According to the Schiphol airport, in Amsterdam, 4 out of 5 passengers can be helped in their own language. The Self Service Units at the airports can give information into 17 the most common languages: Dutch, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Greek, Ukrainian, German, Danish, Norwegian, French, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Japanese and Korean.
Providing travellers with information in their own language is an important part of improving the quality of our service. We are constantly monitoring how travellers experience this service – they can give feedback.
Sjoerd Blum, Chief Information Officer at Royal Schiphol Group
“Providing travellers with information in their own language is an important part of improving the quality of our service. We are constantly monitoring how travellers experience this service – they can give feedback. The first reactions have been positive. Travellers have said that it is user-friendly and that it enhances travel comfort. Based on these user experiences, we can further improve the service and add even more languages” explained Sjoerd Blum, Chief Information Officer at Royal Schiphol Group.
The launch of the translation service was achieved in cooperation with IT company Atos. The ultimate goal is to provide all passengers with information in their own language. The service will also be extended to the special kiosks for the travellers with a short transfer time. English content is used as the basis for the translations, which are done in real time by Google Translate. This translation service is supplemented by a list of specific aviation terms that was translated by an international group of native speakers.
