Iberia and Samsung have signed an agreement to introduce new technologies in airport check-in and boarding in airports for a significant improvement in passengers’ travel experience.
Thanks to Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, Iberia customers with Samsung devices will be able to use them to pass through security control and boarding gates, even when the devices are switched off.
To use the technology when checking in online for a flight, the customer must click on the option to have the boarding pass sent to the device’s NFC card, which allows the device to be used for transactions made at short distances such as card payments.
Then the customer must only hold the device, which need not even be switched on, near the “reader” devices at security control and in boarding gates. The same NFC card can automatically download information from other sites in airports, such as VIP lounges or Iberia’s Quick Service Points.
The technology can also speed luggage check in when luggage tag information is stored on the NFC card.
The technology is faster than bar-code readers, and will save passengers substantial amounts of time at airports adding to passenger convenience and airline efficiency.
The data stored is safe from intrusion, since in order to be read the device must be held no more than 14 centimetres from the reader.
Iberia will shortly activate these services at airports equipped with NFC readers.
Dimitris Bountolos, Iberia’s Customer Experience Director, said: “This agreement, linking us to the world’s leading digital technology company, makes us pioneers again with a project that will improve our customers’ airport experience and save time.
Celestino García, Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ IM technology division, said “through this cooperation agreement and with Econocom’s wide ranging cooperation and innovation, we hope to offer the market a real alternative to facilitate investment and access to our catalogue of digital devices.”