Japan’s ANA Steadily Embraces Smart Airport Tech to Be a Global Model
Photo Credit: All Nippon Airways has been testing automated, or driverless, shuttle buses at two airports in Japan: Handea and Saga. All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd
Skift Take
The pandemic hasn't stopped All Nippon Airways (ANA) from pursuing some of its planned investments in smart airport technology. The airline's embrace of automation dovetails with one of Skift's Megatrend forecasts for the years through 2025.
The pandemic has been as hard on All Nippon Airways (ANA) as it has been on other major carriers worldwide. Japan's largest airline by revenue and passenger volume has had to sharply curtail service, such as last week announcing it would suspend 16 international routes through the end of October. The cuts came as ANA said on Friday that between April 2020 and December 2020, it recorded a record net loss of $2.95 billion.
Yet ANA hasn't stopped pursuing some of its investments in "smart airport" technology and processes in Japan that could help make its operations more cost-effective in the future. The tech includes autonomous vehicles, robotic baggage handlers, automated plane tugs, and robot concierges.
On Monday, ANA announced it was
