Watford-based smart system installations specialist Aonyx has worked with London City Airport for almost ten years, providing and maintaining their flight information displays and advertising screens. Now, their collaboration has yielded an historic moment with the installation of the world’s first airport video check-in wall which will operate at London City, comprising of 56 screens and stretching over a length of 36 metres.
Aonyx managing director Richard Reid [pictured] said: "I am extremely proud and privileged that we have worked at London City Airport for almost a decade providing and maintaining their flight information displays and advertising screens.
"For me, the jewel in our crown is designing and building this first check-in video wall, a world first. All the components to make this possible existed beforehand, but not all together. So, we developed a range of new systems and created this wonderful piece of technology.
"It was an amazing collaboration between us and London City Airport which helped make this project such a success."
Reid proudly recalled the moment which gave rise to the historic feat, when the chief information officer of London City approached his business asking how the check-in area at the airport could be improved to create a more user-friendly experience and interface better with passengers.
Reid explained: "After we were approached, we basically suggested the idea of bringing in a video check-in wall, which is what we’ve ended up doing.
"When you normally walk into an airport, what you would see is a static screen which tells you the location of where you are, where you are going, your flight number and check-in desk. Here, we now have something that gives passengers the ability to post messages on or show a video.
"Likewise, if the airport staff wanted to have a digital ticker tape going across a number of screens, its far easier to do it across a set of screens when they are joined together like this, and it is so striking that it is easier to see from further away. When you come into the airport, the wall is literally the first thing you see."
To successfully execute such a complex project, Aonyx brought in a structural design engineer to ensure that the video check-in wall was properly built with the correct components, and that its construction would be carried out in a safe manner.
Sat behind the 56 display screens of the new video wall are 21 media players that feed into a master controller that can be used to easily control the content that is visible on the display, making for an easily usable ad future-proof technology.
Reid said: "This was about building an infrastructure that will stand the test of time. Also, if there will be any extensions to the airport building itself, this system can also be extended to ensure it fits within the same area."
He also paid tribute to London City Airport’s cooperation throughout the project which proved instrumental in helping make the delivery of the enhanced check-in area a reality.
"We recommended a number of airport upgrades to London City to help make this happen and they have been gracious enough to go along with it. The execution of this is something we’re extremely proud of here at Aonyx, and it is something we’d like to do more of in future."
