Japan Airlines is using robot baggage handlers to load luggage,
Lost luggage and battered bags could soon be a thing of the past, as Japan Airlines starts testing robotic baggage handlers.
Starting in May, human workers at Tokyo’s busy Haneda airport will have a helping hand from an army of humanoid robots as part of a two–year trial.
The Chinese–made bots will be trained to tackle ground handling tasks like loading cargo containers of luggage on and off flights.
Japan Airlines (JAL) hopes that the new robotic workers will help ease staffing issues as Japan juggles a surge in tourism and a slumping workforce.
The airport will trial two robots: the child–sized 130cm Unitree G1, and the larger 172cm UBTech Walker E, according to Aviation Wire.
In a demonstration for the media, a Unitree G1 was seen gently, if a little unsteadily, nudging a cargo container onto a conveyor belt.
While this display of dexterity might not be that impressive, JAL is confident that robots will start replacing humans in some areas as early as 2028.
Yoshiteru Suzuk, the president of JAL’s Ground Service, told reporters that using robots for the heavy lifting will ‘provide significant benefits to employees’.
Starting in May, human workers at Tokyo’s busy Haneda airport will have a helping hand from an army of humanoid robots as part of a two–year trial
The two–year trial will initially focus on teaching the robots how to complete each physically demanding task, breaking it down into a series of movements.
Once the robots have figured out how to load and unload the bulky cargo containers, they will be able to start working in the airport’s ground services team.
JAL says that they expect the robots to be a real part of the workflow at Haneda airport, which handles more than 60 million passengers a year, by late 2027.
If the trial is a success, the robots will then become a permanent part of the airport’s workflow.
Eventually, the robots are expected to be used across a wide range of tasks, including loading baggage, cabin cleaning, and even operating GSE ground support equipment like tugs and refuelers.
While the robots won’t be able to handle duties such as safety management, JAL believes the humanoids are needed to tackle its workforce woes.
Tomohiro Uchida, president of GMO AI & Robotics, which has partnered with JAL for the project, told reporters: ‘While airports appear highly automated and standardised, their back–end operations still rely heavily on human labour and face serious labour shortages.’
JAL already employs around 4,000 ground staff, but Japan’s ageing population is triggering a steady decline in the workforce.
The humanoid robots will be trained to load cargo containers on and off flights in order to help ease the workforce pressures created by Japan’s ageing population
Roughly 30 per cent of Japan’s population is already over 65, while one in 10 is now over 80.
This leaves only 60 per cent of the population at working age, with this figure expected to fall as the elderly population grows and birth rates plummet.
It is now estimated that Japan will need more than 6.5 million immigrant workers in 2040 to meet its growth goals as its native workforce collapses.
At the same time, Japan is becoming a more popular tourist destination than ever before.
In the first two months of 2026 alone, more than seven million foreigners visited the country, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation.
This follows a record–breaking 42.7 million tourists last year, despite falling numbers of visitors from China.
The combination of these two factors is now creating a big problem for staff at Japan’s busy airports, to which robots are increasingly seen as the solution.
Humanoid robots are cheap compared to human staff, able to handle strenuous manual labour, and work in dangerous environments.
Critically, being shaped like humans means airports don’t need to change their infrastructure or get rid of their human staff altogether.
Read More
Paula R-AI-dcliffe! Watch a robot win the Beijing half marathon – beating the record by 7 minutes
Airlines can simply offload the less forgiving tasks to their robot workforce while keeping a few humans to supervise and ensure the safety of the operation.
Similar trials are being made in fast–food restaurants, where robots could take on work in the kitchens or even interact with guests.
In Shanghai, China, humanoid robots are serving up meals and entertaining customers at a McDonald’s.
The machines, supplied by Chinese firm Keenon Robotics, have been deployed as part of a trial and hint at a future where bots handle routine tasks at fast food restaurants.
