As part of a pilot, we have recently given the first self-service security gates an important data upgrade – with data from our Boarding Pass API. The upgrade allows us to give airlines an insight into whether their passengers have arrived at Schiphol or not. As a consequence, they can make the right decisions, knowing this information. Thus improving their On Time Performance (timely departure).
As a passenger, you want to leave on time. And also for airlines, departing on time is of great importance. Schiphol is one of the busiest airports in Europe. Any delay has consequences for operational schedules. Ultimately, this may affect the travel experience of many tens of thousands of passengers travelling through our airport daily. That is why departing on time – the On Time Performance (OTP) – is an important KPI for both Schiphol and the airlines.
In order to (further) improve the OTP of departing flights, we have introduced the Boarding Pass Scan Service. As suggested before, this API is particularly interesting for airlines.
It often happens that an aircraft is about to leave, but that one or more passengers are not yet at the gate. In such cases, you, as an airline, have to make an important decision. Are we waiting for a few minutes? Or do we leave? It then helps to know whether this passenger(s) has arrived at the airport at all and whether they already went through security or not. This specific information also allows you to approach the relevant passengers in person – which is much more effectively than the current broadcaster method.
The Boarding Pass Scan Service was born out of a request from easyJet. The idea that arose was eventually developed into a concrete service by the Schiphol Smart Airport Data team. The financial benefits of, for example, the Boarding Pass Scan Service, can increase considerably. Every percentage of improvement in OTP quickly yields a few million euros in profits. With this, the potential of the Boarding Pass Scan Service alone is enormous.
In addition, we also have a large number of other APIs and services available and the collection is still growing. Our Smart Airport Data team ensures that we safely and correctly disclose data via APIs and services. This allows airlines, our partners and travellers to benefit from all the data we have. It is one way to fulfil our ambition to be Preferred Digital Airport.
At the moment, we are still keeping the pilot, in cooperation with Transavia. During this pilot, we learn from important initial experiences and have taken the necessary bumps in terms of the required contracts, (editors) agreements and data protocols. After our evaluation and potential improvements, we expect to soon roll out the service to other airlines.