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Qantas is trialling automated priority boarding gates at Sydney Airport’s international terminal.
The three-month trial, run in conjunction with Sydney Airport and SITA, commenced this week at Gate 10 and is designed to gather information on potential benefits, including fewer boarding pass errors. The gate technology will be in use at Western Sydney International when it opens this year.
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To gain entry to the aerobridge, passengers will need to scan either a digital or printed boarding pass to activate the automatic gate, allowing Qantas gate staff and cabin crew more time to attend to customer needs.
The automated gates support Qantas’ group boarding system, which was rolled out in 2024 following a successful trial.
Instead of boarding all at once, passengers are assigned groups based on cabin, frequent flyer status, and seat position, with groups displayed on boarding passes.
Customers are alerted at the gate and through the Qantas app when their group is ready to board, and boarding pass scanners will not allow boarding before a customer’s group is announced.
“Group boarding is designed to minimise the time our customers spend waiting to board and allows them to get settled more quickly. We know how important on time departure is to our customers, so this process is also about doing everything possible to ensure we depart on time,” Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson said in 2024.
“Group boarding is a more structured approach that allows us to streamline the boarding process.
“It also prevents customers from needing to queue up all at the same time as we will call people for boarding based on their group, which will make it more smooth, less congested on the aircraft and helps us to depart on time.”
Automated gate technology is also used at airports in London, as well as Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and a number of airports in the US. Qantas will gather feedback from customers and staff as part of the trial.
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