Improving Service Provider Relationships with Accurate Data

17/03/2025

Blog, Airport

3 min

Surprisingly, the blame game was not a 1970s game show. Unsurprisingly, it’s played daily between people and organizations with interests that might not only be misaligned but are inherently conflicting. For airport terminal operators, the blame game—internally and with third-party service providers—is inefficient and potentially costly. The only way to avoid it? Accurate, objective data.

Building Trust with Transparent and Consistent Data

In the fast-paced world of air travel, the collaboration between airport terminal operators and government agencies—such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the US and Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) in Canada—or commercial service providers is essential to ensure a seamless, efficient, and secure experience for passengers. However, for this cooperation to be truly effective, transparent and objective data is key.

One of the core challenges in any partnership between public and private entities is ensuring that both parties have a shared understanding of goals and expectations. Transparent and consistent data helps bridge this gap. When the TSA and airport terminal operators have access to the same data, it reduces misunderstandings and fosters trust. For example, sharing passenger flow data, security checkpoint wait times, and operational performance metrics allows both sides to make informed decisions based on facts, not assumptions or subjective interpretations.

Transparent data helps create a level playing field, where both parties can contribute effectively to solving operational challenges. But all parties must be convinced of the accuracy and consistency of the data, not to mention the ease of using it in shared reports.

Objective Data Enhances Decision-Making

Objective data is not just about transparency—it’s about ensuring decisions are based on concrete facts rather than opinions. Capturing accurate, objective data consistently is rightly considered the most important aspect of developing trusting relationships among different stakeholders. Unfortunately, those efforts can be easily eroded by collected data that is difficult to access, understand, or use.

Among the most important aspects for developing trust in a data capture solution in the airport environment are:

Standardized Data Collection Methods: Uniform sensor deployment and processing algorithms ensure that ensure consistent data capture, reducing discrepancies and enabling valid comparisons across datasets;
Dynamic Filtering and Reporting: Interactive filters enable analysts to adjust report parameters while maintaining consistent data criteria, ensuring reliable and actionable insights across different terminals or time frames; and,
Data Integrity Protocols: Robust error-checking routines validate incoming data continuously, ensuring high-quality data that accurately reflects trends and supports decision-making.

The above are just a few fundamental building blocks for a mutually beneficial relationship based on data-driven insights. They were also among the driving forces behind AERO, Xovis’ fully managed Passenger Flow Management Solution.

Don’t Be a Blame Game Contestant

Reporting features on the cloud-native AERO include integrated dashboards that combine historical and real-time data, providing high-quality insights from standardized data. Users can customize reports based on specific KPIs and time ranges for flexible, actionable analysis while maintaining data consistency. With seamless integration of advanced 3D stereovision technology and end-to-end control, AERO ensures precise data collection, continuous sensor monitoring, and high data integrity for reliable passenger flow and operational trend analysis.

By reducing uncertainty and promoting accountability, data helps optimize the airport experience for everyone involved—from passengers to airport staff to security personnel. The blame game can be expensive and is completely avoidable with the right solution. Terminal operators that choose to waste resources on playing ultimately find their way to the Xovis solution.

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Florian Eggenschwiler

Florian Eggenschwiler, Chief Product Officer at Xovis, is committed to helping the world rethink people flow. He previously had responsibility for Xovis' airports team, a position that followed overseeing Swissport’s corporate innovation unit—a role that included trend analysis of the airport of the future and forging partnerships with start-ups working on the latest operational technology. Florian spent several years as operations manager at Changi Airport in Singapore and started his career in corporate development in the ground handling industry. He holds an M.A. in Business Innovation from the University of St. Gallen.