What do you think travelers dread most about their airport security experience? Could it be juggling their shoes, belt, and electronics while deciding if they should chug their water bottle or just toss it in the trash? Or could it be dealing with an overworked agent who makes them feel more like a fugitive than a welcomed passenger? Or maybe waiting in the never-ending screening line hoping to make their flight on time? With all these frustrations, you will find it no surprise that airport security issues make up 4 of the top 10 passenger complaints about airports:
Security issues account for 40% of airport passenger complaints
What can airports do to address these complaints?
Future Travel Experience, an airport media website, suggests adding additional security screening lanes to reduce passenger time spent in security. Real estate experts at Curbed propose redesigning airports with vertical expansion that would allow for “security and check-in (to be) on two different floors.” And The BBC looks to the advent of new baggage screening technology, from automated screening lanes to CT scanners for carry-on luggage. While these solutions are worth looking into, none of them can be implemented without a significant amount of time, money, and maintenance.
Want a simpler solution that saves time and money?
Improving the Airport Security Experience is crucial to Increasing Air Passenger Satisfaction
Ambient scent, the diffusion of a pleasant scent in a public space, has been found to address two of the most common complaints passengers report about the airport security experience: the lengthy security screening process with unfriendly security personnel. In the study by Queensland University of Technology, researchers surveyed two groups of people who were waiting in lines at an office of the Department of Motor Vehicles, a site where people experience long wait times and had unpleasant interactions with personnel. A light lavender fragrance was diffused throughout the air as one group went through their wait at the DMV office. The other group had no intervention from the researchers at all.
Pleasant Scent Improves Customer Evaluations
The findings show that something as simple as a pleasant scent can drastically improve perceptions of customer experience. The group who experienced the light ambient scent felt their wait times to be shorter and gave better evaluations of the employees’ customer service.
Ambient scent can reduce perceived wait times and improve evaluations of customer service
You might be thinking, “Sure, this has worked at the DMV where wait times are relatively short compared to airport security screenings, but has this actually worked in a busy airport with longer wait times?” Yes, it has – let’s explore Budapest airport’s success with ambient scent.
Prolitec creates a relaxing atmosphere for the airport security experience in Budapest Airport:
“Budapest Airport is the largest and the most well-known airport in Hungary. Budapest Airport is a trend-setter in the case of using marketing tools. From the beginning, it has been suggested to apply scent marketing at the Airport. We have made those areas where our passengers feel stressful, for example the security check zones, more pleasant with Prolitec. After a long test period we have chosen a fragrance with the feelings of casual elegance and relaxing sophistication. The notes of the scent are white flower, milk, amber, wood and musk. The positive feedback from our passengers confirms to us that they are more relaxed in this enchanting scented environment and they feel the time passes rapidly.” – Representative, Budapest Airport
Passengers in Budapest Airport report feeling more relaxed throughout the airport security experience thanks to Prolitec ambient scenting
Prolitec ambient scenting is an easy-to-implement, low-cost, maintenance-free, and highly effective solution to improve the airport security experience that airport managers can implement without any work from their team.
Prolitec Saves His Team Hours of Work
Ismail Shafeeq, Managing Director of the Maldives Airport Company, explains how installing Prolitec ambient scenting saved his team hours of work: “Our housekeeping department is very pleased with the effectiveness and less labour work of manually trying to scent with aerosols and replacing aroma oils.” – Ismail Shafeeq, Managing Director, Maldives Airport Company To find out more about how Prolitec ambient scenting can improve your airport or other transportation security checkpoints and general atmosphere, Contact Us today!
