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Japan Airlines will trial Chinese-made robots as baggage handlers at Haneda Airport starting in May
The initiative aims to address labor shortages and ease workloads for human staff amid rising tourism in Japan
Robots may also be used for cabin cleaning and ground support as automation expands in Japanese airports
Robots are set to be tested as baggage handlers at an airport in Japan starting next month.
The Japan Airlines (JAL) trial comes amid a surge in inbound tourism in the country and a worsening labor shortage, as noted by a press release from the airline.
The airline states that the humanoid robots will move luggage and cargo on the tarmac at Haneda Airport, which serves Tokyo and, per The Guardian, handles more than 60 million passengers a year.
A humanoid robot stands with Japan Airlines staff in front of a JAL plane at Haneda airport in Tokyo
Credit: Kyodo via AP Images
The airline hopes the experiment will ease the workload of the human baggage handlers. There are also plans for the robots to be used to clean cabins and operate ground support equipment in the future, with the BBC reporting that several airports in Japan already use robots for security patrol and retail.
When the plan, a partnership between Japan Airlines and GMO AI & Robotics, was launched on Monday, April 27, AI & Robotics’ president Tomohiro Uchida told reporters that while airports appear to be highly automated, they still rely “heavily” on human labor. As part of the launch, the two companies note that they hope the venture will reduce the need for human personnel by about “half” in the future.
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Using robots for more physically demanding tasks will “provide significant benefits to employees”, Yoshiteru Suzuki, president of JAL’s Ground Service, said, as reported by the Kyodo news agency and cited by the BBC.
Japan Airlines (Stock Photo)
Credit: Philip FONG / AFP via Getty
However, he did caveat that by saying that some tasks, including safety management, can only be handled by humans.
In a video of Monday’s demonstration, a 51-inch tall robot wearing shoes was seen “pushing” cargo onto a conveyor belt next to a JAL passenger plane.
More than 7 million people visited Japan in the first two months of 2026, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization, after a record 42.7 million last year, according to The Guardian.
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