Field trials at Toulouse Airport allow passengers to pass through with mobile phones

SITA, the air transport IT and communications specialist, Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, Orange, and BlackBerry are conducting a joint trial at France’s Toulouse airport testing SIM based NFC (Near Field Communications) technology to allow passengers to pass through the airport’s boarding, security checks and other controls using just their mobile phones. The trial, which is being conducted through the summer, involves 50 selected passengers with the latest BlackBerry smartphones with NFC technology. NFC technology enables the smartphones to communicate with other NFC-enabled devices by either tapping them or by being within a range of a few centimetres. The NFC enabled smartphone allows the selected passengers access to the boarding zone through a premium access zone, to a premium passenger lounge and car parking. They will also be kept updated about vital information such as changes in flight timings, boarding gates and departure halls. The technology works even when the mobile phones are turned off and the passenger does not have to send an SMS or execute instructions via e-mail or turn on an application. It is unaffected by reading problems due to dirty screens.