Beacon Technology Will Transform How We Travel Through Airports

One of the highlights of this year's SITA IT Summit in Brussels is a close look at the promise of beacons and intelligent mobility technology to simplify the travel experience. This technology, in its various forms, will allow us to clear through the terminal process faster than ever before and will also allow a number of creative applications which will enhance our journey. Before the start of the summit, Skift spoke with Ben Wagenaar, Technology Innovation Architect at Heathrow Airport, to explain this technology and its potential. Wagenaar also shared insights from the trials Heathrow and Virgin Atlantic carried out to test beacon-based applications as a passenger experience enhancement for their customers. Skift: What is Beacon Technology and how does it work? Is it the same as Near Field Communications (NFC)? Wagenaar: Unlike NFC technology which is chip-based and only works in proximity of a few centimeters, Beacons work on Bluetooth low-energy frequency, and can r