Cell phone check in success

A new techonology will now enable passengers to board planes using their mobile phones. The system will eliminate the need for both paper tickets and for boarding passes, instead using a barcode transmitted as a picture message to a passenger’s cell phone.

Already bmi is using the system with passengers travelling from Edinburgh airport. The airline plans to use the same system at other airports across Scotland including Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Observers have agreed with the airline that the trials fo the technology have been successfully.

According to a spokesperson from the International Air Transport Association: “It’s a smart move and we applaud the initiative.

“Bmi join a small but fast-growing number of airlines taking advantage of mobile technology.

“It will deliver their customers another convenient check-in option while improving efficiency, and that’s what simplifying the business is all about.”

Even with the technology, passengers will still need to check in, presenting their passport and identification to the airline staff. The cell phone barcode will be scanned at security and at the boarding gate.

Real Time, a Glasgow-based company, is responsible for developing the system for bmi. The firm believes other airlines will soon be using similar technology.

Alistair Deacon, the technical director for Real time, said: “This will revolutionise the process at the airport. Passengers will take to this the same way that checking in online, at home or in the office has become very common.”

www.flybmi.com