Chinese airports seem to be leading the way with off-airport check-in.
China Daily reports that Tianjin airport in North east China is to add another six off-airport check-in sites by the end of 2015.
The new sites will be in Tianjin, Beijing and Hebei province, as well as one in Dezhou, Shandong province, a city included in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration blueprint, local authorities said.
New sites in Hebei will be built in Tangshan and Qinhuangdao.
The new facilities will increase the total number of off-airport check-in sites or lounges for Tianjian airport to 20.
Passengers can check in at these lounges instead going through the check-in procedure at the airport, which is usually more crowded.
Yan Xin, general manager of the airport:
“We expect more passengers in these cities will depart from Tianjin thanks to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration plan. The new lounges will definitely make travel more convenient, as passengers will have more choices.”
The Tianjin airport will also reimburse passengers departing from Tianjin for the cost of their high-speed train tickets from Tangshan in Hebei province, in addition to the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed railway, Yan said.
Shijiazhuang airport off-airport check-in
The Shijiazhuang airport (SJW), the largest in Hebei province, has also set up 11 off-site departure stations, including one at Beijing West Railway Station.
Domestically in 2014, Tianjin was ranked 24th with 12 million, while Shijiazhuang was 37th with 5.6 million.
Bangkok to close off-airport check-in
According to the Bangkok Post, the operator of the Airport Rail Link is considering terminating its city air passenger and baggage check-in service at Makkasan station as the service is unpopular and costs too much.
Passengers apparently find it more convenient to travel directly to either Suvarnabhumi airport or Don Mueang airport to avoid traffic problems.
On average only about 20 passengers used the city check-in service per day.
The passenger check-in equipment will be moved to Don Mueang airport after the service at Makkasan station ends.
N.B. Image credit: tbia.cn
