Thailand will take service to a smarter, more advanced level when it begins deploying humanoid robots at its main airport in Bangkok later this year to assist passengers with pre-boarding processes and support security operations.

Metthier, a subsidiary of the listed company SKY ICT, is set to deploy three humanoid robots at Suvarnabhumi Airport by the end of 2026. The company believes the trio, based on expected performance, will serve as ambassadors for the new technology, paving the way for a larger corps of robots that could eventually serve as staff at major airports across
the Kingdom.

The first three will have their metallic hands full. Suvarnabhumi is projected to handle 67.7 million passengers this year, with airport authorities aiming to accommodate 120 million once the airport’s expansion is completed in 2030.

The initiative brings together two areas in which Thailand excels: tourism and digital industries.

The Kingdom has long been a tourism success story, and Bangkok has been named
the world’s most visited city several times over the past decade by Mastercard and other tracking firms. As a result, its airports are often operating at or beyond capacity.

In recent years, Thailand has also emerged as a regional hub for digital industries, such as data centers, artificial intelligence and robotics. The government has made investment in these sectors a national priority, offering generous incentives and privileges to firms operating in these fields. The strategy is beginning to pay off.

To produce the robots, Metthier will form a joint venture with Shanghai-based Agibot,
a leading robotics company specializing in embodied intelligence, and Thai-listed IT product distributor COM7.