PROTECTING INNOVATION

AIRPORT INNOVATION ▶▶▶

BUD CEO: DIGITALIZATION AND SUSTAINABILITY ‘A MUST’

Airports have faced a strong recovery in passenger traffic during the summer but also difficulties recruiting the required staff. Advanced technology is increasingly being used to help deal with such challenges. The Budapest Business Journal talked to Chris Dinsdale, CEO of Budapest Airport (BUD), the operator of the Ferenc Liszt International, about the investments being made to make travel more pleasant for passengers.

By Balázs Barabás

BBJ: Security checks and baggage handling are probably the most time-consuming processes for passengers in any airport. How is BUD easing this stress? Chris Dinsdale: One of the solutions that we have implemented is designed to tell passengers what is actually happening at a given moment, so when you arrive at the security line at the airport, you’ll see screens that tell you how long the wait is. It tracks Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals from phones anonymously. It doesn’t know anything about the person; it just knows that there’s a phone that’s going from point A to point B in a certain amount of time. Based on this information, it can measure how long people are taking,