A man walking through Melbourne airport talking into a phone

Melbourne Airport wayfinding system

Melbourne Airport’s wayfinding system guides passengers seamlessly through the airport, whether they are arriving by car, seeking directions within the terminal, exploring retail and dining options, or accessing essential amenities. 

The challenge

Melbourne Airport is Australia's second busiest international airport and a prominent gateway for both domestic and international travellers. In line with its commitment to providing a world-class passenger experience, the airport recognised the need to streamline navigation within the airport environment. 

To realise this vision, Melbourne Airport sought proposals for a digital wayfinding system that would:

  • guide passengers seamlessly through the airport, regardless of their mode of arrival or destination within the airport
  • cater to the diverse needs of passengers, including those with accessibility requirements
  • provide real-time information on flight updates, parking availability, and security wait times
  • integrate with existing airport systems and data sources.

Luminary was selected as the technical implementation partner to establish the digital wayfinding system, with support from design and UX agency Hardhat.

Melbourne airport arrivals and departures board

What we did

In response to Melbourne Airport’s brief, Luminary built a highly customised and user-centric digital wayfinding solution, based on underlying software by MappedIn. 

Passengers can get directions to any location within the airport, including gates, terminals, parking, car rentals, bus stops, taxi ranks, and pick-up/drop-off locations. The system provides step-by-step guidance and estimated journey times, taking into account factors such as security wait times.

The wayfinding experience can be accessed through a prominent 'Airport Map' button on the home page, as well as via embedded integrations throughout the site, including restaurant pages, flight detail pages, and shop detail pages. This allows users to conveniently access the wayfinding functionality while browsing other relevant content.

Three mobile phone screens showing the wayfinding system in action

Selecting the technology

At the outset of the project, a thorough technical discovery was conducted to assess the airport's requirements and identify the most suitable vendor and technology. While there was no out-of-the-box solution that could handle all of the requirements, MappedIn Australia’s Web SDK was selected as the foundation for the wayfinding system. 

Luminary collaborated with MappedIn to customise the solution, including integrating it with Kontent.ai (the headless CMS that the airport’s website is built on), as well as flight data, car park occupancy information, and security and passport checkpoint wait times. 

Luminary leveraged Mappedin’s extensive custom Web SDK for React JS (the same UI framework used to build  the rest of the site), as well as the existing design system from the website (developed in partnership with Hardhat) to ensure a consistent user experience throughout the journey.

Content editors and site administrators also benefited from the implementation of the custom SDK. Luminary implemented an editor-friendly version of the map directly into the CMS’s UI to allow users to easily update the geo-positioning information of various points of interest within the same system where other details, like images, tags or opening hours, are already being managed.  This information is then pulled from the CMS and synced with Mappedin’s own database on an hourly basis via a background API feed, ensuring the information is always kept up-to-date for passengers. 

These recent technical improvements, continue to expand Melbourne Airport’s Headless CMS capabilities as the ‘single source of truth’ for all passenger-related information across its various digital channels.

Wayfinding directory

Parking occupancy 

The system displays live car park occupancy data, allowing passengers to plan their parking in advance and choose the most convenient option. Users can also save their parking location for use later.

parking_occupancy_d5792c7

Live flight information

Passengers can access real-time flight information, including gate numbers, departure times, and any updates or delays. This information is integrated directly into the wayfinding experience, eliminating the need to switch between different applications or websites.

arrivals

Estimated journey time

The wayfinder calculates estimated journey times that factor in security wait times, helping passengers plan their time accordingly.

journey_directions

Accessible routing

The system offers accessible routes for people with disabilities or mobility challenges. Passengers can choose routes that avoid stairs, elevators, or other obstacles.

accessible_routing_a33c9a0

Food and retail finder

A convenient feature on flight detail pages shows passengers the stores and restaurants located near their departure gate, allowing them to make the most of their time before boarding.

food_and_retail_finder_a2870e0

Amenities finder 

Passengers can search for various amenities within the airport, such as toilets, change rooms, prayer rooms, parent rooms, and water fountains. The system provides detailed information about each amenity.

amenities
Mobile phone in hand with wayfinding system

The result

The Melbourne Airport wayfinding system has successfully addressed the challenges of navigation within the airport environment. The wayfinding system guides passengers through the airport utilising an intuitive and user-friendly interface, providing real-time information on directions within the terminal, retail and dining options, and access to amenities. The system has significantly enhanced the passenger experience and streamlined the journey through the airport. 

Using the MappedIn’s custom SDK, Luminary implemented a bespoke wayfinding solution for Melbourne Airport with complete integration into our Kontent.ai CMS to ensure a single source of truth and seamless user experience. The level of integration and sophistication to deliver the solution has created a simple, yet highly effective method of updating the maps to ensure they are accurate for travellers. The Luminary team showed technical knowledge and expertise in the development of the mapping solution, which ultimately led to a successful release of the product.

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