Smart trolleys, toilet occupancy indicators: How Hyderabad airport is setting trends globally

Hyderabad: Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra on Friday tweeted a video of smart trolleys at Hyderabad airport with a caption, “That IS pretty cool. I’ve never encountered such trolleys in overseas airports…but I may be wrong. Are we truly amongst the very first to introduce these? (sic)”. Mahindra praised the smart trolleys and wondered whether they were introduced for the first time.

Replying to the business magnate, Hyderabad airport commented on his post X, “Dear Sir, your keen eye is spot on. We're thrilled to pioneer these cutting-edge trolleys, adding a dash of innovation to the travel experience. Consider it our way of setting the trend globally.” 

In the video, a woman flyer, travelling from Hyderabad to Goa, can be seen demonstrating how to use the digital trolley step by step. The trolleys are free of charge. The trolleys, equipped with IoT technology, displays information about flight status, airport, departure time, gates numbers. The process can be started by clicking on ‘start now’ and scanning the boarding pass on the QR code. It also shared details of services available at the airport. The smart trolley also guides the passengers to lounges, washrooms etc.

India's first IoT-enabled smart trolleys

The GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL) is actively working on turning Hyderabad into a Smart Airport City. As a pioneering move in India, the airport has employed IoT technology to monitor and manage the availability of baggage trolleys in real-time throughout the facility. Through the Airport Baggage Trolley Project, over 3,000 trolleys have been equipped with IoT technology using the LoRa (Long Range) platform, aiming to minimize waiting times for passengers by ensuring real-time availability of baggage trolleys. 

GHIAL has also implemented various cutting-edge technologies, such as the first-of-its-kind integrated and centralized Airport Operations Control Center (AOCC), E-Boarding solution, Express Check-in, camera-based contactless terminal entry, Automatic Tray Retrieval System (ATRS), AI-based passenger flow management, and more. Furthermore, the airport has been honored with the esteemed title of 'Best Airport in the use of Technology' at the 14th International Annual Conference cum Awards – Civil Aviation 2023 held in January.

‘Third umpire referral system for toilets?’

Whereas South African cricket coach Jonty Rhodes, in another post on X, shared a picture of a washroom at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad with green and red lights on the doors indicating whether they are in use or not. He compared the lighting system at the toilet with third umpire referral system.

He tweeted," Looks like the toilets at the new (and impressive) Hyderabad International Airport have adopted the 3rd umpire referral system to indicate whether users are in or out (Sic)."