Priority access in Paris airports

The Paris airport system has faced an enormous growth of passenger handling capacities over the last 5 years, namely at Charles de Gaulle Airport alone from 25 million in 2006 to 71.8 million in 2010. Therefore the airport carrier continuously extended and further developed Paris airports.

Aéroports de Paris (ADP) has thought about automation of passenger processes which is a perfect instrument to soften the effects of the virtually exponential growth in passenger numbers. So ADP launched its project “Accès n°1” for priority passengers with automated boarding pass control gates by Kaba. Making a passenger pass checkpoints faster means to have more people checked at the same point at a time. Waiting times will also be reduced, which can lead to reduced costs due to better observance of time slots, and in the long run – on the airport’s side – to a higher capacity utilisation.

ADP decided in favour of an automated boarding pass control gate by Kaba for use at the intersections from public to non-public areas. ADP tested Kaba’s solution thoroughly over half a year. The outcome of this exceeded expectations: it worked quickly, safely and without any failure. This led to a 3-years framework contract with Kaba facilitating installations in Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports. “Regarding IT, the application was quite easy to develop and it permits control of the automatic gate and verification of passengers' eligibility of passage by companies' criteria and registration classes. The system is reliable, robust and on top of that has a very fashionable and esthetic design which is easy to integrate into an airport terminal,” says ADP project leader Pascal Lagarde.

Kaba’s solution for automated boarding pass control features a sensor barrier with pivoting door wings, a sophisticated sensor system for single-file access and a 2D barcode reader. The gate can be connected to the airport’s data system which receives the barcode data and returns a verification signal opening the doors. The barcode reader interacting with the airport’s host system “FluxPax” determines validity of a document much faster and, first of all, more reliably than any human being. So the gate staff have their hands free for other tasks, e.g. care for children or impaired travellers.

It is an easy-to-use application. Nevertheless the user is guided through the very short checking procedure by means of signalling lights and a display. Upon verification of the boarding pass, the passenger will see a confirmation of flight, area, remaining time etc. Of course, the solution still requires supervision by staff. It can also be implemented for self-boarding and is then equipped with an internal printer for issue of a boarding pass in case of changes of seat or class.

ADP currently employs 20 automated boarding pass control gates at Orly and terminal 1 of Charles de Gaulle airport. The rollout is still going on and now also extends to terminal 2. In future, passengers may be guided through all the terminal check points by such solutions. By that the airport carrier created a winning situation for all parties: passengers, airlines and airports.