout their airport journey.

‍

AI can help make the airport journey more predictable, more understandable and more manageable for more passengers.