Passengers’ baggage is collected by robots, they relax in a luxurious waiting area complete with an indoor garden before getting a face scan and swiftly passing through security and immigration — this could be the airport of the future.
It is a vision that planners hope will become reality as new technology is rolled out, transforming the exhausting experience of getting stuck in lengthy lines in aging, overcrowded terminals into something far more pleasant.
The Asia-Pacific has been leading the way, but faces fierce competition from the Middle East as major hubs compete to attract the growing number of long-haul travelers who can choose how to route their journey.
Photo: AFP
The regions “are the two leading pockets of technology growth because they are really competing to be the global hubs for air transportation,” Seth Young, director of the Center for Aviation Studies at Ohio State University, told reporters. “If I’m going to fly from New York to Bangalore, do I transfer through Abu Dhabi or Dubai or do I transfer through Hong Kong? That’s a huge, huge market.”
Facial scanning in particular is generating a lot of buzz.
Singapore’s Changi Airport, regarded as among the world’s best airports, is set to roll out this biometric technology at a new terminal to open later this year.
Passengers are to have their faces scanned when they first check in and at subsequent stages, theoretically allowing them to go through the whole boarding process quickly without encountering another human.
Australia last month announced an investment of A$22.5 million (US$17.5 million) to introduce face recognition technology at all the country’s international airports, while Dubai Airport is also trialling it.
Robots are appearing at some major hubs, including at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, where they carry out tasks including cleaning and carrying luggage, while Changi’s new terminal is to have robotic cleaners complete with butlers’ uniforms.
Self-service check-in and printing of boarding passes is already common, with many people printing their passes at home or at airport kiosks, and some hubs are now introducing self-service baggage drop points.
The service, which allows passengers to print and tag their baggage and then send it off on the conveyor belt, is available at airports including Australian hubs, Hong Kong, London Heathrow Airport and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
Airports are also trying to overhaul their image as dreary places that must be endured to get from A to B, to somewhere travelers can enjoy spending time.
Changi is building a new terminal complex called Jewel, a 10-story development filled with shops and restaurants whose centerpiece is to be a 40m indoor waterfall surrounded by an indoor garden.
The complex is to make the airport look more like a shopping mall than a traditional hub and is aimed at cashing in on transiting passengers.
“They are looking at retail, non-aeronautical profits,” Endau Analytics aviation analyst Shukor Yusof said.
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