Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks

Many of the routine tasks done by travel agents are already being handled by computers or AI tools. For example, official job descriptions list making itineraries, checking schedules, and booking tickets as core duties ^[1]. Today, online booking systems and apps can do much of this.

In fact, a study of travel planning systems finds that AI-driven tools (even ones using ChatGPT or machine learning) can automatically build personalized trip itineraries and suggest routes ^[2]. Airlines and booking websites use computerized reservation systems to make or confirm tickets, reducing the need for a human clerk. Likewise, many passenger questions (about schedules or baggage rules) can be answered by FAQ systems or chatbots.

Airports have also adopted self-service check‐in kiosks and biometric gates, so tasks like printing tickets and tagging luggage no longer all require a person ^[3]. Even some cleaning tasks are automated: modern airports use autonomous cleaning robots to keep terminals and counters sanitary ^[4]. By contrast, hands-on jobs like personally helping a passenger in a wheelchair to board a plane still rely on humans, since robots can’t handle those unpredictable, caring tasks well.

In short, most scheduling, booking, and simple answering tasks are increasingly automated, while the more personal assistance tasks remain human-led ^{[3] [4]}.

Whether travel companies quickly roll out more AI depends on costs and customer attitudes. Big travel firms and airlines are already trying out AI assistants and computerized booking tools to cut costs and speed up service. For example, a report noted that added self-service kiosks and automation can process passengers faster and more cheaply than staffing all counters ^[3].

At the same time, AI tools are commercially available (many companies use chatbots and recommendation engines today), so the technology exists. The main barriers are integration cost and trust: building AI systems that work with complex airline databases can be expensive, and many travelers still prefer to talk to a person about tricky plans. On the other hand, automated tools can ease remaining staff workloads.

In one example, an airport said introducing cleaning robots “allowed us to provide sanitation without reduction in labor force,” letting custodians focus on their normal duties ^[4]. Experts also caution that although AI will change jobs, fears of all travel jobs vanishing may be overblown – the full impact will only be clear once air travel returns to normal ^[3].