Dubai Airports First in the Middle East to ‘Hire’ Virtual Assistants

Dubai, UAE – December 14, 2011 – Dubai Airports has brought on board four bilingual ‘virtual assistants’ at Dubai International to communicate important travel information to the 50 million plus passengers that pass through the airport each year.

The state-of-the-art digital signage solutions use the very latest in rear-projected audio visual technology to create the illusion of a real person, conveying helpful security and brand messages. It makes Dubai International the first airport in the region to use the technology.

The virtual assistants, which have been created by leading queue management specialist Tensator, cheerfully greet and engage with the airport’s passengers in order to provide them with information on the preparations they need to make prior to entering the security screening and immigration areas. The use of this innovative technology is set to improve operational efficiencies and enhance the customer experience at Dubai International by reducing wait times in key areas near security screening points.

Commenting on the introduction of new technology at DXB, Sujata Suri, Vice President, Service Development for Dubai Airports, said: “As a customer-centric company, we realise that it is essential, amid all the ongoing growth and expansion, that we make the journey through our airport as quick and pleasant as possible. Just like Dubai International, the virtual assistants work 24/7 and will play an important role in helping us to achieve that goal.”

The use of the four virtual assistants, which have been installed for a three-month trial period, will help to ease the passenger journey by delivering guidance before and as they pass through departures and transfers areas.

Abdel Aziz Rahal, General Manager at Tensator FZE explained: “We worked very closely with Dubai Airports team to assess their particular requirements and develop a solution that matched them perfectly. We firmly believe that this solution will become a valuable asset to Dubai International, delivering consistent and clear messages and providing passengers with a wealth of information that will help to speed up their journey time.”

Virtual assistants are one of a number of initiatives underway the world’s fourth busiest airport for international passenger traffic. In September Dubai Airports launched a comprehensive service measurement project – the world’s largest to be undertaken by an airport operator, that will deliver intelligent, real-time information to drive better service delivery for passengers.