Predictive Passenger Technology Makes Its Stateside Debut at JFK
Jackie Reddy October 12, 2016
Currently in use in Europe and Asia, the BEONTRA Scenario Planning Suite has landed at JFK’s Terminal 4. The result? Smoother airport operations and a more seamless passenger experience.
When it comes to battling bottlenecks, the ability to predict and monitor passenger flow is proving to be a powerful tool in improving the overall airport experience. The BEONTRA Scenario Planning Suite is already in use in Asia and Europe and has just made its stateside debut at Terminal 4 of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
BEONTRA samples real-time flight information and combines it with known passenger data to create a simple graphic snapshot of peak waiting times. In addition to holding data on passenger arrival times and how long it takes travelers to move through the terminal or make their way through a particular bottleneck, airlines can also input their schedule changes directly into the system.
Daryl Jameson, the man responsible for the terminal’s baggage and IT systems on behalf of JFK International Air Terminal, the body that runs the facility, told Wired that, “The primary reason to put this software in place is resource planning. It gives us a better idea of the changing environment in real time.”
As well as predicting traveler flow, it is hoped that BEONTRA will also help the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)to better allocate staff in the face of an influx of passengers. Also, while the system can display information for both the current as well as the following two days, it is eventually hoped that BEONTRA can be used to forecast passenger flows as far as 90 days in advance.
Though this software has only just debuted at JFK, Jameson told the website that other U.S. airports have already expressed their interest in BEONTRA. It is thought that, in the future, the system will use more information sources, like real-time camera feeds, to build its predictions.
Overall, this technology has received positive feedback from travelers at JFK. In the wider sense, BEONTRA, believes Jameson, is helping airport operations to run smoothly while ensuring a more seamless passenger experience.
[Photo: Doug Letterman]
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The only in-airport delays I've encountered at JFK are the TSA queues, which sometimes are ridiculous. Like when the airfield had been closed for ~48 hours due to a snow storm and the first day the airfield was open was a Sunday...and TSA had *ONE* checkpoint lane open for pax use. ONE lane for the entire terminal. Unless TSA is going to actually USE the data to adjust staffing, this is just a waste of money. Much like the TSA.