Airports Look to Tech to Ensure Social Distancing of Flyers

The pandemic may spur airports to use technology to ensure physical distancing for virus-wary travelers. But many airports are struggling to figure out how they'll efficiently protect passengers and staff during the pandemic without creating impossible lines. Not everyone is on board. Social distancing of passengers at airports is "physically impossible," said Heathrow Airport CEO John Holland-Kaye. A series of alternative steps, such as temperature screenings of passengers and intensified sanitation efforts, would achieve safety goals instead, Holland-Kaye argued. Yet many tech vendors believe passengers will expect airports to do more to minimize crowding. A case in point is CrowdVision, a computer vision company that uses video cameras and machine learning to analyze crowds and checkpoints at airports. This week the company announced its takeover of Iinside, which uses Lidar, or safe, invisible laser beams, to detect moving objects. The combined company, CrowdVision, is based in Los Angeles, and its clients include 18 of the 34 largest hub airports, plus some other airports such as London Heathrow and Tokyo's