JAL to introduce aircraft-washing robot at airport near Tokyo
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan Airlines Co. said Friday that it will introduce a robot that washes aircraft exteriors at Narita airport, near Tokyo, the first
Japan Airlines Co. announced on Friday that it will introduce a robot to wash the exteriors of aircraft at Narita airport, located near Tokyo. This will be the first such implementation among domestic airlines in Japan. The AW3 robot, manufactured by the Swedish company Aerowash AB, utilizes a remotely operated telescopic arm to clean the aircraft.
The airline plans to commence full-scale operation later this year, following staff training on the new technology. While some manual cleaning will still be necessary using long-handled mops, JAL anticipates reducing labor hours by up to 40 percent per aircraft through automation. This robot will not only decrease the workload for staff but also lower the risk of injuries from working at heights and exposure to chemicals.
JAL demonstrated both the existing manual washing method and the automated process using the AW3 to the press at its aircraft washing facility at Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture. Atsuki Kino, from JAL's Airport Ground Handling Planning Department, stated that the primary objective is to decrease the staff's workload, allowing them to allocate the saved time to other high-value tasks, thereby transforming their work methods.
JAL intends to initially deploy one unit at Narita airport and will evaluate the possibility of introducing the robot at other airports in the future.
Written by urgent.news from The Mainichi's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
