The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) announced the completion of overhauls of the websites for its four commercial airports, with a more intuitive and simplified design to help travelers unfamiliar with the airports to quickly and easily find real-time travel information, security and customs wait times, parking availability, airport amenities, and customizable lists of concessions. The websites are among the first airport websites in the nation to feature purpose-built AI assistants developed and trained by the Port Authority staff, tailored to the information and features unique to each of the agency’s four commercial airports: John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, and New York Stewart International. The airport websites were completely rebuilt to prioritize the user experience, with customized designs based on the usage analytics of each airport’s previous website.
“Having a virtual assistant embedded into our airport websites gives travelers an easy one-stop shop for their questions about a particular airport, which is what digitally savvy travelers expect from their online search experiences,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said. “A truly useful website and web search shouldn’t require multiple click-throughs and endless scrolling.”
“Our new airport websites make it easier to find information when you need it, without an online scavenger hunt that may or may not be updated,” said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia. “We rebuilt our airport websites to help first-time visitors coming here this summer for World Cup games and America250 events to navigate our airports. Beyond those millions of new visitors, locals who usually favor one specific airport in our large airport network will also find it useful to learn where they can get a Taylor Ham breakfast sandwich at Newark Liberty as a change from their usual New York bagel at JFK.”
“The airport experience begins before customers even arrive at our airports, so it was important to provide customers with website tools that make travel as simple and streamlined as possible,” said Sarah McKeon, the director of aviation at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “Researching the airport before a customer arrives can help to alleviate the anxiety of unfamiliar environments. Our upgraded websites and their AI assistants make planning easier, especially for anyone who has never been here before.”
While the Port Authority airports offer real-time assistance through live video and messaging apps, including WhatsApp, the 24/7 availability of an AI-powered assistant embedded in the airport websites allows travelers to ask questions specific to their trip, such as flight information and current security wait times, without leaving the website or opening another browser tab. The assistant can answer questions on a wide range of topics, including the types of food and dietary accommodations available at a specific airport’s concessions; customer amenities such as prayer rooms or pet relief areas; and accessibility accommodations and wayfinding for travelers unfamiliar with the region’s airports. The assistant’s guidance is also iterative, building on previous questions and incorporating the user’s information and preferences throughout the search interaction.
Each AI assistant embedded in an airport website is unique to that airport, providing information only relevant to that airport to avoid confusion and limit information overload while providing a customized experience. The AI was trained by Port Authority staff knowledgeable about each airport’s operations, using the most up-to-date information, and is built on a curated knowledge base developed and maintained by airport subject matter experts to provide relevant and useful assistance for travelers unfamiliar with an airport or the region. The assistants continuously pull operational data and regularly draw other information from their sources, including the Port Authority website; federal agency websites that provide essential operational support at the airports, such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the CLEAR travel assistance program; live flight data; and concessions information. Because it does not process payments or provide purchasing or reservation services, it will not save or store personally identifiable information through the course of its interaction.
Additionally, the websites will later be updated with additional new and unique features, such as live departure times for AirTrain JFK on the website for John F. Kennedy International Airport. They will offer customized experiences within each airport through an airport experience planner that provides details about each airport’s amenities dependent on the user’s information, such as guidance through an accessible journey if the user includes information on the type of special assistance required, or suggestions on family-friendly spaces within that airport for a user who specifies that they are traveling with young children.
In January 2023, the Port Authority opened a new Terminal A at Newark Liberty, which was also awarded a rare perfect rating by Skytrax the following year, and is currently planning and designing the redevelopment of the rest of Newark Liberty.
