The Hindu Business Line : GMR-Siemens to redefine airport experience in Hyderabad

Right from automated check-in, flight information kiosks and entertainment lounges, the airport promoters assure passengers experience would be something you have not been exposed to in India. Frequent travellers certainly would have had a glimpse of some of these at work at Frankfurt, Changi and Hong Kong airports.

The Head Project Management, GMR International Airport Ltd, Mr P. Sripathy, told Business Line that a consortium of companies headed by Siemens and its strategic partners are in the process of developing what he described as first such airport to have a fully-integrated airport management system.

The entire IT infrastructure and the processes being developed at the airport are aimed at passenger convenience, speed at which services are provided with minimal human interface and enhanced entertainment services.

An optical fibre network backbone would pave the way for Airport Community Network, which will have a wireless fidelity capability. The consortium is in parleys for developing a RFID (radio frequency identification)-based facility that would probably get tagged to the passenger when he checks, thereby helping track his movements.

From initial estimates of about seven million passengers, the airport has scaled up the project to handle about 12 million passengers by 2012. This is based on the growth witnessed at the old airport. This means, upgrading the facilities from day one.

The cost of the project has been scaled up from Rs 1,760 crore to Rs 2,283 crore to host 42 parking bays instead of 30 planned initially and have longer facility for taxi. The airport features rapid exit taxi facility.

Providing an insight into their partnership with Siemens and others including TVS for structured cabling, Mr Sripathy said, "Being a Greenfield airport we have a few advantages. This has meant making the airport and its process highly technology intensive at the same time streamlining the processes. The effort is directed to ensuring that there is no delay when a passenger comes into the airport, be it either through unmanned check in counters or at the luggage collection zones."

The airport community network is not just about connecting the airport, but encompasses all buildings, hospitality lounges, retail outlets and entertainment zones.

It would host 200 flight information display screens to be integrated with the common airport database and 80 check in counters built on CUSS (Common User Self Service) system. The airport has deployed a SAP enterprise resource planning system and would have a back up and disaster recovery site.

The interactive information kiosks would feature information on tourism and entertainment zones and may even link up with IRCTC to providing rail ticketing.

Apart from featuring closed circuit televisions that help monitor passenger movement within the airport, the television screens would provide access to not just Indian TV channels but seek to cater to a global multi-lingual traveller over an Internet Protocol (IP) based network. Cyber and gaming zones would compliment entertainment lounges.

One of the problems travellers face in airports is poor audio quality that passengers find it difficult to pick up. Bose Corporation has been roped in for audio system for entertainment and flight info. As a part of the IT initiatives, an interface house is up and running and by third quarter 2007, all the processes would be up and running, he explained.

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