Virtual Assistants at German Airport ease passenger journey

Condor has become the first airline in the world to benefit from the latest high-tech audio-visual technology, the Virtual Assistant. The life-like announcer was pioneered and installed by queue management specialist Tensator and will now greet the airline’s passengers at its Frankfurt Airport hub, helping to simplify the airline’s check-in process.

The news comes as Fraport AG, the owner and manager of Frankfurt Airport (FRA), also has installed its own Virtual Assistant, making it Germany’s first airport to use the advanced digital signage solutions.

As one of the 10 top airports in the world, FRA welcomes more than 53 million passengers through its two terminals annually. The Virtual Assistant is being trialled at Frankfurt Airport to determine whether it can help ease the flow through the airport’s security checks by advising passengers on the preparations they need to make before going through the screening process.

Bärbel Töpfer, Fraport’s Vice President of Airport Security Management says: “We’re delighted to be the first German airport to test such an innovative passenger control system like the Virtual Assistant. The trial will enable us to decide whether to opt for a roll out of the Virtual Assistant throughout the airport.”

Fraport is testing the Virtual Assistant under real operating conditions. With some four million passengers travelling through FRA each month and as more than 185,000 on peak days of the year, it’s crucial that security checks are efficient. The Fraport and Condor bilingual assistants attract the attention of passengers and provide important information to passengers in either German or English.

Condor passengers are now greeted in the check-in area by the airline’s female virtual employee, who provides them with useful information on how to use Condor’s self-service check-in kiosks.

Condor is thrilled to be the first airline using the Virtual Assistants, as Christian Schmitt, Vice President Ground Operations explains: “We’re always looking for ways to make our customers’ journeys as easy and relaxing as possible and the Virtual Assistant enables us to provide them with valuable information that can speed up the check-in process.”

Tensator is a leading name in queue management solutions and has already installed a number of its famousTensabarriers at the Frankfurt Airport.

Tensator’s Virtual Assistants can be seen at a number of international airports, including Dubai International, Birmingham and London Luton.