Ben-Gurion International Airport will be going digital at the beginning of 2023, a move expected to improve luggage security screening and shorten check-in lines, the Israel Airports Authority announced Sunday.
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As part of the over $15 million project, passengers will be able to send their luggage to the baggage hold on their own. Excess weight will incur a fee, which they will also pay independently.
To accommodate the self service, the airport will install luggage scales in the departure hall Passengers will use them, then print their own bag tags. Once they send the luggage in, each airline will scan them.
Meanwhile, in the next few days the airport will be expanding its check-in area for carry-on luggage, hoping to reduce wait times for security checks. The 24 carry-on bag checkpoints will be outfitted with new technology to allow for rapid screening.
"Today, more than 50% of passengers prefer to check-in online. Advanced technologies will help provide passengers with a diverse and extensive independent service," an airport statement said.
"What's more, passengers traveling abroad will only go through security after completing the flight registration procedure (check-in), or even after completing it from home (online). Thus, most of the processes for exiting the country will be done online and through digital means," the statement added.
Earlier in July, the IAA announced that passengers from northern Israel would be able to check-in at Haifa Airport the day before their flight. The change was part of a campaign to reduce congestion at Ben-Gurion Airport, which has been coping with long waits and staff shortages since the beginning of the summer travel season.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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