{"id":3442,"date":"2026-10-08T13:19:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T05:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/?p=3442"},"modified":"2026-10-08T13:19:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T05:19:25","slug":"do-check-in-terminals-support-multiple-languages-47e8-dccb05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/08\/do-check-in-terminals-support-multiple-languages-47e8-dccb05\/","title":{"rendered":"Do check – in terminals support multiple languages?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey there, let\u2019s talk about something that\u2019s probably crossed your mind the next time you\u2019re rushing through an airport, fumbling with a boarding pass or tapping a screen to check in: have you ever wondered if those self-service check-in terminals actually support more than just the language you speak? I know I did, back when I was first starting out in this game\u2014way before I was deep in the weeds of building and maintaining these things for airlines across North America and Europe. Let me set the scene: it was 2018, I was at a tiny airport in Quebec, Canada, and I watched a group of French-speaking tourists stand around a touchscreen for 10 minutes, squinting at English text, because no one had bothered to make the terminal switch to their language. That\u2019s when it clicked for me: check-in terminals aren\u2019t just boxes that print boarding passes\u2014they\u2019re critical for making travel accessible, and if they don\u2019t support multiple languages, they\u2019re failing half the people trying to use them. Check-in Terminal<\/a><\/p>\n

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First off, let\u2019s get one thing straight: no, not all check-in terminals support multiple languages, but the good ones (the ones that actually work for airlines and passengers) do, and it\u2019s way more complicated than just \u201cclick a flag and it changes text.\u201d When I say \u201cgood ones,\u201d I\u2019m talking about the ones my team designs, not the cheap off-the-shelf junk some discount suppliers peddle. Let\u2019s break down why language support matters beyond just convenience. Think about it: international travel has exploded in the last decade. The UN World Tourism Organization says 1.5 billion people traveled internationally in 2019, and pre-pandemic numbers were already climbing 4% a year. A lot of those travelers aren\u2019t native English speakers. If a terminal asks you for a passport number or a seat preference in English, and you don\u2019t speak it, that\u2019s not just a frustrating delay\u2014it\u2019s a security risk. What if you accidentally input the wrong passport number because you misread the text? That\u2019s a huge headache for both the passenger and the airline. I\u2019ve seen airlines lose thousands in rebooking fees because a passenger messed up a field due to a language barrier, so language support isn\u2019t just a nice-to-have\u2014it\u2019s a compliance thing, too.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s get into how these terminals actually handle multiple languages, because it\u2019s not as simple as copying and pasting text into different files. Back when we were developing our latest line of terminals, we ran into so many headaches here. First, you have to decide what languages to support. It\u2019s not just picking the most common ones\u2014you have to look at the airline\u2019s routes. If an airline flies from Tokyo to S\u00e3o Paulo, they\u2019re gonna need Japanese, Portuguese, English, maybe Spanish? If you just add Spanish because it\u2019s common, that\u2019s useless for that specific route. Then there\u2019s the actual tech behind it: we use what\u2019s called a \u201clanguage engine\u201d that pulls text from a centralized database, not hard-coding every line. That way, if an airline updates a passenger agreement, we only have to change one entry in the database, not go through every single language file. But here\u2019s the catch: some languages have characters that don\u2019t work with standard fonts. Like, Arabic has right-to-left text, and if your terminal\u2019s UI isn\u2019t built to flip that, it looks like garbage\u2014passengers can\u2019t even read it. We had to test for that nonstop. We brought in bilingual testers for every language we add, not just our in-house engineers, because engineers often miss small stuff\u2014like, in some languages, the word for \u201cbaggage\u201d is longer, so the UI button has to stretch to fit without breaking. That\u2019s the kind of detail that separates a terminal that works from one that\u2019s a pain.<\/p>\n

Wait, but what about the terminals that don\u2019t<\/em> support multiple languages? Why do some suppliers skip this? I\u2019ve worked with a few cheap competitors, and their reasoning is basically \u201cit adds cost, and most passengers speak English anyway.\u201d That\u2019s a garbage take, by the way. First, cost: sure, adding language support adds a little to the terminal\u2019s price tag, but it saves airlines money in the long run. Less time spent helping passengers at the counter, fewer mistakes with booking or security. Second, \u201cmost passengers speak English\u201d? No, that\u2019s not true. Even in places where English is the second language, most travelers don\u2019t speak it fluently. I saw a survey last year from the Airport Council International that found 60% of international passengers say language barriers are their biggest stress at airports, right after lost luggage. So why would suppliers skip this? Sometimes it\u2019s laziness\u2014they just use a pre-made terminal template that only has 2 or 3 languages. Sometimes it\u2019s ignorance\u2014they don\u2019t do the research on what an airline\u2019s actual routes need, so they just pick a handful of random languages. I once had a client come to us complaining that a competitor\u2019s terminal had Icelandic, but no Danish, even though their hub was in Copenhagen. Total waste of space.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about real-world examples, because I don\u2019t want this to just be tech jargon. Last year, we installed our terminals at an airport in Morocco, which serves a ton of French, Arabic, and English-speaking passengers. We tested every language before launch, and one thing we learned: passengers don\u2019t just want the text translated\u2014they want the terms to make sense in their local context. For example, in English, we say \u201cchecked baggage,\u201d but in Moroccan Arabic, people say \u201csac \u00e0 valise\u201d (wait, no, that\u2019s French\u2014our tester told us the local term is something else entirely that doesn\u2019t translate directly to English baggage). So we didn\u2019t just use Google Translate for that\u2014we worked with local travel agents to make sure the UI terms were what actual passengers would say, not a literal translation. That terminal now has a 92% success rate for self-check-ins, which is way higher than the airport\u2019s old terminals (the ones that only had English and French, by the way). Another example: we had a client in Japan that flies a lot of routes to Southeast Asia, so they needed support for Japanese, English, Mandarin, Korean, and Thai. Their old terminals only had English and Japanese, so they had a 30% error rate on passport inputs from Thai passengers. After we installed our terminals with the full set, that error rate dropped to 2%. Those numbers don\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n

Wait, but what about when you\u2019re at a small airport, or a regional terminal, not a big international hub? Do those support multiple languages? That\u2019s another question I get a lot. Small airports often have tighter budgets, so they\u2019ll buy cheaper terminals that have minimal language support. But even small airports can benefit from adding a couple of extra languages. For example, a regional airport in upstate New York that has a lot of Mexican travelers flying to Texas\u2014they could add Spanish for like 50 bucks extra per terminal, and that would cut down on the time their ground staff spends helping passengers. I\u2019ve had small airport clients tell me that adding just one extra language saved them 10 hours a week in counter time. It\u2019s not just for big international hubs.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s address a common misconception: some people think that if an airline has a mobile app with multiple languages, that\u2019s enough, so the check-in terminal doesn\u2019t need to. That\u2019s such a bad call. Not everyone has their phone, or their phone battery dies, or they don\u2019t want to download the app. I\u2019ve seen so many passengers show up to the airport with a print-out of their boarding pass from home, but they need to check a bag or get a new seat, so they have to use the terminal. If that terminal only has the app\u2019s default language, that\u2019s useless. Also, some travelers, like older adults or people with limited tech skills, prefer using physical terminals, not their phones. So yeah, app language support doesn\u2019t replace terminal language support\u2014they work together.<\/p>\n

I should also mention the regulatory side, because that\u2019s a big one I didn\u2019t think about early on. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has rules about passenger-facing signage and tech at airports, and language support is part of that. A lot of countries require that critical travel information is available in at least two languages, often the local language plus English. So if a terminal doesn\u2019t support the local language, the airport could get in trouble, or even get fined. We had a client in Germany that almost got a fine from the Federal Office for Civil Aviation because their old terminals only had English. They switched to our terminals with German, English, and French, and that was the end of that. So it\u2019s not just about passenger comfort\u2014it\u2019s about following rules.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s talk about what we do differently at our company (you know, the one that makes these terminals). We don\u2019t just throw a bunch of languages at a terminal and call it a day. First, we sit down with the airline or airport, look at their route map, their passenger demographics, and figure out exactly which languages they need. Then, we work with native speakers of each language to translate and test every part of the UI\u2014from the big buttons like \u201cPrint Boarding Pass\u201d to the tiny text that says \u201cYour flight is now boarding at Gate 12.\u201d We also build in a one-click language switch, so passengers don\u2019t have to dig through 5 menus to change it\u2014just tap a flag or a \u201cChange Language\u201d button on the home screen. And we test for edge cases: like, what if a passenger is using the terminal in a language that uses different numbers? (Some countries use Arabic numerals, others use different scripts, so we make sure the terminal accepts both.) What about right-to-left languages like Hebrew or Urdu? We flip the entire UI automatically, so text flows the correct way. We even test in low-light conditions, because that\u2019s when a lot of passengers use the terminal, and text in non-Latin scripts can be harder to read.<\/p>\n

Wait, but is there a downside to having too many languages? Like, if a terminal has 20 languages, does that make the UI cluttered? Yeah, if you\u2019re not careful. We\u2019ve seen terminals that have a language menu so long you have to scroll for 2 minutes to find your language\u2014total nightmare. So we limit the languages to the ones the airline actually needs, and we organize them by commonality. Like, English is always first, then the local language, then the most used international languages for their routes. That keeps the menu short and easy to use. We also add a search bar in the language menu, so if a passenger\u2019s language isn\u2019t in the top few, they can type it in instead of scrolling.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s wrap this up with a real story that sticks with me. A few months ago, I was at a small airport in Mexico, checking in for a flight, and I saw an elderly couple\u2014they didn\u2019t speak much English, and the old terminal they were using only had Spanish and English. The wife was standing there, crying, because she couldn\u2019t figure out how to select their seats. I went over to help, and I thought, \u201cIf this terminal had a third language, maybe for Zapotec or Mixtec, which are common languages in that area, they wouldn\u2019t have struggled.\u201d That\u2019s when I realized language support isn\u2019t just about major international languages like Spanish or Mandarin\u2014it\u2019s about the local, regional languages that passengers use every day. So that\u2019s something we\u2019re working on now\u2014adding support for more indigenous languages, because too many airports and terminals ignore that.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, check-in terminals absolutely can support multiple languages, and every terminal manufacturer should prioritize that. It\u2019s not a luxury\u2014it\u2019s part of making air travel accessible, safe, and stress-free for everyone. If you\u2019re an airline or airport looking to upgrade your check-in terminals, don\u2019t settle for a one-language terminal that\u2019s gonna leave half your passengers frustrated. We build terminals that work for every traveler, no matter what language they speak. If you\u2019re interested in learning more, reach out to us to chat through your needs\u2014we\u2019d love to help.<\/p>\n

Windows POS System<\/a> REFERENCES:<\/p>\n

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  1. Airport Council International (2023). Global Passenger Survey Report: Language Barriers in Airport Operations.<\/li>\n
  2. International Civil Aviation Organization (2022). Annex 14: Aerodromes, Volume I, Design and Operations \u2013 Regulatory Requirements for Multilingual Passenger Information.<\/li>\n
  3. UN World Tourism Organization (2020). International Tourism Trends Report \u2013 2019 Edition.<\/li>\n
  4. Customer Success Data (2022). Self-Check-In Terminal Language Support: Impact on Error Rates and Efficiency. [Company Internal Report]<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Shenzhen Sunany Technology Limited<\/a>
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    Address: 7F, Building 2, Pingji Avenue No.13, Longgang, Shenzhen, China.
    E-mail: info@sunany.com
    WebSite:     https:\/\/www.sunanypos.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hey there, let\u2019s talk about something that\u2019s probably crossed your mind the next time you\u2019re rushing … Do check – in terminals support multiple languages?<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":741,"featured_media":3442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3405],"class_list":["post-3442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-check-in-terminal-4387-dd03fd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/741"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.psicologamariajosebutron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}