Tokyo's Haneda Airport tests humanoid robots to ease labor shortages in 2025

Tokyo's Haneda Airport is one of the largest in the world. In 2024 alone, it handled nearly 86 million passengers, with a plane landing every two minutes.

Now, the airport is set to become the stage for a groundbreaking trial: humanoid robots will soon begin sorting luggage there. And in the future, they may even load cargo and clean aircraft cabins.

The test is being conducted by Japan Airlines to address a shortage of human workers. While passenger numbers at Tokyo's airport have surged in recent years, employment levels have failed to keep pace. According to a press release from Japan Airlines, the trial runs will begin in May and continue through 2028.

A video of what appears to be a staged demonstration inside an aircraft hangar shows one of the humanoid robots approaching a large metal cargo container with a slightly unsteady gait, then making a pushing motion. However, the container only moves when a human employee activates the conveyor belt to transport it toward the plane.

Japan Airlines aims to determine whether AI-powered humanoid robots can adapt to human work environments without requiring major structural modifications to the workplace—in this case, an airport.

Humanoid robots have already been tested in pilot projects at automobile factories and warehouses, where they typically performed repetitive, predictable tasks. But operating in unpredictable work environments presents a far greater challenge.

According to Asia Business Daily, the trial at Tokyo's airport will involve the G1 and Walker E models from Chinese manufacturers Unitree Robotics and Ubtech Robotics. Looking ahead, cost remains a key issue: despite China's ramped-up mass production, humanoid robots still cost tens of thousands of dollars per unit, as reported by Ars Technica.