Frankfurt Airport, London Luton and Leeds Bradford International have all recently adopted iQueue

(London, UK - June 11, 2009) -The Bluelon iQueue system allows airports to track the Bluetooth signals of people transiting through their terminals. Frankfurt Airport, London Luton and Leeds Bradford International have all recently adopted iQueue in an effort to monitor passenger congestion. Further undisclosed airports are also understood to be evaluating the technology.

"We've spent a lot of time with airports asking ‘How can we track our passengers?'" said Bluelon's CEO Thomas Bonde. "If they're monitoring a queue, they might go out with a clipboard and time passengers with a stopwatch. What we're able to do is track a passenger in real time through the terminal by logging their unique Bluetooth ID. We're then able to build up a picture of the paths passengers take through an airport."

Used in ‘real time', iQueue tells an airport operator where to divert manpower, open new queues and relieve congestion. But as Mr Bonde explained, the technology has a wider implication in strategic planning. For example, an airport could find that its travellers are taking too long to get from one terminal to another. Bus services could then be increased accordingly. Mr Bonde said: "Generally architects use simulation tools to draw a plan and say ‘yes, it takes about this time to walk'. But people don't always go the way you think they will. Airports can plan, but this gives a real world view of what's really going on in terminals."

iQueue is a system for tracking crowd flow rather than the individual passenger. As such, not all travellers need have their Bluetooth on, and in fact many do not. "Yes, it has to be enabled," Mr Bonde added, "but it's surprising, we see around 15-20% of passengers with a mobile we can track, which is quite significant. Airport staff with clipboards might take two readings an hour. In a small airport we can track up to 5,000 passengers a day."

Keen to dispel concerns over privacy, Mr Deacon explained that Bluetooth information is encrypted and only the unique ID number is tracked. There is no way of knowing who that device belongs to, or a person's telephone number. He said that some airports are even putting up signs telling travellers that they may be being tracked by Bluetooth, in the same way CCTV signs tell them they're being watched.