Hamad International Airport (HIA) has launched its new iBeacon-enabled mobile App to provide its passengers with an immersive experience and stay connected while they travel through Qatar’s iconic airport.

HIA is among a select few airports in the world to have successfully used iBeacons for way-finding and providing its customers with context relevant information about promotional offers to enhance their airport experience.

With a simple scan of the boarding pass and opt-in for location detection, the App provides real-time information about flight status, baggage claim, time and direction to boarding gates, and food, beverage, and retail offers from Qatar Duty Free, the airport’s award winning shopping emporium.

To ensure that customers benefit from the best deals, the App alerts the user when walking past outlets with ongoing promotions. A unique global search feature matches and delivers relevant content and information fast, eliminating the need for navigating through traditional App menus.

HIA chief operating officer Badr Mohamed al-Meer said: “We take pride in having conceptualised, designed, and developed our HIA Qatar mobile App in-house, which gave us the control and flexibility to ensure a customer-centric and intuitive design, much like our airport.

“With the installation of over 700 Bluetooth iBeacons across the expansive terminal, the App helps put our passengers at ease by helping them identify their real-time location in the airport, informing them how long it will take to reach their desired location within HIA, guiding them along the way and alerting them of any updates to their flight status.”

The App is currently available for iOS-based devices. The future road map includes launch of the Android App in the second quarter of 2016, further improvements to the wayfinding experience through integration with the airport’s complimentary passenger Wi-Fi system, and ongoing collaboration with technology industry leaders.