Israel’s main airport will digitalize procedures for international flights in a bid 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 own 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 make it possible to provide travelers with a wide variety of 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 security screening will remain strict,” the spokesperson clarified, noting that the airport is no longer lacking in security personnel.
Nevertheless, the spokesperson noted that traditional check-in lines will 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.
New technologies will make it possible to provide travelers with a wide variety of self-serve options
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 further improve wait times.
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 around the world, flight delays, cancellations and lost luggage woes have hampered Ben-Gurion as travelers go on trips following the lifting of most pandemic-related restrictions.
Some 10 million people have passed through Ben-Gurion Airport since the beginning of the year, according to the Airports Authority. In August alone, more than 2.3 million people 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 the way governments – and 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 also 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 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.”