Manchester Airport has introduced futuristic holograms of customer service staff to inform passengers of travel restrictions.
Manchester airport employees, John Walsh and Julie Caper have been cloned as holographic figures in the trial programme, which has been introduced in an effort to cut security queues.
While the Manchester Airport holograms won’t be able to tell you why your flight is delayed or why you’ve been banned from the flight they will be informing customers of airport security rules and reminding them to have their boarding card at the ready.
“The liquid restrictions remain an area of confusion for many of our passengers and it’s something we still have to spend a lot of time reminding them,” John Walsh said.
“That can slow the process down for everyone and that’s something we want to find a solution to.”
The hologram images have been created using the same technology that brings animated band Gorillaz to life in their live concerts.
It is also the same technology that was used to bring Frank Sinatra back from the dead for Simon Cowell’s 50th birthday.
Created by Musion, videos are projected onto a specially developed reflective foil creating a holographic image.
The hologram images produced are so realistic that some passengers have thought they were real people and presented their boarding passes to them.
The holograms will greet passengers before they enter the security search area to explain the liquid restrictions and remind travellers to have their boarding cards ready.
Julie Capper, the real-life version of one of the holograms told Sky News “It’s strange to see yourself in virtual form and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to rely on my virtual self to carry some of my workload. I wonder if I can send it to meetings in my place and whether anyone will notice.”
London Luton Airport has already followed suit, with its holographic employees, Holly and Graham.
Other airports in the UK already making plans to install similar units.
