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Dutch Airport Introduces Queuing System By Seat Number

Dutch Airport Introduces Queuing System By Seat Number

The new boarding system aims to decrease boarding time and allow safe social distancing in queues.

Simon Catling

Simon Catling

A video of someone boarding at an airport in the Netherlands has gone viral, as it depicts the futuristic way in which passengers are now informed when it's their time to get on the plane. Watch below:

As you can see from the video, originally posted on TikTok by Crosschecked, the system shows up the passenger seat numbers on the floor via projection, and they then follow the projection as it moves, thus ensuing a timely and orderly procession from the departure lounge to the plane.

The company rolling out the innovation is Latin air company Azul Airlines, who announced trials of their Blue Carpet last year to be originally be implemented at Curitiba Afonso Pena Airport in Brazil.

They have since been rolling out the projector system at 17 other airports, with an aim to provide the technology at 100 boarding gates, representing 70 percent of Azul's domestic traffic.

Blue Carpet uses Pacer Tecnologia's WaveMaker technology, which allows customers to board in waves, socially distanced and in an apparently reduced amount of time than they would do under normal boarding situations.

Claiming that they can reduce boarding times by up to 60 percent, Pacer's site says: "The PACER Wavemaker system uses the patented wave boarding method.

"It intelligently groups passengers in a way that they can board the aircraft without conflicting with other groups that are generated in each new wave."

It adds: "This results in much more comfortable boarding process, with passengers spending less time both standing and seated waiting for takeoff."

TikTok

The site claims that it can reduce a boarding time of 21 minutes, under a single line first come first served system, to just seven minutes using their technology, which certainly sounds beneficial for those of us (basically everyone) who find the often chaotic nature of the boarding call somewhat stressful.

It also allows for pandemic-safe social distancing within queues, with passengers encouraged to keep to their seat projection - an important development at a time where social contact will likely remain a key topic of discussion for all travel industries even as the Covid-19 pandemic hopefully fades away.

With all that said, the reaction to the TikTok video has been mixed at best, with some people questioning why you'd put first class on the plane first, while others see it as a further form of control from 'the man'. Sure.

"Why don't they board the last row first and so on?" one TikTok user asked.

Someone else had different concerns, fuming: "We can't steal seats anymore???"

While another wrote: "This is the start of controlling people."

However, there were some positive reactions to the video, with one user writing: "OK I have to admit. I like social distancing when I am in lines. Hate the mask, want normal life back but the line thing we can keep."

And someone else couldn't resist poking fun at the conspiracy theorists, saying: "Just another way of controlling the masses! Haven't you realise yet! There are no planes! They just put you in a room and say you landed!"

Or at least, we hope they were joking.


Featured Image Credit: Credit: TikTok

Topics: News, travel, Technology