Airports Authority has allocated NIS 50 million to allow online check-in still at home

The Airports Authority announced that it has allocated NIS 50 million to a digitization project at Ben Gurion Airport, which will make it possible to manage most departures abroad through independent procedures through online check-in and automatic machines.
First, passengers will be offered the option to check in online from home by most major airlines such as El Al, Turkish Airlines, Fly Dubai and others. Most companies canceled this option during the Corona crisis because of the need to present the results of the tests. But in recent months the option has gradually returned, especially in El Al. Now they want to return the possibility of online check-in in most of the big companies, which fly according to the Israel Defense Forces, about 80% of the passengers.
Passengers who will not use online check-in already from home will be offered a new option: at the beginning of 2023 the RAS will launch new "kiosks" for the passengers' self-use - that is, passengers who arrive at the airport will go through self-use stations (the kiosks) for the passenger service, where there will be scales for weighing The luggage, the possibility of charging for the excess weight determined by the airlines and the printing of the tag and stickers for the suitcase ("Bug Tag"), to allow the suitcase to be sent independently to the belly of the plane. According to the Airports Authority, in the initial phase, more than NIS 2 million will be invested in these machines.
After removing the tag, the passengers will go to security (known as "checking in alone"), and from there to the airline counters to deposit their luggage - where they will scan the barcode through the tag and be able to send their luggage to the plane. The security check procedure for carry-on luggage should also be shortened: already in the next month, the check-in area for carry-on luggage will be expanded to improve and shorten waiting times in line. 24 hand luggage check stations will be added in the departure hall.
Most of the processes will come into use as early as 2023, and according to the Airports Authority, these measures should "shorten the queues by 50% of the time they currently take".
Most of the processes will come into use as early as 2023, and according to the Airports Authority, these measures should "shorten the queues by 50% of the time they currently take".
Rashat explains that "nowadays more than 50% of passengers prefer to check in online. The advanced technologies will make it possible to provide passengers with a diverse and expanded independent service." The Authority adds that "the border control procedure in the National Airport today is fully automated and allows more than 90% of passengers to pass the border control by scanning a passport and go directly to the duty free hall."
As early as last Passover (April), the complaints began about heavy loads at the airport and huge queues - at all stages of boarding the plane, from check-in to the security screening, as well as delays, postponements and cancellations of flights caused by a lack of workers and a lack of adequate preparation for demand.
Since the beginning of the year, approximately 10 million passengers on international flights have passed through the airport. In August, more than 2.3 million passengers on international flights will pass through the airport.
The Director General of the Airports Authority, Hagai Topolansky, said: "A major goal of the Authority is to improve passenger service immediately, and in the long term beyond a digital and advanced field of its kind in the world."