New York’s JFK Using Mobile Devices to Track Crowds

New technology is being put in place to ease passenger traffic at one of the busiest airports in the United States. John F. Kennedy International Airport has one of the highest passenger traffic numbers in the country, but a program that crowd-sources travelers’ mobile signals is hoping to ease some of the headache-inducing traffic jams.

Denmark’s Blip Systems has installed new technology at JFK’s Terminal 4 that tracks travelers’ mobile devices to see how people are flowing through the terminal and where high traffic problems are developing. The data is sent back to airport officials who can then add lanes for taxi lines, immigration, and security. Screens around the airport will allow passengers to see what the wait times are at the various spots.

JFK has the sixth-highest passenger traffic of any American airport, with more than 53 million travelers passing through each year, according to Airports Council International.

Pic: Doug Letterman