Air travel in China will get smarter as roadmap planned out

China's civil aviation industry aims to grow smarter with the help of next-generation digital technologies, according to a roadmap issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Friday.

Solid digital transformation progress should be made by 2025, with the efficiency of security checks rising 30 percent from 2020, according to the plan.

By 2025, more than 90 percent of airport trips should see paperless services and luggage transfers between airports will be facilitated, it said.

The roadmap aims to implement key technology breakthroughs for intelligent travel experiences by 2030. Domestic airports will fully support the whole process of facial recognition services and some cities and surrounding areas will form an unmanned aircraft logistics distribution network to enhance the efficiency of logistics and lower delivery costs in rural areas.

Currently, 66 airports across China are armed with facial recognition services, according to CAAC 2021 data.

A total of 234 airports are able to provide paperless journeys by introducing e-tickets and e-security checks, allowing passengers to travel with only their identification cards instead of conventional paper boarding tickets.

Wi-Fi services are also available aboard 842 aircraft in China's civil aviation fleet.