Visitor analytics for airports

Airport passenger flow analytics shows how travellers move through a terminal, where queues build and where they linger. Wi-Fi measures flows and dwell time across the terminal, and LiDAR or 3D sensors add precise in/out counts at the busiest entrances. Bumbee Labs is the company behind the only footfall method in Europe approved by a data protection authority.

The short version

• Airports are measured as zones: check-in, security, gates, retail, dining, lounges, corridors and advertising spots.
• Wi-Fi gives flows and dwell time zone by zone, and LiDAR or 3D sensors give exact in/out counts where volume is highest.
• Counts are anonymous and aggregated, and no personal data is involved.
• Below: seven airport questions, a list of ten more, and how a pilot works.

What can airport passenger flow analytics answer?

Airport passenger flow analytics answers the questions each airport stakeholder puts to the same data: crowding, shopping time, concession rent, staffing, rebuilds, advertising value and peak seasons. An airport has many stakeholders (property management, airlines and ground transport, retailers and F&B, media operators, security and authorities), and each needs different information.

Where does the crowding build between check-in, security and the gate?

Measure the airport terminal as zones, and every stretch from check-in through security to the gates gets its own visit and dwell time figures, plus the paths between them. The figures reveal where passengers bunch up and at which hour, and passenger flow heatmaps mark where flow breaks down along the route.

Does the security queue eat our passengers’ shopping time?

A longer wait at security leaves fewer minutes to shop, and an airport can measure both. Dwell time per zone measures how long passengers stay in security, duty-free and the food court. The conversion funnel runs from passers-by to entering, staying and buying, and it shows where they drop out on the way to a purchase.

How do we set rent for the shops and restaurants in our terminal?

Passenger totals say little about a single unit. Counting passers-by and visits per zone with Wi-Fi people counting across the terminal gives each shop and restaurant its own flow and dwell time. Concession rent discussions then start from what each location actually receives.

How do we staff the security lanes and check-in around the departure waves?

Read the departure waves hour by hour and you can see when security lanes and check-in desks run over- or understaffed. Queue length, waiting time and throughput in passengers per hour are the measures, and LiDAR or 3D sensors add precise counts at the entrances with the most volume. Staff planning with footfall data covers how the figures feed the roster.

What do measured flows tell us before we rebuild or extend the terminal?

Historical movement trends show how the terminal is used in practice: which zones fill, when, and along which routes. Measured the same way before and after a change to a security hall, a pier or an entrance, the figures show what the change did. Benchmarking footfall explains how such comparisons work.

How do we prove what the advertising and sponsorship spots are worth?

Media owners and airports often sell screens on an assumed audience. Measuring each advertising spot as a zone of its own gives passers-by, impressions and dwell time at that spot, with reach counted within a single day. DOOH metrics explained defines these measures, and outdoor advertising analytics covers the media side.

Can we staff for the summer peak and holiday starts before the queues make the news?

Reports by hour, day, week and month show how the morning peak behaves at the airport, week after week. Planners can set one summer or holiday-start week beside another and staff from measured passenger volumes. Kept across seasons, the figures become a baseline for the next peak. See the weekly rhythm of footfall for how to read it.

Which other questions can airport measurement cover?

• When do passengers really turn up before departure? Counts at the check-in and security entrances, reported by hour and day, show when they arrive, to set against the hours the lanes open.
• Can cleaning and toilets follow real use instead of a fixed round? Periodic reports with visits per zone and hour are written for staffing, cleaning and maintenance, so rounds can follow how busy each zone has been.
• What happens in the arrivals hall and at the kerbside when a long-haul wave lands? The terminal is measured zone by zone, and which arrival areas to include is decided when the zones are scoped.
• Car parks and approach roads: how full are they, and when? Occupancy by parking area has its own page on parking occupancy.
• Lounges: is the capacity right, and when does it fill up? A lounge counts as a zone of its own, with visits and dwell time per hour, so the busy periods show in the data.
• Do passengers find their way to the gate? Paths and flows between zones show where passengers go next and which corridors carry the most, and desire lines explains how to read the routes people choose.
• Public safety and evacuation: do the zones stay within their capacity? Crowding is measured per zone and supports safety planning, while capacity limits and evacuation plans stay with the airport.
• The control room sees the crowding only when it is already a problem. A threshold alert for a zone, in near real time, comes with the Crowd Alert add-on described under data deliverables.
• Where do our passengers come from? Catchment by origin district, per day and season, is the job of mobile network data.
• The gates: are there enough seats, and where do people stand when boarding is called? Gate areas are measured as zones, with visits, dwell time and crowding per gate area.

How are waiting times at airport security and check-in measured?

Queue length, waiting time and throughput at security and check-in are measured per lane, as part of the same zone measurement as the rest of the terminal. With the same data you can report service levels to airlines and authorities. Queue wait time trends and dwell per zone are read together, and the airport queue page goes into both in detail.

How does an airport pilot work?

A pilot takes one slice of the operation, such as an arrivals corridor, and sets it up with the KPIs agreed beforehand. The evaluation at the end gives the airport its own passenger figures, and the decision on a wider rollout rests on those. Tell us which part of the terminal causes the most problems and we will come back with a pilot scope.

Where has this zone approach been used at a high-volume hub?

The same zone analytics has been used at a major Stockholm transport hub with very high daily volumes and a large mix of shops and restaurants. There the data was used to re-plan staffing, lift retail and F&B spend, reduce bottlenecks and put a value on advertising spots. See public transport hubs for that setting. See the case studies →