The 10 most irritating, outdated things that airports and airlines must ditch

Telegraph

3 days ago

Given that commercial aviation is one of the most impressive feats of the 20th century, today's airports and airlines aren't always known for pushing the boat out when it comes to new technology. Whether you're departing from Gatwick or Glasgow, the process of catching your typical flight is riddled with outdated processes that could easily be scrapped.
If we want to transform air travel into a truly 21st century experience, here are ten things that need to change:
Check-in
The three-stage boarding process – buy ticket, check-in for flight beforehand, scan boarding pass at the airport – has been around for so long, you might assume it's a fixed law of nature. Yet in today's AI-powered world, there are plenty of ways that the process could be trimmed.
The UN-backed International Civil Aviation Organisation has put its weight behind a new 'digital credential' scheme, by which your smartphone will become your ticket and automatically check you in when you arrive at the airport. They hope to have a prototype running within three years.
In the meantime, hats off to the airlines and airports who aren't resting on their laurels. Spain's Iberia has just launched a 'dynamic' boarding pass, which updates on your phone with details of your gate and any delays. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport uses facial recognition to remove the need to scan your boarding pass in the first place.
Liquid rules
Scrapping the irritating 100ml rule has been on the table for so long now that flyers can be forgiven for thinking they're having their leg pulled on this one. But rest assured, the change is coming, as soon as airports have been able to bring their scanning machines up-to-speed.
Being able to bring a slightly bigger toothpaste is one thing, but the best thing about the new system is that you won't have to take your liquids out of your suitcase in the first place, as the more advanced scanners can get all the information they need without items needing to be separated beforehand.
The whole thing speeds up the process massively and removes the risk of leaving behind your toiletries when you end up having to repack in a rush.
Announcements
'Schiphol is a silent airport,' reads the advice on the website of Europe's fourth busiest aviation hub. Indeed Amsterdam was one of the first major airports to do away with all audio announcements except for in cases of genuine emergency, giving passengers a break from those irritating 'bing bong' noises and crackling announcements about flights which aren't yours, and which you can't really hear anyway.
As for what it means for partially sighted travellers, Schiphol says it has dedicated assistance staffers happy to help and is working on a system to guide visually impaired passengers around the airport.
Queues at the gate
You might think that having 180 passengers queue to board a Ryanair plane in a sweltering Algarve airport is the only way to do it, but in fact you'd be quite wrong. Anyone who has taken a domestic flight within the US will be familiar with the system in which passengers are assigned a queuing group and called up accordingly.
If you want to be first on the plane, you can purchase a speedy boarding perk. Failing that, the system used by the likes of Southwest prioritises those who check in first.
Queues at restaurants
Waiting in line at Heathrow Wagamama may have become an inadvertent holiday ritual for some of us. But does it have to be this way? Again, it's the Americans who have taken a giant leap towards a queue-free future, with certain airports (including JFK and Chicago O'Hare) trialling an in-house delivery app that will bring your meal directly to your gate.
Admittedly, US airports tend to have spacious seating areas between gates (making it easier to tuck into a pungent Chick-fil-A sandwich without disturbing people) but it would still be good to see similar ambition in our airports.
Awful toilets
Catching an early morning flight is a horrendous enough experience without having to deal with the striplight glare of the typical airport toilet. Just why are our airport toilets such an assault on the senses?
Are the cheap wooden doors (always with a gap at the bottom) and white surfaces compulsory? Surely, we can do better than this.
Bad Wi-Fi
Plane Wi-Fi has come on leaps and bounds since the pandemic, but still has some way to go. The biggest problem, though, is that all three budget airlines – Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air – are still entirely offline, imposing a compulsory digital detox on all passengers.
Yes, it would cost money to put Wi-Fi antennas on planes, but surely they could rake that money back – and then some – by charging customers to connect to it?
Trolley service
Am I the only one who finds the compulsory trolley service to be the most annoying part of the Ryanair flight? Not only does it block off the toilet for ages, and mean aisle-seat passengers risk bashed elbows – but if you're unlucky enough to be seated at the back on a short flight, you'll often hardly have time to gulp down that G&T you've waited so patiently for.
Why not follow airlines like flyDubai in having in-seat ordering via an app, and then scrap the trolley service entirely? The cabin crew would breathe a sigh of relief, surely.
In-seat screens
Are in-seat screens on their way out? British Airways is trialing a new BYOD (bring your own device) system on short flights, letting passengers access the entertainment library on their own phone or laptop. While BA has been clear that it isn't scrapping the screens just yet, there are some airlines toying with doing just that.
Not only are the screens usually out-of-date and poorer quality than your average tablet, but they are also a hefty maintenance cost, sucking up money that could be better spent elsewhere.
Set mealtimes
What do strict parents and British Airways business class have in common? They both insist on eating your meals at a certain time. But when you're already dealing with different time zones, sometimes your stomach doesn't want to have lunch at the same time as everyone else.
Step forward Etihad, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier, which offers the luxurious perk of letting business class passengers choose when they get their meal. No more being roused from sleep – after it's taken you hours to finally dose off – to groggily hear the words 'chicken or fish?'.