Airports Company South Africa is preparing to add AI chatbot functionality and augmented reality navigation to its mobile app as the state-owned airports operator works to turn the software into a genuine travel companion – and to get more travellers actually using it.

Speaking to TechCentral in an interview on Thursday, Acsa chief technology officer Vishalan Govender said an AI-powered chatbot will be introduced in the third quarter of the current financial year, giving passengers a more flexible way of resolving questions and queries than the app’s existing support tools.

Augmented reality wayfinding is also on the road map. Acsa has completed a proof of concept and is refining the requirements for implementation later this year. The feature will work in two ways: passengers will be able to scan a QR code on a column inside a terminal, select their destination, and follow on-screen video and floor markings to their gate, shop or facility; alternatively, they’ll be able to set a point of interest in the app and be guided there.

The app, first launched in 2022, is free on Android, iOS and Huawei’s AppGallery. It offers real-time flight tracking with push notifications, parking bookings and payments, baggage tracking, retail and facility information, and chat-based customer support across all nine Acsa airports.

Adoption, however, remains modest. Govender said the app has about 150 000 active users, measured on a quarterly basis – a strikingly small number for a network that processed more than four million passengers in December alone, and where Cape Town International by itself handled a record 11.1 million travellers in 2025. Even allowing for repeat travellers, only a small fraction of the flying public is using the app.

‘Unlike any other app’

Govender pushed back on the suggestion that the figure is disappointing, arguing that an airport app is inherently episodic. “This app is unlike any other app,” he said. Unlike a messaging service used hourly or daily, it is “designed for airport users in a specific time frame”. International visitors download it, use it until they leave the country and then delete it or let it lie dormant. “It’s a very pay-as-you-go service,” he said. The app’s core constituency, he said, is local frequent flyers.

It is those frequent flyers who have made parking the app’s most-used feature, ahead of flight information. Pre-booked parking lets regular travellers lock in a bay in advance and head straight for the terminal. Registered users can subscribe to individual flights – or entire arrival and departure boards for a specific airport – and receive push notifications on delays, gate changes and boarding calls.

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Asked why Acsa hasn’t adopted number plate-based entry and exit systems of the sort used by services such as Admyt at shopping centres, Govender said the company evaluated the idea in 2023 and decided against it – for security reasons.

“We have, over the years, experienced stolen cars being parked at our parking facilities, and cars being stolen from our facilities,” he said. Airport parking is different from mall parking: the average stay is three to five days, often longer. “When you leave your car overnight, security becomes a concern.”

Acsa is nonetheless looking at licence plate recognition for entry and exit, he said – “but with more encryption and more security controls around the safety of your vehicle”.

The app’s baggage tracking feature draws on Acsa’s integrated baggage systems, which scan bags at various touch points on their journey to the aircraft. By entering a booking reference and name, passengers can see where their bag was last scanned. “We can tell you if your bag has been loaded onto the aircraft or not,” Govender said.

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On queues – arguably the biggest source of passenger frustration – Govender said Acsa currently uses CCTV monitoring with thresholds that alert supervisors to open additional security lanes when queues build up. A “smart security” programme will take this further, using video analytics to monitor check-in counters, security processing points, baggage claim areas and boarding gates, and automatically flag congestion for immediate action. — © 2026 NewsCentral Media