Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has introduced a passenger assistance robot at Kochi airport, the latest step in the operator’s push to bring automation into the terminal experience.
The service was inaugurated by CIAL Managing Director S. Suhas IAS at Kalangan, an art museum located within the airport’s Domestic Security Hold Area. The robot welcomes passengers, provides directions and real-time flight information, and guides them to boarding gates and other airport facilities. The Tribune
Travellers can interact with the robot for a range of practical needs — checking flight schedules, gate numbers and CIAL services, and getting directions to boarding gates and other airport facilities, reducing the need to rely solely on static signage or information counters. Arabian Post
A cultural companion, too
Beyond navigation, CIAL has given the robot a distinctly local flavour. It has been programmed to introduce passengers to Kerala’s cultural heritage, providing information about traditional art forms including Kathakali and Ottanthullal, and can also detail the sculptures and artworks on display at the museum while guiding visitors to relevant exhibits. Kalangan was chosen as the starting point precisely because it blends passenger movement with exhibits that call for both directional and informational support. OnmanoramaArabian Post
Built by a Pune firm, with more phases to come
The passenger assistance robot was developed for CIAL by Pune-based Kinetics Robotics. The launch event was also attended by CIAL Executive Director Santhosh Poovattil, Head of Commercial Manoj P Joseph, and Kinetics Robotics representative Jignesh Nair, among others. Madhyamam
CIAL has described this as only the opening phase of a larger rollout. The current deployment marks the first phase of using robotic technology for passenger-facing services, with further applications under consideration across the airport, and CIAL plans to extend the technology beyond the museum in the next phase, with passenger assistance robots proposed for the airport’s check-in halls to bring automated help closer to travellers from the start of their journey. Onmanorama
The airport operator isn’t stopping at guidance and information either. CIAL is also exploring the use of delivery robots that could carry food and other products directly to passengers inside the terminal. Onmanorama
Part of a wider trend
CIAL’s move comes as airports increasingly turn to self-service and automated systems for routine passenger interactions — from check-in and baggage handling to navigation and information delivery. Kochi joins a small but growing list of Indian airports experimenting with robotics; Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, for instance, has already trialled AI-driven guide robots for similar wayfinding and information tasks. Arabian Post
For now, though, Kochi’s robot has a foot in two worlds — part airport concierge, part cultural ambassador — greeting travellers with flight updates in one breath and a note on Kathakali in the next.