ANA has become the first Japanese airline to launch inter‑airport remote passenger support using newme robots, a move that blends human hospitality with digital precision and gives customer service an unexpected new superpower: the ability to be in two airports at once.
The rollout began on August 21, 2026, with staff based at Kansai International Airport assisting passengers at regional airports through telepresence robots operated from a central back‑office hub .
The idea sounds futuristic, but ANA has already tested it extensively at Haneda Airport, analysing more than twenty‑five thousand customer interactions. The results were striking. Remote staff resolved 98.4 per cent of inquiries with the same quality as face‑to‑face conversations, proving that a robot on wheels can be just as helpful as a human behind a counter, minus the need to sprint between gates during peak hours .
The robots act as mobile digital avatars, allowing ANA’s team to appear instantly wherever they are needed. A passenger at a small regional airport can ask a question, and a staff member in Kansai will appear on the robot’s screen, ready to help. It is customer service without geographical limits, designed to reduce wait times and ensure travellers get immediate guidance even when on‑site staffing is thin between flights .
Behind the scenes, the system is even more ambitious. ANA and avatarin are building a cross‑airport virtual support network that gathers and visualises passenger inquiry data in real time. For the first time, ANA can quantitatively track what travellers are asking at regional airports and use that insight to refine operations, improve service and support its wider sustainability goals. It is part of ANA’s Mid‑Term Management Strategy to evolve operations by blending human hospitality with digital technology, a philosophy that feels distinctly Japanese in its precision and warmth .
Future expansion will depend on how the robots perform in live airport environments, but ANA’s ambitions are clear. The airline sees remote support as a way to elevate frontline service, strengthen regional airports and pioneer a new model of digital‑human customer care across Japan’s aviation industry. It is innovation with a practical edge, designed not to replace people but to let them be everywhere they are needed at once.
For travellers, the experience is simple. You ask a question. A robot rolls up. A real ANA staff member appears on the screen and suddenly, customer service feels a little bit magical.
