Digitization is reshaping all aspects of people’s lives, including their journeys. A central airport in southwest China’s Chongqing city is getting smarter with its persistent efforts to explore digitalization.

Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, a key part of China’s Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, plans to create a smart airport by generating power from new digital technologies, the airport said.

Smart digital technology is playing a unique role in China’s high-quality growth, especially in the civil aviation industry, demonstrating the country’s economic resilience despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Improved passenger experience

Chongqing, a mountain city famous for its spicy cuisine, is an important high-tech industrial hub and the world’s first notebook computer production base. A smarter airport will go a long way in supporting the growth of the city and the economic circle, as well as their connection to the rest of the country and the world, the airport said.

Passengers at Chongqing Airport can enjoy a more comfortable and efficient travel experience through various services, such as smart parking, self-service customs clearance and paperless boarding, with full signal coverage. 5G.

Along with the widespread use of digital payment across China, the airport has introduced a smart parking fee service, which allows drivers to pay their parking fees instantly upon departure.

Drivers only need to pre-register their license plates and electronic payment information. They can then leave the airport car park directly with the digital payment completed.

Besides the popular paperless boarding, passengers at the airport can also enjoy self-service customs clearance in just three simple steps: produce their documents, perform facial recognition and scan their fingerprints.

Thanks to self-service customs clearance based on digital technology, inbound and outbound passengers can complete exit and entry at the border in as little as 9 seconds, much faster than with conventional manual checks.

In 2019, before the pandemic outbreak, more than 2 million passengers used self-service customs clearance, accounting for about 58.6 percent of all inbound and outbound passengers that year, according to the airport.

Additionally, digital technologies have been integrated into all aspects of the passenger experience at the airport, from self-service baggage check-in and passenger check-in to smart roadmap at the airport. airport.

More efficient operation

China’s civil aviation industry will develop smarter with next-generation digital technologies, according to a roadmap released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

China is also accelerating the construction of a world-class airport cluster for the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle. The airport cluster aims to be convenient, safe, smart, green and highly efficient, says a circular issued by the CAAC.

As a key hub airport in the economic circle, Chongqing Airport has already targeted a smarter future, aiming to improve passenger experience and operation efficiency.

From 2006 to 2019, before the pandemic outbreak, the airport handled more than 10 million passengers per year, remaining one of the top 10 airports in the country. In 2019, it saw its annual passenger throughput reach 44.79 million, ranking among the top 50 airports in the world, according to airport data.

To better meet the changing demands of passenger and cargo transport, from 2015 the airport explored digital transformation in the cargo sector by integrating the collection, storage and loading of cargo into a digital system, indicated the airport.

The airport has connected its cargo information system to those of customs, tax and port authorities, as well as those of airlines. The airport has also significantly improved its air cargo capacity.

Additionally, loading its cargo has become a paperless operation, significantly reducing labor and operating costs.

In addition, the airport express parcel check machine is capable of performing image identification, open parcel operation and other functions, thus greatly helping the hub airport to improve its ability to package delivery.

Being smart is the future of all airports. Chongqing Airport is exploring a path to becoming smart by effectively using digital technologies, reaching all sectors from airport management to passenger services, the airport said.