Located on the South Island of New Zealand, Queenstown is a magnet for tourists and snow enthusiasts from all over the world. The town sits on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, set against the backdrop of the Southern Alps, with the airport just 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the CBD.
Queenstown Airport (ZQN) is New Zealand’s fourth busiest, as measured by passenger traffic, handling 1.134 million passenger movements in the twelve months ending June 30th, 2022. Domestic passengers accounted for 1.096 million and international 37,889 movements.
It should be noted that international services at the airport did not resume until May 23rd, 2022. A look at tomorrow’s arrivals shows 27 flights are due, operated by Air New Zealand, Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia. There are arrivals from three international destinations, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, all in Australia.
More automation at Queenstown Airport
Photo: Elenium
The airport is in the news today because it is installing more check-in kiosks and bag drop facilities in the terminal. Queenstown Airport has selected Australian technology company Elenium for the project, which will cover six new bag drops and a further nine self-service kiosks. The new units, which will be installed by June this year, will be in addition to the 15 self-service kiosks that were installed in 2019. The system also includes full management and monitoring software that allows any operational issues to be addressed efficiently and proactively.
Queenstown Airport head of infrastructure delivery, Jo Learmonth, said the airport is pleased to be partnering again with Elenium to “enhance the customer experience at the airport and support staff working there.” She added:
“We want to get passengers checked in as quickly and as easily as possible and this investment will help us to achieve that.”
Elenium designs, develops and manufactures self-service and automation technologies for the aviation sector, with its base not all that far from Melbourne Airport (MEL). In its announcement today, the company says its solutions can reduce passenger congestion by up to 60% and deliver a faster and more seamless customer experience.
Elenium CEO and co-founder Aaron Hornlimann said the project represented the airport’s commitment to modernization and improving the customer experience. He added that nobody likes waiting in queues to check in or drop bags.
“Queenstown Airport has shown that self-service technologies can not only help at peak times, but they can provide a better passenger experience, encouraging those visitors to come back.”
A global solution for airports and airlines
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Elenium has developed a suite of products for travel branded VYGR (short for Voyager) designed to move passengers seamlessly from the start of their journey to their final destination. The end-to-end solution, which includes biometrics, is used in more than 25 airports globally, including Queenstown, Auckland, Sydney, Vienna, Hong Kong, Bangalore and Avalon Airport in Melbourne.
Elenium technology is also used by more than 40 airlines, including Qantas, SpiceJet, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Vietnam Airlines. There are more than 1,000 units in operation, which have been used to process more than 250 million passengers. In 2022 Elenium was recognized in Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Travel Companies, receiving a special mention for a self-service project it completed with Etihad Airways.
Do you use self-check and bag-drop systems? Let us know about it in the comments.
Source: simpleflying.com
