Aviation during Covid-19
Heathrow Airport calls on UK government for cohesive plan to reopen borders
Following an announcement made by Heathrow Airport on 11th May (see coverage via Reuters) calling for a cohesive plan as the UK exits from quarantine, NEC’s Filip Cogghe comments on how NEC can support airport operators as they make the preparations necessary to maintain the safety of staff and passengers.
“The Heathrow Airport news highlights the fact that airports are going to need to rely heavily on display technologies to inform passengers of health and safety measures. Digital signage and wayfinding will no longer be nice-to-haves but must-haves for airports.
Airports should ensure now that they have reliable display technologies that can accurately update passengers in real time. Things change so fast that the information on printed signage may be wrong by the time it’s hung. Digital signage is the only way to guarantee accurate and relevant information in airports.
People are getting used to social distancing, but it appears obvious that ongoing information is crucial to avoid relapses. Airports need to scale operations back up as soon as possible to limit the financial impact on the economy and give people a sense of normality again.
The only way to achieve this is by setting up all the necessary measures, including reliable information displays, masks, hand sanitizers and gloves – and temperature checks in some cases.
These investments will have a positive impact by making passengers feel safer travelling, which will allow the aviation and travel industries to take off again. Obviously, for these measures to work efficiently, airports and governments across countries must collaborate.”
Filip Cogghe, Director of Transportation, EMEA – Aviation & Public Transport, NEC Display Solutions
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