Since the beginning of this year, over ten million passengers have felt how long waiting times at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport can be. Now, the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) has announced a plan to turn Ben Gurion into a digital airport in 2023, designed to shorten lines for check-in and eliminate the initial security check.
The IAA says digitization will make it possible to turn procedures for a flight overseas into an independent "touch and play" process. IAA CEO Hagai Topolansky has allocated over NIS 50 million to the digital airport project. The IAI will install new kiosks, at an initial investment of over NIS 2 million, where passengers will be able to weigh their suitcases, pay for excess weight as necessary, and print baggage labels and stickers. The suitcase sticker will be scanned next to conveyor belts and baggage will go from there to the aircraft hold.
Within the next few days, the IAA plans to expand the hand luggage inspection area to improve waiting times. In the Departures Hall, further technology will be installed on 24 hand luggage inspection stands to speed up procedures.
The IAA says that more than 50% of passengers currently choose to do check-in online. With the addition of the independent ‘touch and play" kiosks, passengers will go through the security check after check-in. The IAA expects the total number of passengers going through Ben Gurion Airport to reach 18 million this year and 24 million next year. The IAA says that due to the planned digitalization process, times will be shortened even for those who wait in line rather than checking in from home. In practice leaving the country can be conducted online through digital channels.
In recent months, travelers have been complaining that lines at Ben Gurion airport were insufferably long with no remedy in sight. Tzahi Zilbershtein, who works at Google as an engineering lead, recently set up a site, which predicts up to 72 hours in advance how crowded the airport is likely to be.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 21, 2022.
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