The airlines say it is “simplifying the business” and self-service is increasingly the trend worldwide.
But not everyone is happy about it.
“For Luddites and infrequent travelers, that could make passing through an airport a lot more complicated — instead of depending on live people to handle logistics and give instructions, they may soon be on their own to interact with computer screens and electronic scanners,” says DIY Travel.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched its massive overhaul more than a decade ago by gradually replacing paper tickets with electronic ones. Since then many passengers have grown accustomed to printing their boarding pass at airport kiosks or home computers.
Now more self-service options – some already being tested – will become commonplace, say airline executives.
Passengers are increasingly attaching their own baggage tags, providing finger or retina scans at the bag drop off, boarding planes through electronic gates and using computer kiosks to rebook a cancelled flight or report missing bags.
What’s ahead?
Even more automation.
A 2009 survey by Air Travel IT found that 76 percent of the world’s airports plan to make self-service the primary means for check-in by the end of 2012. By that date 42 percent of airports will have automated boarding gates and 36 percent will have kiosks for reporting lost bags.
By David Wilkening
