Finavia trialling virtual interpreting service for Chinese and Russian passengers

Airport operator Finavia is piloting a virtual interpreting service for the Chinese and Russian languages at its Helsinki and Rovaniemi airports in Finland. The digital interpreters help passengers and service providers at airports to circumnavigate the language barrier.

Tulka, a Finnish mobile interpreting service, and Finavia, the operator of 21 Finnish airports, have launched a pilot project at Helsinki Airport and in Rovaniemi, the official airport of Santa Claus. Sales and service personnel at the airports will test the Tulka interpretation service on tablet computers in different customer service situations.

Heikki Koski, vice president, Helsinki Airport, said, “Finavia’s aim is to provide its customers with innovative world-class services. Tulka allows us to contact a professional interpreter within seconds in the form of sound and image.”

The aim of this joint project is to find out the benefits of interpretation between passengers and service providers at airports. One of the key metrics analyzed in the pilot is the effect of the customer experience on customer numbers and sales volumes.

The service providers participating in the Tulka pilot are Budget-Avis, Vantaa Taxi, World of Delights Helsinki, Marimekko, Iittala, WDFG Helsinki, Finavia customer services at Helsinki Airport, and Rovaniemi Airport.

The pilot launched in July 2017 and will continue until the end of 2017. Decisions on whether to continue the service will be made after the pilot.