KL airport receives digital overhaul
KL airport receives digital overhaul
Some 400m2 of LED screens from Absen have been installed in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) following the decision by the airport’s operating company, Malaysian Airport Holding Berhad (MAHB), to overhaul the digital advertising platform throughout the 100km2 facility. Local media company VGI Airports – part of VGI Malaysia – carried out the installation.
“For many years, VGI Airports has been the advertising concessionaire for KLIA,” said Nacho Perez, chief digital officer at VGI Malaysia. “When the time came for the airport to upgrade, they decided to use the opportunity to develop a brand-new digital advertising platform. My role during this process was to lead digital development, including selecting the locations to be newly installed or upgraded, identifying the right technology and suppliers for the installation of the screens, and also taking care of maintenance, content delivery, creation and scheduling.”
Following the planning phase, the team decided that a digital overhaul was required throughout the airport, following the flow of passengers from the drop-off area, through the check-in hall, immigration and departures gates. A similar flow was needed in the opposite direction, from the arrival gates, through immigration corridors to the baggage carousels and onto the arrivals hall.
VGI decided to use a combination of LCD and LED technology and specified Absen N4s, Acclaim A2719s and A2725s for the installation, split into three different areas. In the arrivals area, N4s have been used to create a ‘Digital Dream’ screen, a 400m2 LED wall that boasts a 23,976x1,008 (WxH) resolution. It requires 10 different media servers, a video processor and 15 sending boxes to create the unique panoramic effect. An A2719 was selected for the Satellite Digital Impact Network screen to cover both arrivals and departures of international destinations. The same product was also used for full HD displays in the check-in area, while the Digital Arrivals Impact Network screen features a curved 7.3m x 2m (12x6 panels) A2725 LED wall installed above the escalators for new arrivals.
“Our biggest obstacle during the installation was the fact that we were working in a functioning airport,” added Perez. “KLIA is open 24/7 and is used by more than 165,000 passengers per day (over 60 million per year). As a result, installing over 1,000m2 of digital displays in more than 250 locations, without disrupting the service was a huge challenge. We overcame it by a deep and professional relationship with the airport operations team, primarily the engineering, security and electrical departments. We also made sure that everyone onsite during the installation, from suppliers to contractors, complied with the operating procedures as agreed with MAHB.”
The installation was finished earlier this year and although footfall has fluctuated in the last few months, the airport’s administrators and travellers have had plenty of time to marvel at its new look. “Passengers appreciate arriving or departing an airport that is fully outfitted with digital displays,” concluded Perez. “As well as looking more modern, the messages they show are more relevant and dynamic than they were before. Moreover, MAHB appreciates the new installations as they help to revamp the overall perception and ranking of KLIA into one of the best in class in Southeast Asia.”
