The traditional uses of split-flap displays were sports arena scoreboards, airports and train stations.
i.e. places where you want a very large display that's readable in direct sunlight.
If you were equipping a train station or airport in the 1980s, your options were split-flap displays, CRTs with sunshades over them (maximum size ~20 inches), a multi-CRT video wall ($$$$$$$$), a vane display (numbers only) or a flip-dot display. And a lot of places that were equipped with them in the 1980s still had them in the late 1990s.
These days you'd use an LED display, or a sunlight-readable TFT.
Worth noting not all LED displays are sunlight readable. Typically, outdoor requires old fashioned through-hole, separate LEDS, and at least 1/4 duty pwm refresh.
> And a lot of places that were equipped with them in the 1980s still had them in the late 1990s
Many UK rail stations had them into the early to mid 00s. If I'm not misremembering, the boards at London Kings Cross were not moved to different tech until at least 2005. Manchester Piccadilly had them replaced around 2001 (at the time I was passing through there a fair bit, travelling between York & North Wales).
i.e. places where you want a very large display that's readable in direct sunlight.
If you were equipping a train station or airport in the 1980s, your options were split-flap displays, CRTs with sunshades over them (maximum size ~20 inches), a multi-CRT video wall ($$$$$$$$), a vane display (numbers only) or a flip-dot display. And a lot of places that were equipped with them in the 1980s still had them in the late 1990s.
These days you'd use an LED display, or a sunlight-readable TFT.