Perth Airport (PER) has converted more than a dozen check-in counters at its international terminal and installed self serve check-in kiosks to speed up passenger flows through the airport and minimize person-to-person contact during the departure process. Two high profile international airlines are already onboard and using the technology, while two more airlines will join up in June.

Perth Airport's efforts to streamline the passenger check-in process

Perth Airport's Chief Operations Officer Scott Woodward says converting 16 staffed check-in counters to automated bag drops and installing 36 self-serve check-in kiosks will streamline the check-in experience and keep passengers and Perth Airport employees safe. He commented,

"The new kiosks enable passengers to check-in and facilitate bag drop independently without the intervention of airline staff - therefore improving passenger flow while reducing processing time and queuing. This also means an uncompromising stance on safety, security, and usability as we adapt to new processes in the post-COVID era."

Perth's international terminal is starting to see some traffic again after Western Australia dropped its fortress-style border restrictions in March. In the 12 months before the pandemic, PER had added more than 500,000 new international seats to the Perth market and was on track to exceed 15 million passengers in total. Once COVID struck, international passenger numbers at the airport dropped by 97%.

Self Serve Check In Kiosks Perth Airport
The direct flight from Perth to Rome has opened the door to easy Southern European connections. Photo: Perth Airport

Upgrades at Perth's international terminal during the pandemic

And while there were some dark days at Perth Airport's international terminal, the operators took advantage of the enforced lull to make a few changes, including significant upgrades to terminal gates, check-in, and security infrastructure. The automated bag drops and self-serve kiosks are part of that program. Mr Woodward said,

"Currently, two of our airline partners - Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines are using the self serve check-in product with Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines to transition in June. And we look forward to working with other airline partners to transition over the next 12-18 months."

While the airlines (and passengers) are returning, those self-serve check-in kiosks won't have queues of people trying to use them - at least, not yet. On Friday, Perth's international terminal is handling ten arrivals - a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur, an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland, a Jetstar flight from Denpasar, a Scoot flight from Singapore, a Qatar Airways flight from Doha, and Emirates flight from Dubai, a Jetstar Asia flight from Singapore, and three Singapore Airlines services from Singapore. It's a big step up from zero arrivals during the pandemic's darkest days, but the check-in kiosks are unlikely to overheat today.

Aspire Lounge Perth Airport
After checking in using the new self-serve kiosks, kick back in style while waiting for your flight at Perth's new pay-to-use lounge. Photo: Swissport

Slow build for international traffic in Perth

More international traffic is heading back to Perth. Notably, Qantas is returning with its daily flights to Perth from later this month and its three-times a week flights to Rome from June. But Qantas doesn't use the international terminal - Qantas' domestic and international services fly in and out of terminals three and four on the other side of the airport.

Back at the main international terminal, terminal one, outbound passengers can now kick back in Perth's first pay-per-use international lounge. Swissport's Aspire Lounge has just opened up on level three of the international terminal and early reports say it's quite the cut above your usual pay-to-use lounge. But like the new self-serve check-in kiosks, the lounge may not get much of a workout until passenger and airline traffic through the airport rises.