Kiosks of self service check-in are expected to appear in all Moscow airports this year. With the help of the new system passengers can get the boarding pass on their own, which will considerably reduce queues and the time check-in normally takes. At the moment these universal kiosks are working in a limited regime and for passengers of a few airlines only. However, in March 2008 such kiosks will expectedly become available to all passengers.

The first check-in cabins appeared in Domodedovo Airport of Moscow five years ago and financed by British Airways, and therefore, the innovative service was available only British Airways passengers.

“Practice has shown that using self service kiosks considerably reduces check-in time – from 3.5 minutes to 1.5-2.5 minutes and increases the passenger traffic capacity of the airport. That is the reason why next month the airport will be equipped with twelve kiosks for public access”, as a representative of the Domodedovo press-service clarifies.

According to the airport’s press-service, for passing self service check-in first of all passengers need to choose the airline’s name they are flying with. All logotypes of airlines will be displayed at the kiosk screen. In order to get the boarding pass passengers need to enter their name, surname and the flight number or to enter the booking or ticket number (if the ticket was bought via the Internet). There is also an option of using biometric passports. Then it is needed to choose the seat on the plane and get the boarding pass. Special brochures and consulting workers will help passengers to learn more about the innovation.

Controllers, meeting passengers after the passport and customs control, will also be replaced with computed systems. In order to get aboard plane it will be needed to place the boarding pass against the electronic system situated on the glass doors. “We are sure that these measures will help us get rid of queues before boarding”, as the airport staff reports.

There are at least nine self service check-in kiosks at Sheremetyevo International Airport too and in the nearest future the number of them will increase. By the end of 2008, when a new terminal will be put in operation, such kiosks will also appear in Vnukovo Airport of Moscow.

The only but considerable drawback of such kiosks is that they are appropriate only for passengers with hand luggage, mainly for people going on business trips. However, the developers promise that make the kiosks suitable for luggage check-in too.

It should be noted that similar kiosks have been widely used in airports of some other large cities of the world, such as Las-Vegas, Vancouver, New York, London, and many other. It is not excluded that relatively soon passengers will have an opportunity of check-in at home. They will only need to go to the airport’s website on the Internet, enter their ticket number and personal data, and after registration passengers will be able to get the boarding pass via email.

Source:
    www.yoki.ru

Translated by Lavrentyeva Natalya