“Mobile agents” begin to eliminate the possibilities of check-in queues during rush hours at Sheremetyevo Airport

The Sheremetyevo International Airport and Asteros Group are implementing an innovative passenger service. Now, passengers can check-in to flights using the “Mobile agent” service.

In January, Sheremetyevo Airport launched a pilot project towards express passenger check-in. This service is based on the “Asteros Contact Avia” mobile application, allowing users to interact with airport systems via mobile devices. Thus, check-in agents are capable of checking-in passengers for any flights at any terminal point, without being tied to a specific check-in counter. Using a tablet and portable printer, they promptly, and easily, go through all necessary procedures for printing out boarding passes and issuing them to passengers, regardless of the airline. As a result, the airport reduces the likelihood of queues and alleviates pressure on check-in areas during peak hours without the necessity of operating additional counters.

Also, the “Mobile agent” service allows a check-in for passengers, who have arrived late and do not have time for registration at airline counters—however, the service is made unavailable 40 minutes before departure when check-in would normally terminate. Long term the use of this service is expected to greatly facilitate check-in procedures for groups of passengers, including those with small children and passengers with reduced mobility, who experience difficulty or discomfort in traditional check-in procedures.

While undergoing testing, Asteros specialists equipped check-in stations with the new technology trained Sheremetyevo Airport personnel in the system’s operation. The first tests of the “Asteros Contact Avia” mobile application demonstrated efficiency and ease of use, proving that its functions could be easily mastered by all employees engaged in participating in the study.

“This mobile check-in service is similar to the ordering of food online immediately from a fast food restaurant queue,” commented Aleksey Demidov, Head of Asteros Labs. “For passengers, this means saved time, while for the airport pressure is reduced on its check-in areas, optimizing operational expenditures. Moreover, the user-friendly interface of Asteros Contact Avia is so intuitive that virtually no training is necessary; the employees, who have already been trained in the system can easily train others.”

“Sheremetyevo Airport strives to ensure the provision passenger comfort, continuously broadening the range of services relating to flight check-in,” said Dmitriy Kaigorodov, the Head of Directorate of Passenger Traffic Organization at Sheremetyevo Airport. “We were among the first to implement the possibility of offering preliminary check-in procedures online, but ‘Mobile agent’ set a new trend in passenger servicing. We are confident about the potential and future demand of express check-in services.”

Currently, the mobile check-in service is available to all air travelers, except in cases of hand luggage exceeding set parameters or for passengers pertain to special passenger categories, such as those whose check-in must be performed at the airport’s front desk.

Sheremetyevo Airport and Asteros also plan to implement other means of check-in, except for those which require specific types of inspection. The Asteros Contact Avia service was developed by Asteros Labs, a part of the Asteros Group, under support from the Skolkovo Innovation Foundation and is primarily intended for airports. Due to its simple generalized interface, Asteros Contact Avia enables airport agents to carry out simultaneous check-ins for flights of various airline companies at any counter using a shared check-in window principle. The integration of Asteros Contact Avia with the airport’s operational database ensures the real-time collection of statistical information, to help in long-term resource planning.

Last year, the Asteros Contact Avia service was successfully certified byВ ARINC, the global leader inВ passenger check-in systems; this proved its compliance with the industry standards observed byВ 150 airports around the world.

Sheremetyevo International Airport has been recognized asВ the top European airport offering the best service quality inВ 2012 according toВ the results ofВ the Airport Service Quality research program atВ ACI (Airports Council International).

Sheremetyevo isВ the largest Russian airport inВ terms ofВ handling regular international flights. The destinations network ofВ Sheremetyevo includes over 200В destinations.

According toВ 2013В results, Sheremetyevo Airport passenger traffic amounted toВ 29В million 256 thousand people, which isВ 11.7% more than inВ 2012.

The Asteros Group isВ aВ leader inВ the field ofВ engineering infrastructures and the implementation ofВ smartВ IT systems and security solutions. The Asteros maintains major business centers inВ Russia, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Main focuses of the Group’s activity involve managing large-scale projects; designing and building IT infrastructure, engineering systems, safety systems, and providing IT consultation and outsourcing services.

According to the IDC analytical agency, the Asteros Group is the largest supplier of information security services in Russia—based on statistics from 2012, it was ranked second in providing system integration and first in providing project services associated with private cloud creation. The Asteros Group is a market leader in the creation of comprehensive services relating to the development of engineering and IT infrastructure for buildings and structures (2012). Furthermore, Asteros is number one among the largest IT vendors for the aviation industry in 2012 (CNews).

Public Relations Center

Sheremetyevo International Airport

Phone: (495) 578-85-85, (495) 578-20-73

Fax (495) 232-65-48

www.svo.aero