A flight information display system (FIDS) is a computer system used in airports to display flight information to passengers, in which a computer system controls mechanical or electronic display boards or monitors in order to display arriving and departing flight information in real-time. The displays are located inside or around an
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...
. A virtual version of a FIDS can also be found on most airport
websites
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wiki ...
and
teletext
A British Ceefax football index page from October 2009, showing the three-digit page numbers for a variety of football news stories
Teletext, or broadcast teletext, is a standard for displaying text and rudimentary graphics on suitably equipp ...
systems. In large airports, there are different sets of FIDS for each terminal or even each major
airline
An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
. FIDS are used to inform passengers of
boarding gate
''Boarding Gate'' is a 2007 French thriller film about the sophisticated power plays between a debt-ridden underworld entrepreneur, his provocative and ambitious ex-associate and a manipulative young couple who employ her. Written and directed by ...
s, departure/arrival times, destinations, notifications of
flight delays/
flight cancellation
A flight delay is when an airline flight takes off and/or lands later than its scheduled time. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) considers a flight to be delayed when it is 15 minutes later than its scheduled time. A cancell ...
s, and
partner airlines, et al.
Each line on an FIDS indicates a different
flight number
In the aviation industry, a flight number or flight designator is a code for an airline service consisting of two-character airline designator and a 1 to 4 digit number. For example, "BA 98" is a British Airways service from Toronto-Pearson to ...
accompanied by:
* the airline name/logo and/or its
IATA or
ICAO airline designator
This is a list of airline codes. The table lists IATA's two-character airline designators, ICAO's three-character airline designators and the airline call signs (telephony designator). Historical assignments are also included.ht
IATA airli ...
(can also include names/logos of
interlining
Interlining, also known as interline ticketing and interline booking, is a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines. Such agreement ...
/
codesharing airlines or
partner airlines, e.g.
HX252/
BR2898.)
* the city of origin or destination, and any intermediate points
* the expected arrival or departure time and/or the updated time (reflecting any
delay
Delay (from Latin: dilatio) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Delay 1968'', a 1981 album by German experimental rock band Can
* ''The Delay'', a 2012 Uruguayan film
People
* B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and acto ...
s)
* the status of the flight, such as "Landed", "Delayed", "Boarding", etc.
And in the case of departing flights:
* the
check-in
Check-in is the process whereby people announce their arrival at an office, hotel, airport, hospital, seaport or event.
Office check-in
Many offices have a reception or front office area near the entrance to greet or assist visitors arriving to a ...
counter numbers or the name of the airline handling the check-in
* the
gate number
Due to
code sharing, a flight may be represented by a series of different flight numbers. For example,
LH 474 and
AC 9099, both partners of
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenge ...
, codeshare on a route using a single
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...
, either Lufthansa or Air Canada, to operate that route at that given time. Lines may be sorted by time, airline name, or city.
Most FIDS are now displayed on LCD or LED screen, although some airports still use
split-flap display
A split-flap display, or sometimes simply a flap display, is a digital electromechanical display device that presents changeable alphanumeric text, and occasionally fixed graphics.
Often used as a public transport timetable in airports or r ...
s.
Display technology
Airport infrastructure
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