Haneda Airport Introduces Robots for Cargo Loading to Ease Ground Crew Burden
Japan Airlines (JAL) and GMO AIR, a subsidiary of GMO Internet Group, announced a collaborative experiment at Tokyo's Haneda Airport starting in May to use humanoid robots for ground handling tasks, aiming to address the labor shortage.
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- 📰 Published: April 28, 2026 at 14:55
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Japan Airlines (JAL) and GMO AIR, under the GMO Internet Group, announced yesterday that they will begin an experiment at Tokyo Haneda Airport starting in May, utilizing humanoid robots for cargo loading and unloading. The validation process is expected to take three years.
According to reports from Jiji Press and TV Asahi, this is the first attempt in Japan to use humanoid robots for ground handling duties at an airport. The primary objective is to alleviate the severe labor shortage and reduce the physical workload on ground staff by assigning certain tasks to humanoid robots.
The experiment will test whether the robots can operate the levers used to secure containers and handle the transport of the containers themselves. Two Chinese-made robots will be used during the trial. JAL and GMO AI & Robotics (GMO AIR) plan to evaluate expanding the robots' scope of work in the future to include tasks such as cabin cleaning and the operation of specialized vehicles.
According to reports from Jiji Press and TV Asahi, this is the first attempt in Japan to use humanoid robots for ground handling duties at an airport. The primary objective is to alleviate the severe labor shortage and reduce the physical workload on ground staff by assigning certain tasks to humanoid robots.
The experiment will test whether the robots can operate the levers used to secure containers and handle the transport of the containers themselves. Two Chinese-made robots will be used during the trial. JAL and GMO AI & Robotics (GMO AIR) plan to evaluate expanding the robots' scope of work in the future to include tasks such as cabin cleaning and the operation of specialized vehicles.