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Nice Côte d’Azur Airport has launched a new multifunctional app, which leverages beacon technology to put personalised information at passengers’ fingertips. The launch coincides with the recent opening of the airport’s refurbished Terminal 1 retail area, and is also intended to support the refurbishing of the commercial area of Terminal 2 in 2016.

In October 2015, Nice Côte d’Azur Airport opened the first part of the refurbished Terminal 1 retail area with a wider range of outlets and more circulation areas, making the area more enticing and welcoming for departing passengers.

Nice Côte d’Azur Airport is using SITA’s beacons and Common Use Beacon Registry to provide this real-time information to passengers. With beacons installed throughout the terminal, passengers using the app will also receive retail information and offers relevant to their specific location. The Airport Premier Club passengers using the app will, meanwhile, automatically earn points as they pass through the airport.

“Increasingly passengers are demanding more control over their airport experience,” explains Jean-Pierre Torres, Head of IT at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport. “They want to personalise the services they receive from the airport to their own requirements or needs. SITA’s beacon technology allows us to deliver on this expectation and offer a highly tailored experience to our passengers, in particular our frequent flyers. Indeed this technology will facilitate access to Fast Track Security for Airport Premier Gold members, allowing them to use their frequent flyer card automatically.”

Dave Bakker, SITA President, Europe, adds: “Beacon technology unlocks a world of opportunity for airports. With a clear view of who the passengers using the app are and where they are in the airport, Nice Côte d’Azur Airport is able to offer a wide range of tailored services. The airport has recognised this potential and we will continue to work together with the airport team to leverage this technology to further enhance the overall passenger experience at Nice.”

SITA’s beacon registry is a repository of information describing the beacons deployed at an airport. Accessed through the Beacon Registry API, it allows app developers to use the detection of a beacon to trigger the provision of contextual information such as boarding times or information on a connecting flight.