From the car park to the gate, step by step, on the passenger's phone
Passengers spend the hour before a flight doing sums and looking for signs: which way from the car park, how long is security, how far is the gate, is there time for breakfast. Signposted answers both. They say where they are, from the long-stay car park to the lounge, and every route starts there, one step at a time with a picture of each point. They can send the directions to their phone before they leave home, follow their flight and see when to set off. Railway stations, ferry ports and coach stations get the same page with platforms or berths instead of gates.
- Car park to gate, step by step
- Send the directions to your phone
- Designed to WCAG 2.2 AA
What passengers get
The jobs an airport app does from the car park to boarding, without the download.
Directions from wherever they are
"Where are you now?" is the first question, and it is always on screen. Car parks, blue-badge bays, drop-off, the taxi rank, the bus station, car hire, check-in, the lounge or a pier: choose from the list or tap the map, and every route and walking time starts there.
Step by step, with a picture of each point
Routes are broken into the decisions passengers actually make: leave the car park, cross at the zebra crossing, take the shuttle, go in at Entrance 3, security is straight ahead. Each step has a photograph or a 360 view of that spot and the sign to look for, and can be read aloud.
Sent to their phone
Plan the journey on a laptop at home, then scan the QR code, text it or email it. The link opens on the phone at step one, ready to follow on the day. Nothing is sent through us; the phone's own apps send it.
Their flight, followed
Search a flight number or a destination and follow it. A boarding-pass card shows the gate and boarding time, and works out when to leave the car park, allowing for the shuttle, bag drop and the security queue.
Alerts when the gate is called
Follow a flight and the page tells you when the gate appears, when boarding starts, at final call and when the gate closes, each with a button that draws the route.
Tap anything on the map
Every gate, shop, café, car park and help point on the map opens a card: a picture, what it is, whether it is open, how busy it is and how far it is from you, with Directions and "I'm here" buttons.
Security queues and shops by walking time
The queue now and through the day, and food and shops listed by how busy they are and how far they are from the passenger or their gate.
Accessible from the start
An Avoid steps switch sends every route by lift and level crossings. The page is designed to WCAG 2.2 AA: keyboard and screen-reader use, larger text, high contrast, reduced motion, labels on every place and steps read aloud.
Stations, ports and coach stations too
The same page works with platforms, berths or bays instead of gates, in your colours and under your name, from a QR code or a link in the booking email.
Try Severn Vale Airport
Severn Vale is a fictional airport with three car parks and a shuttle bus, a bus station, two piers, bus gates on a lower level and a full day of made-up flights, generated afresh each day. Say where you are, pick a gate or a shop, and follow the route step by step.
Open the airport demoNo sign-in or download. The airport, its airlines and its flights are fictional, and the step pictures are illustrations; a live guide uses photographs or 360 views of your building.
From the car park to the gate
Choose where you are and where you are going, and the route draws itself across the whole airport: out of the car park, over the crossing, through check-in and security, along the pier. With a flight followed, it tells you when to set off.
- Every car park, drop-off, the bus station and car hire
- The shuttle bus timed in, with its wait
- Avoid steps on every route
A picture of each point
Start step by step and the guide shows one instruction at a time, with a picture of the spot and the sign to look for, and highlights that part of the route on the map. Back and Next, or the arrow keys.
- Photographs or 360 views on a live guide
- Each step can be read aloud
Plan at home, follow on the day
Scan the QR code, text the link or email the steps. The link opens on the phone with the same start, destination and settings, ready at step one.
- QR code, text message, email or share
- Nothing to download or sign up for
The board, in their pocket
Times, destinations, gates and statuses, with delays and final calls picked out. Tap any flight to follow it and the page takes over from there.
- Search by flight number, airline or destination
- Aircraft appear on their stands on the plan
When security will be quieter
The security queue now and through the day, how full the departure lounge is, and the food and drink outlets listed quietest first.
- In the demo, queues are predicted from the departures
- A live page can use your own queue measurements
From plans and photographs to passengers' phones
The plans, photographs and places take days. Connecting the departures is set up with your IT team.
- 1
Send us the plans
Terminal floor plans and a site plan with the car parks, drop-off and bus station, or we survey them. We draw the walking routes, the crossings, the lifts and the shuttle, so every walking time is real.
- 2
Photograph the route
We photograph each decision point, or shoot it in 360: the car park exits, the crossings, the entrances, security and the piers. That is our day job as a 360 tour company.
- 3
Add the places
Gates, check-in zones, security, shops, food, toilets, assistance, quiet rooms and onward transport, with opening hours and descriptions from your retail and passenger services teams.
- 4
Connect and publish
We link the page to the flight information your departure screens already show, set up with your IT team, so gates and delays update on their own. Then QR codes go up in the car parks, at the bus station, in security and on the piers, and the link goes in booking emails.
Other places people visit
The same builder with a template for each.
Frequently asked questions
Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Just get in touch, or even better, book a video consultation.
Where does the flight information come from?
From the same source as your departure screens and website, usually the airport operational database or the flight information display system. We connect the page to it when we set it up, so a gate change shows as soon as it is announced. Railway stations can use the live departures National Rail publishes as open data; ferry and coach operators usually publish their own.
How does it know where the passenger is?
Passengers choose where they are from a list, from the car parks and drop-off to the piers, or tap a place on the map. "You are here" QR codes in the car parks, at the bus station and on the piers can set the position exactly. A moving blue dot indoors needs beacons or a Wi-Fi positioning system in the terminal; if you have one, we can look at linking it.
Can the step pictures be real photographs or 360 views?
Yes, and on a live guide they should be. We photograph or shoot in 360 each point where a passenger has to make a decision, so they can see the exit, the crossing or the sign they are looking for before they reach it. The demo uses drawings in their place.
Is it accessible?
It is designed to WCAG 2.2 AA: it works with a keyboard and a screen reader, every place on the map is also in a text list, nothing relies on colour alone, and passengers can turn on larger text, high contrast, reduced motion, labels on every place and steps read aloud. Avoid steps routes by lift. We recommend an independent accessibility audit of your own build before launch.
How are the queue times worked out?
The demo predicts them from the day's departures. A live page can use your own queue measurements, a level set by staff from a phone, or both.
Does it replace the airline apps?
No. Airline apps handle bookings and boarding passes for their own passengers. Signposted is the airport's own guide to the building, from the car park to the gate, for every passenger on every airline, and it links out to anything you already have.
Running an airport, station or port?
Send us your terminal and car park plans and we will show you your own airport in Signposted, with your gates, shops and help points, before you commit.