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The Amsterdam Schiphol Airport app has had a new feature added that aims to help travellers maintain social distancing and enjoy a more relaxing airport experience. When you go to the app’s map system, colours indicate the crowd levels after security, with blue locations being calmer and pink ones busier. Areas that aren’t coloured-in are very quiet.
Sjoerd Blüm, Chief Information Officer at Royal Schiphol Group had this to say:
“This map is an extra service and tool that instantly allows travellers to find a place to relax before their flight. The information needs of travellers have changed significantly because of coronavirus, and this way we are able to further meet these requirements…
Research we conducted has shown that most travellers use the Schiphol App after they have gone through security. Furthermore, this is the area of the airport where travellers spend the most time. Using the crowd detection feature, they can decide on the best place to do that.
Complementary to COVID regulations and measures
The crowd detector is an extra service for travellers, complementary to the existing COVID regulations and measures, such as maintaining a 1.5-metre distance, hand washing and wearing a face mask. All travellers arriving at Schiphol must have tested negative for COVID-19.
What a good idea! Thanks very much James for posting about this. I hope such features become common across airports, and also that they continue to be supported long into the future, post-COVID. It’s always good in general to be able to find quiet places to relax at airports – and if map coverage included lounge areas, that could also be useful, saving a trek to a lounge that was uncomfortably busy or even full.