Airport Chaos to ease with self-service digital solutions

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UK NHS COVID Pass system failure undermines digital identity
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In Response to Worker Shortage, Israel’s Main Airport decided to to go digital.

Chaos is ruling airports around the world. Passengers in Munich arriving from an hour-long European flight must wait four more hours to receive their checked bags. Staff manning information counters quit in record numbers, unable to handle the stress and frustration of passengers yelling at them.

In Israel, airport management is now looking at digital solutions to replace missing human manpower to make Tel Aviv Airport more workable.

Check-in process and baggage drop at Ben-Gurion Airport slated to move to self-serve format; tourism expert calls move a step in the right direction

Israel’s main airport will digitalize procedures for international flights to shorten check-in lines amid ongoing labor shortages, the Israel Airports Authority announced on Sunday.

The Ben-Gurion Airport digitalization project is set to cost 50 million shekels, or about $15 million, and be implemented at the beginning of 2023. The airport will install self-service stations designed to speed up the check-in process by enabling passengers to weigh their luggage and print their tags before placing them on a conveyor belt that will transport the bags directly to the aircraft hold.

“At the moment, over 50% of [Israeli] travelers prefer to check-in online,” the Airports Authority said in a statement. “New technologies will enable travelers to have various self-serve options.”

The initial security check at Ben-Gurion Airport – which previously took place before passengers handed off their luggage – will now be conducted online or at the kiosk, after the check-in is complete, a spokesperson for the Airports Authority told The Media Line.

“The spokesperson clarified that the security screening will remain strict,” noting that the airport is no longer lacking in security personnel.

Nevertheless, the spokesperson noted that traditional check-in lines would remain an option for accessibility purposes.

“As soon as the majority of flyers do things online, that will mean that others won’t need to stand in line as much,” she said.

Self-service bag drops are already available in several airports around the globe and are growing increasingly prevalent.

In addition to the kiosks and bag drops, in the coming days, the airport also will be expanding the hand luggage screening area in order to improve wait times further.

One of the reasons for these changes is the ongoing labor shortage, which the Airports Authority believes will be eased by having travelers shoulder a greater part of the check-in process.

Like many other airports worldwide, flight delays, cancellations, and lost luggage woes have hampered Ben-Gurion as travelers go on trips following the lifting of most pandemic-related restrictions.

According to the Airports Authority, some 10 million people have passed through Ben-Gurion Airport since the beginning of the year. More than 2.3 million people in August are expected to travel through the hub on international flights.

Yaniv Poria, a professor of tourism and dean of Ben-Gurion University’s Eilat Campus, called the airport’s initiative a step in the right direction and noted that the labor shortages plaguing the tourism and hospitality sector were unlikely to be resolved in the near term.

“Many studies indicate that there will be issues finding people to handle luggage, not only in Israel but also in other places around the world,” Poria told The Media Line. “Unfortunately, this is not only due to the pandemic but also how governments– specifically the Israeli government – handled the crisis. People no longer view tourism as a career; they don’t want to join this industry.”

Whereas the labor shortage extends to other service sectors – such as restaurants and hotels, Poria believes airports will be particularly hard-pressed to overcome these challenges. This is partly due to difficult work conditions and a lack of financial incentives.

The issue is further compounded by dwindling higher education options.

“Next year, many academic programs for hotel and tourism management [in Israel] are going to be closed,” he said. “Because of the pandemic, students no longer want to learn tourism anymore.”

By Maya Margit/The Media Line

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