Modernizing the Passenger Experience with Automated Boarding Announcements at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)

Project Overview

Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport (MSP) serves more than 36 million passengers annually and is consistently recognized as one of North America’s highest-rated airports for customer satisfaction and traveler experience.

MSP partnered with Electronic Design Company (EDC) and Sittig Technologies to implement an automated passenger announcement platform designed specifically for airport environments. The solution delivers real-time, automated boarding and gate announcements while integrating with MSP’s existing communications infrastructure and operational systems.

Problem

Historically, gate agents executed boarding calls, delay notifications, and final boarding warnings manually using local podium microphones.

This manual process burdens airline personnel with repetitive public address duties, introduces human error, and creates inconsistent messaging variations across different airlines and terminals.

MSP required a centralized platform to standardize boarding instructions, trigger messages based on live flight databases, and scale across the entire airport without replacing the underlying audio hardware.

Solution

Purpose-built for large transportation facilities, the Sittig Passenger Announcement Exchange (PAX) platform leverages operational flight information and predefined announcement workflows to automatically deliver passenger communications at the appropriate gate and at the appropriate time.

EDC designed a deployment that connected the Sittig PAX software with MSP’s existing communication network and operational databases.

• Data-Driven Triggers: The software monitors real-time operational flight metrics to initiate the correct audio sequences automatically at the designated gate.
  
• Airline Customization: System administrators define customized logic and vocabulary to match the specific boarding zones, phrasing, and protocols of individual airlines.
  
• Infrastructure Integration: EDC networked multiple PAX controllers and paging interfaces to route the automated audio through the established terminal amplifiers and speakers.

Outcome

The automated announcement platform fundamentally shifts terminal communications from a manual task to a predictable, system-driven process.

• Reallocated Labor: Gate agents focus entirely on scanning tickets, managing boarding logistics, and assisting travelers rather than reading scripts over a microphone.
  
• Standardized Messaging: Travelers hear clear, identically formatted instructions across the airport, eliminating the confusion caused by varied speaking styles or missed announcements.
  
• Centralized Control: Airport operations and IT teams govern all terminal announcement logic, schedules, and volume parameters from a single enterprise management interface.