The Guardian
Justin McCurry
28 Apr 2026
Japan Airlines will introduce the robots for trial run at Tokyo’s Haneda airport amid country’s surge in inbound tourism and worsening labour shortages
Japan Airlines will introduce humanoid robots on a trial basis from the beginning of May, with a view to deploying them permanently as a solution to the country’s chronic labour shortage.
The Chinese-made humanoids will move travellers’ luggage and cargo on the tarmac at Haneda, which handles more than 60 million passengers a year.
JAL and its partner in the initiative, Japan Airlines GMO Internet Group, hope the experiment – which ends in 2028 – will lessen the burden on human employees amid a surge in inbound tourism and forecasts of more severe labour shortages...
