Automated Paging & UPIS

A Unified Passenger Information System (UPIS) combines public address, flight information display (FIDS), and automated messaging into a single coordinated platform. Instead of separate systems for visual displays and audio announcements, a UPIS ensures that what passengers see on screens and what they hear over speakers is consistent, timely, and automatically synchronised with operational data.

ITS Design Team has designed and integrated UPIS platforms for Canadian airports, working in collaboration with Simpleway and other automated messaging providers. These systems handle boarding calls, gate changes, security announcements, and emergency messaging — all triggered automatically from the airport's operational database and delivered to the correct zones at the correct times.

How It Works

The UPIS sits between the airport's operational systems (flight scheduling, gate management) and the passenger-facing infrastructure (speakers, displays). When a flight's status changes — a gate reassignment, a delay, a boarding call — the UPIS generates the appropriate audio announcement and visual update simultaneously, routes them to the correct terminal zones, and logs the event for operational reporting.

The automation eliminates human error in routine announcements and frees operations staff to focus on exception handling. It also ensures consistency: every boarding call follows the same format, at the same volume, with the same intelligibility, regardless of which operator is on duty.

Scalability

ITS has built UPIS platforms that scale from regional airports with a handful of gates to large hub operations with hundreds of zones. The underlying architecture is the same — what changes is the complexity of the zone map, the number of concurrent announcement queues, and the depth of integration with airline and airport operations systems.

FIDS Integration

The audio and visual components of a UPIS must be driven from the same data source. ITS designs the integration layer that connects FIDS modules to the PA system, ensuring that a gate change displayed on screen triggers the corresponding audio announcement without manual intervention.