A Flight Information Display System (FIDS) is a computer system in airports. It tells passengers about arrivals and departures as they happen. The computer system controls mechanical or electronic displays or TV screens.
In large airports, there is a FIDS for each terminal. Some airports use a separate FIDS for each major airline. FID systems help passengers during air travel and people who want to pick-up passengers after the flight.
Each line on an FIDS shows a different flight number and:
- the airline name/logo and/or its IATA or ICAO name
- the city where the aircraft first came from or is going to. It may also show other cities the aircraft is traveling to (or from)
- when the aircraft should take-off or land. This time can change to show if a plane is late
- the gate number
- the check-in counter numbers or the name of the airline in charge of the check-in
- the status of the flight, such as "Landed", "Delayed", or "Boarding"
- if the flight is an arrival or departure
Because of code sharing, a single flight may be shown with many different flight numbers. For example, a flight may use the flight numbers LH474 and AC9099) even though there is just one aircraft doing both flights. Lines may be sorted by time, airline name, or city.
