All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced it will begin rolling out remote passenger support across multiple regional airports in Japan starting August 21, 2026, in partnership with avatarin, a Tokyo-based AI and robotics startup.
The service will use robots called "newme" operated centrally from Kansai International Airport (KIX), making ANA the first Japanese airline to launch this kind of inter-airport remote support system.
ANA said the approach builds on extensive testing conducted at Haneda Airport (HND), where researchers analyzed more than 25,000 customer interactions and found that 98.4% of passenger questions could be resolved remotely with the same quality as in-person service.
The airline said it will evaluate the program's effect on customer satisfaction and operational performance before deciding whether to expand the service to additional airports.
