Airport News

Self-boarding and self-service bag drop are among the facilities passengers would most like to see at airports, a new survey has revealed.

Nearly 90% of passengers using São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport would like to use self-boarding, SITA’s latest Passenger Self-Service Survey found.

This interest, along with a high demand for self-service baggage services, was among the key findings of the annual poll, undertaken at the airport, which handles around 30 million passengers each year.

The desire for self-boarding has risen by 66% since the 2011 survey.

Transferring to another flight is the main cause of stress among São Paulo passengers and 86% are interested in using self-service kiosks to transfer flights, a jump from 65% last year.

The results of this year’s survey indicate that passengers welcome self-services that will ease their journey.

Passengers at São Paulo have a higher level of interest in new baggage services than the global averages from the six leading airports surveyed.

Some 88% would like to receive real-time baggage information on their mobile phones; 79% would print their own bag tags in contrast to a global average of 68%; and 69% would use self-service bag drop.

In the event of their bag being mishandled, 92% would like to file a report at a kiosk and 83% would be interested in doing the same using their mobile phone.

Only 17% currently use a staffed bag-drop and 1% use self bag-drop, showing huge scope for growth in this area.

99% of passengers surveyed were carrying a mobile phone and just over half of those passengers had smartphones.

More than 80% of passengers surveyed were interested in using their phone to search for flights and receiving flight updates, while 82% would like to use their phones to help navigate the airport.

The findings are from the seventh annual SITA/ATW Passenger Self-Service Survey, carried out among a sample of the 280 million passengers who pass through six of the world’s leading airport hubs: Abu Dhabi International; Beijing Capital International; Frankfurt International; Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta; Chhatrapati Shivaji International, Mumbai; and Guarulhos International, São Paulo.

The survey included 2,526 passengers from more than 70 countries.