Japan Airlines to deploy humanoid robots for ground handling: Are machines replacing humans?

Japan Airlines (JAL) will begin using humanoid robots for ground handling tasks at Tokyo's Haneda Airport starting next month (May 2026), as part of a two-year trial.

The made-in-China robots will initially be used to load and unload cargo containers. JAL announced the move alongside its partner GMO AI & Robotics during a media demonstration on Monday.

The airline employs around 4,000 ground handling staff and says the robots are meant to ease their workload, not replace them.

Japan's aviation industry is facing a serious labour shortage. The problem is being driven by two things:

• A surge in inbound tourism;
• A shrinking working-age population.

Japan received more than seven million foreign visitors in just the first two months of this year, according to JTB Group, which operates the country's largest travel agency.

"While airports appear highly automated and standardised, their back-end operations still rely heavily on human labour and face serious labour shortages," said GMO AI & Robotics president Tomohiro Uchida.

JAL said it hopes to eventually expand the robots' duties to include cabin cleaning and operating ground support equipment. For now, cargo handling comes first.

Yoshiteru Suzuki, president of JAL's Ground Service, said deploying robots for physically demanding tasks would "provide significant benefits to employees." However, he emphasized that certain duties can still only be handled by humans.

Robots are already in use at several Japanese airports, mainly for security patrol and retail operations. The Haneda trial would mark one of the first deployments of humanoid robots in direct ground handling work.