Shanghai Hongqiao Airport’s terminal 1 has reopened after three years of renovation, becoming the first airport in China with self-service options at check-in, security and boarding for domestic flights.
In T1 section D, passengers on international and domestic flights can use one of 28 self-service check-in machines to print tickets and luggage tags after scanning their passports or ID cards.
Eight self-service security machines use facial recognition technology and promise to process passengers in 12 seconds. There are also 20 self-service machines at boarding.
Six staffed counters will remain available at check-in for those who do not wish to use self-service.
Shanghai Hongqiao Airport’s Terminal 1. Credit: Shanghai Airport
According to Spring Airlines, 86 per cent of 2,239 passengers used the self-service machines on Monday morning. During peak morning hours, passengers queued for less than three minutes at the check-in counters, the airline said.
Shanghai Hongqiao Airport is China’s seventh largest by passenger numbers. Terminal 1 serves 10 million customers annually, while the airport’s two terminals serve a total of 40 million.
Airport Vice President Dai Xiaojian said the renovation was focused on upgrading the service rather than growing the airport, and he did not expect passenger numbers to change greatly.
Flights out of T1 remain unchanged, with routes continuing to Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. Spring Airlines has moved from Section A to Section D.
Other renovations at Shanghai Hongqiao include an increase in parking bays from 700 to 1,250, and space for duty-free shops expanding to 2,000 square metres.
Zhang Zhou
