Finding Your Way Around the Airport Just Got Easier with New Wayfinding Technology
July 12, 2017

Gone are the days when airports were simply one-terminal buildings, offering hot dogs as the only meal choice and providing pasengers with limited retail options. Now airports have multiple terminals with a wide variety of food and dining options as well as entertainment  Finding your way around Houston’s airports is as simple as checking your smart phone now that a new way-finding technology launched on the Houston Airport System’s award-winning website: fly2houston.com Friday, June 30.

Working with San Francisco-based company LocusLabs, George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)—click here to navigate—and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)—click here to navigate—are the first airports in the world with the turn-by-turn wayfinding technology that doesn’t require downloading a separate app to smart devices.

Passengers can easily access the interactive map technology from any device or browser, whether the device is mobile, desktop or tablet. The software’s easy navigation tool provides “transit path” directions which take the user from their originating point to their destination via the most direct and efficient path possible. LocusLabs has named this product “LocusMaps Online.”

Both graphic and text directions are provided and each step of the path has turn-by-turn points listed, as well as the estimated “walking time” it will take passengers to arrive at their destination. In addition, it offers searchable navigation, with location information and search terms for points of interest including gates, ground transportation, ticket kiosks, shops, restaurants, security checkpoints, and more.

“For the Houston Airport System, the accessibility of this new technology is as exciting as being chosen as pilot airports for its launch,” said Kathleen Boyd, Head of Marketing for the Houston Airport System. “The fact that there is no app necessary — that travelers at our airports can use it simply by going to fly2houston.com on their smart device — offers another powerful and valuable tool to our customers, who already use our passenger journey-focused award-winning website to find a wide variety of information and services on a daily basis. It is another step towards meeting our strategic objective to “Make Our Passengers Happy.”

The fly2houston.com website has earned accolades from industry leaders and customers since its re-imagined makeover a year ago. This new technology enhances its passenger journey-focused approach with faster and easier feed updates and by providing users with additional real-time updates on airport services and amenities. It also provides up-to-the-minute updates regarding footprints and points of interest.

Airport maps are some of the most-visited pages on the fly2houston.com website, and with this new technology providing precise navigation throughout both airports — and a search engine that can provide information on shopping, dining, gate location and more--this ground-breaking technology advances the Houston Airport System’s goal of providing the most complete and useful information possible to passengers at both airports.

”We are proud to partner with Houston Airport System, whose innovative thinking is bringing IAH and HOU passengers the optimal digital travel experience in whatever channel or app they may be using,” says Campbell Kennedy, Co-Founder and CEO, LocusLabs. 

Launched in 2015, LocusLabs is a San Francisco-based company that provides the platform and tools that enable devices to be location-aware on a micro level. LocusLabs is going a level deeper than existing mapping solutions by not only mapping places, but also people, products, and things, using technology that scales. LocusLabs’ mission is to provide global venues, enterprises and brands a digital platform to communicate, share and manage everything about their physical space.

To access these navigation tools, visit:

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH): http://iahmaps.fly2houston.com

William P. Hobby Airport (HOU:  http://houmaps.fly2houston.com

Dropbox link to access photos of this technology: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dtao1lnyl2m6et7/AAC1GulT4aUQifHaBlTIJQm-a?dl=0