Gatwick, Phonetica and a 500,000 message milestone.

The inherently complex multiple streams of communication within an airport environment places imposing demands on PA processes – upon which not only passenger movement relies, but also the safety of both passengers and staff.

These challenges are no less serious than for Gatwick – where a staggering 38.1 million passengers passed through in 2014 alone (Media Centre Gatwick Airport).
Since its installation over two years ago, Phonetica has been busy revolutionising the communications of this airport – supporting what have been unprecedented increases in passenger numbers and empowering staff and core management in their being able to update, announce and inform on the go, with an easy-to-understand interface that has been standardised throughout all terminals. All of which has served to ensure that Phonetica has become regarded as the most advanced airport automated PA system in the world.

Now we celebrate this system’s 500,000th message – and with exciting new challenges upon the horizon, and a future where an expansion is anticipated – we are as confident today as we were two years ago that Phonetica will keep passengers moving, the airport efficiently running, and passengers and employees alike safe for many years to come.

One significant benefit of the Phonetica PA system is that it provides a simple and standardised interface for the whole airport. In Gatwick, we were able to incorporate the different PA systems between the North Terminal and the South Terminal. The North Terminal has an old analogue (Audix) system in place, whereas the South Terminal has a brand new digital (ASL Vipets) system. This is an important factor for Gatwick, as it means that the system is flexible enough to allow for growth, whilst maintaining a standard interface; where the staff only need the knowledge of one PA system, which will be consistent in all terminals and with PA systems of all ages!

In short, we are able to interface to different systems, and provide a unified user interface.