AirAsia goes hands off for health
This is a special feature from PAX International's June 2020 Asia-Pacific digital edition.
A passengers uses the contactless AirAsia kiosk at klia2
It has been said that in order to see air travel return in significant numbers, passengers need to feel confident that every possible step is taken to ensure a healthy experience when traveling; and that the confidence needs to begin at the airport level.
One of Asia’s more daring airlines over the years has been Malaysia-based AirAsia. The low-cost carrier took a chance with a new company selecting the Hawk seat from Mirus in the United Kingdom four years ago. Its subsidiary company ROKKI’s platform partnered with Inmarsat for its high speed connectivity. Now after two months of careful planning, AirAsia is rolling out high-tech features to move towards contactless payments and other similar procedures at several airports.
“AirAsia has always been a pioneer of new technologies and we are proud to be able to provide a contactless solution in a short period of time,” says Javad Malik, AirAsia Group Chief Operations Officer.
Indeed, work on the contactless check-in and boarding procedures started in earnest in mid-March. The airline concentrated on several areas: check-in and boarding procedures using its current digital kiosks and self-bag drop machines. By the end of April much of the work had been completed and the airline threw the switch on operations May 13. At that time, the contactless kiosks were also waiting for passenger service to resume at airports outside Malaysia in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan.
The airline has also implemented a Passenger Reconciliation System (PRS) at its home airport, known as klia2, that allows airport security staff to verify that the passengers who have presented tickets at the check-in desk are the same passengers who are boarding the plane. At klia2, this can be done through a digitized boarding pass that does not have to be exchanged with airport security.
AirAsia is also enhancing features on its mobile phone app where passengers can scan their passports via the app itself. Visa scanning capability is also in the airline’s plans.
What is needed now is a steady flow of confident passengers. So far, AirAsia has resumed scheduled domestic flights with reduced frequency, and in early-May added flights to Thailand.
“Once AirAsia’s other operating countries commence operations with gradual restrictions lifted, we plan to have an advanced contactless procedure by July 2020,” says Malik. “As we have to take into account other external parties involved such as airport operators and other relevant authorities.”
