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Click here to read the 2012 Digital Report |
EUROPE. Airports Council International (ACI) Europe has released its “˜Digital Report 2012′, highlighting the effect that social media, smartphones and tablet computers are having on the interaction between airports and their passengers.
Social media
The report finds that 77% of Europe’s air passengers now travel through airports that are active on social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. Comparing the latest data, with the key figures in last year’s “˜Airports 2.0′ report, social media use by airports grew by +43% in the past year, while use by airport users also grew substantially. In Central Eastern Europe alone, social media use by airport users increased by +800% in the past 12 months.
In the past two years, ACI Europe said, Europe’s airports have been “quick to engage in social media and make the most of the opportunity to forge a stronger relationship with the passenger”. The report identifies the five ways airports are using social media, including corporate communications, crisis communications, customer service, informal relationship building and commercial promotion.
Smartphones & Wifi
A third of Europe’s airports either have or are currently developing a smartphone “˜app’ to put more information at the passenger’s fingertips, said ACI Europe. Among airports with more than 10 million passengers a year, the percentage with an “˜app’ in development is much higher at 56%.
Some 98.7% of Europe’s airports currently offer internet access to their passengers, and over half offer some form of free internet access.
ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said: “These latest key figures reflect just how much more direct the relationship between the airport and the passenger has become. Europe’s airports are making a wide variety of information immediately available on a smartphone or similar device, empowering passengers to make their experience of the airport as informed and hassle-free as possible.”
He added: “The diverse ways that airports are engaging with passengers and developing joint-communications with airlines are a clear demonstration of how they are investing in tech to boost their competitive positions.”
The report was released at the 21st Annual Airport Trading Conference & Exhibition in Oslo, which concluded on Wednesday. Next year’s event will be hosted by Berlin Airports on 22-24 April 2013.
The complete ACI Europe Digital Report 2012 is only available electronically and can be downloaded directly from the ACI Europe website, or by clicking on the image above.
