Google maps helps passengers find their way through Brussels Airport

Google Maps always was the perfect tool to plan a route and discover new neighborhoods, even on street level with the addition of Street View. Today, Google expand the functionalities of Google Maps in Belgium even further with the launch of ‘indoor Google Maps’ for Android.

We’ve all been there: you are visiting a tourist attraction or shopping in a large store, when you suddenly lose your way and of course there’s no map available, nor someone who can point you in the right direction. As of today, Google Maps has indoor maps available for a number of Belgian locations. The maps help you to easily find the access, which floor you are on or trace the shortest way out - just by using your smartphone.

Indoor Google Maps is available for a large number of locations: from shopping malls and airports, over universities, to museums and churches. We keep on adding new locations to the (non exhaustive) list of partners and each property owner can upload his own floor plan.

A selection of the Belgian partners:

• The Brussels center of fine arts BOZAR;
• Brussels Airport;
• The universities of Louvain-La-Neuve, Brussels and Ghent added their plans so students, professors and visitors can find their way inside the university building;
• The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart is one of the first churches worldwide to appear in indoor Google Maps.

“Helping passengers find their way through their complex infrastructure has always been a major challenge for airports. Indoor Google Maps makes that a lot easier and it adds extra features we could not fit into signposting or traditional floor plans. It brings the use of smartphones and tablets to a higher level as a wonderful travel tool”, says Marc-André Gennart, Director ICT at Brussels Airport.

Indoor Google Maps is automatically available in the latest version of Google Maps. Detailed floor plans will automatically appear when you’re viewing the map and zoomed in on a building where indoor maps are available. The familiar blue dot indicates your location, and when you move up or down a level in a building with multiple floors, the interface will automatically update to display which floor you’re on.