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On Thursday, November 12, Albany International Airport launched GE Aviation’s Wellness Trace app, to confirm the cleanliness of the passenger terminal areas. (GE Aviation)
Albany International Airport has become the first to start using a new blockchain-based smartphone application that uses QR codes to show passengers real-time monitoring of the cleanliness of touchpoints and surfaces in all terminals, restaurants. and other areas.
Wellness Trace is GE’s new app that the company plans to create a Waze-like community among airline travelers where they can check out the app to get a feel for restaurants, shops, restrooms and other cleaner areas of the airport. Albany began using the app after a three-month trial and has now gone live with more than 45 QR barcodes located throughout the airport.
“We are really looking at this as a first step, offering passengers an easy-to-use method that confirms that the last time a restaurant or bathroom was cleaned could greatly improve their safety on the way to the airport as we continue to manage concerns about contact points at airports, and indeed everywhere, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “said Andrew Coleman, general manager of GE Aviation’s digital group Avionics International.
Wellness Trace offers passengers a visual confirmation of the last time an area of the airport was cleaned. (GE Aviation)
Coleman said Albany’s proximity to their digital research lab located in Niskayuna, New York, makes it the perfect place to launch Wellness Trace and evaluate its ability to build passenger confidence in airport cleanliness. Passengers can simply scan the QR barcode stickers with their mobile device and receive an instant status update for when a certain object or area was last cleaned.
GE developed Wellness Trace using the Microsoft Azure blockchain service and is bringing it to Albany after launching the technology in partnership with farm-to-table food traceability solution provider TE Food and based laboratory testing service provider in Luxembourg Eurofins. Coleman believes the app could also be used by airlines in a similar way to demonstrate cabin cleanliness.
“It could be integrated into every backrest screen, QR codes could also be scanned as passengers board. Lavs and other high-traffic areas in the cabin are also other options to consider,” Coleman said.
One of the screens of the Wellness App. (GE Aviation)
Albany plans to use the passenger cleanliness confirmation app for a three-month trial and then consider how to improve it. Airport officials are also considering extending its use for health checks.
“Use of GE’s innovative Wellness Trace App is an important first step in our joint efforts to integrate new digital solutions to create safer travel in a post-pandemic world,” said Philip Calderone, CEO of the Albany County Airport Authority. Press release.
Passengers traveling to Albany will also be able to use the app to control the cleanliness of restaurants near the airport.
“It is exciting that Albany International Airport is partnering with GE on cutting-edge technology that can help travelers feel safer since COVID-19 changed our world,” said Daniel P. McCoy, executive of the Albany County. “Being able to scan a QR code and know the last time the airport surface was cleaned can relieve some of the stress and uncertainty people feel as they venture out and bring back a sense of confidence. Any reassurance we can give people while they travel that they are doing it safely is important. “
