Shop, stroll, smile: Flight display screens offer ideas to kill time at Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru: Airport flight information screens are usually cluttered with messages — On Time, Delayed, Boarding — to help waiting passengers track their flights. However, Kempegowda International Airport’s Terminal 2 display screens in the departure lounge are directing passengers to “Snack before you fly”, “Explore the art gallery” and “Shop, stroll, smile!” — a move that has left many amused and some impressed by the city’s trademark blend of functionality and quirkiness.

Over the past few weeks, passengers in Terminal 2 have noticed the flight information display system (FIDS) carrying these unconventional prompts instead of routine flight updates before departure. The messages, in English and Kannada, which first appeared intermittently in late March, were fully deployed by the early weeks of May.

According to a Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) spokesperson, the idea was to change how passengers use their waiting time at the airport. “Passengers often arrive well ahead of departure, and these prompts were introduced as subtle nudges to explore the terminal’s wider offerings, including lounges, cafés, retail, art and cultural experiences, rather than viewing the airport purely as a transit space,” the spokesperson said.

“This also takes the stress away from passengers by allowing them to experience the airport instead of just sitting and waiting for the boarding announcement and not moving from near the gate for fear of missing the boarding announcements. This ensures the passengers are empowered and are being given an idea of what they can do before boarding,” the spokesperson added.

The system is programmed to show these messages only during the early pre-departure window — when there are more than 90 minutes left for domestic flights and over 120 minutes for international departures. As the flight time gets closer, the display automatically switches back to conventional updates of security check, boarding and on time.

“Just Bengaluru airport doing Bengaluru things. Instead of just telling you your gate is 6 minutes away, Namma Bengaluru airport tells you exactly how to spend those minutes. Coffee, snacks, or art? Deciding that is the hardest part of the journey now,” said Lalith, an X user.

Shreyansh, another X user, said, “That’s actually brilliant UX design – turning waiting time anxiety into discovery time instead of just stressing people out about the walk.”