Adani group airports planning to test pre-booked security check slots

If implemented in India, the service will let passengers book security screening slots in advance, helping cut down wait times in long queues

Adani Airport Holdings -- which manages seven airports in the country -- is planning a trial of a system that will let fliers pre-book security checkpoint slots, a first-of-a-kind in the country.

 

If implemented in India, the service will allow passengers book security screening slots in advance, helping cut down wait times in long queues.

 

Globally, multiple airports such as Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands, London’s Heathrow Airport, Los Angeles International Airport among others offer a similar service currently.

 

“Today, one can pre-book their lounge by logging into the Adani One app. Over time, we also want to look at how one can pre-book their slots when in security (since) there are long queues or in immigration, but that is the future,” said Ekta Ghosh, chief digital officer, Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL). 

Ghosh said that the systems empowering the project were currently under trials.

 

“We want to tokenise and try at one airport where it starts to get congested… The token system is still in trials for us. We haven’t seen much success anywhere on the token system. So, we would like to see how it works out for us,” she added.

 

Currently, AAHL operates airports such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram.

 

The company announced its digital strategy for existing and upcoming airport projects. These included a smart airport operations platform Aviio, the Adani OneApp, and Airport in a Box project. 

 

Aviio supports airport stakeholders including airport operators, airlines, security agencies, ground handlers, and service providers in streamlining operations on a single platform.

 

The Adani OneApp allows passengers to navigate an airport, access airport-specific loyalty programs, and get live tracking and other digital features.

 

Airport in a Box provides the development of airports with advanced infrastructure and technology integration.

 

“It focuses on creating a robust framework that supports operations today and scales for future requirements. This initiative is aimed at future-proofing infrastructure, focuses on investments that ensure scalability and readiness for onboarding new airports,” the company said in a statement.

 

In February 2019, the Centre privatised six major airports currently operated by AAHL.

 

After a competitive bidding process, the Adani group secured the rights to run all of them for 50 years. AAHL took control of these airports between October 2020 and November 2021.

 

In August 2020, the group acquired a 74 per cent stake from GVK group in Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) -- the operator of Mumbai airport.

 

The conglomerate took control of Mumbai airport in July 2021. MIAL owns NMIAL, which is currently constructing the Navi Mumbai airport.