The rise of touchless travel

SimpliFlying has released a new report – The Rise of Touchless Travel – which details 29 areas of the new touchless passenger journey from airport check-in to baggage pick up.

The aviation marketing consultancy says the report is a blueprint for airlines and airports worldwide, as the aviation industry bids to restore passenger confidence in the face of COVID-19. Many of the solutions detailed are already live, with others in the final stages of development.

The report has been produced in partnership with Elenium Automation, which designs and manufactures self-service and automation technology, including a number of touchless innovations.

Summarising the new touchless aviation measures in the report, SimpliFlying says that passengers shouldn’t have to expect to touch anything but their mobile phones from arriving at an airport, right up to collecting their luggage. The consultancy notes that everything will be “automated, touchless and more convenient than it has ever been”.

Hands-free measures highlighted in SimpliFlying’s report include PPE vending machines on arrival at the airport; touchless check-in, baggage drop, security and shopping; contactless boarding; no seat-back pockets on aeroplanes; self-cleaning lavatories; and touchless immigration and customs procedures, and baggage notifications (see graphic for more).

SimpliFlying CEO Shashank Nigam says: “As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Ideally, it would not have taken the tragedy of the global pandemic for the industry to embrace touchless technology wholeheartedly, but I’m convinced that the end result will in many ways be better and more seamless all around.”