Challenge

Before implementing an automated announcement system, Cologne Bonn Airport relied on manual announcements, leading to inconsistencies, delays, and inefficiencies in passenger communication. Announcements were handled independently at different information desks and control rooms, making coordination difficult. Airlines had to manually announce boarding calls, which resulted in inconsistent messaging and additional workload for staff.

As an international hub, CGN needed a multilingual solution to effectively communicate with passengers from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, without AODB integration, flight changes, cancellations, and gate updates had to be announced manually, increasing operational delays. To ensure high availability and reliability, CGN also required a redundant, locally hosted solution capable of functioning independently from cloud-based infrastructure.

Solution

In collaboration with Cologne Bonn Airport, Sittig Technologies implemented the PAXGuide Automatic Announcement system to improve communication and operational efficiency.

The PAXpaging software has been set up as a centralized announcement platform, tailored for the control room and information desks. It offers a wide range of announcement functions, such as scheduled, manual and template-based announcements, to respond quickly to all incidents.

PAXgate was introduced as a web application on all gate PCs. Through this application, airlines have the capability to automate their boarding announcements with their own boarding specifics. Recognizing the diverse demographic of travelers, the application communicates announcements in five languages, chosen based on the flight's destination to ensure comprehension across the board.

To ensure real-time updates, the AODB Interface was integrated. This guarantees the timely and automatic distribution of flight announcements, particularly during events such as cancellations and gate changes.

Equipped with the latest Text-2-Speech Engine, the PAXGuide system delivers high-quality announcements in five languages. This engine also offers the flexibility to easily adjust and create new announcements tailored to emerging situations.

Harmoniously connecting with the existing infrastructure, the system was integrated into a Variodyn D1 PA-system.

Results

On the hardware front, Sittig Technologies equipped the airport with three PAXModular NPS05 IP-Paging Stations. These paging stations enable operators to convey manual announcements with utmost clarity and also facilitate efficient recording within the system.

The PAXGuide system has transformed passenger communication at Cologne Bonn Airport, improving clarity, efficiency, and operational reliability. Multilingual, automated announcements enhance the passenger experience, while automated flight updates and boarding calls reduce manual workload for both airport staff and airline gate agents.

With structured zoning and frequency limits, the airport has reduced overlapping announcements, creating a calmer, more organized terminal environment. The locally hosted infrastructure ensures full operational continuity, making the system highly reliable and future-proof.