Singapore Airlines (SIA) has stopped the use of self-service check-in kiosks at Changi Airport as passengers are increasingly inclining to Internet and mobile check-ins.

The Straits Times reported on Tuesday that self-service check-in kiosks were no longer available for SIA customers at Changi Airport as the airline pulled the plug on the machines due to low usage. The SIA had introduced the check-in kiosks in late 2006.

The local daily cited SIA spokesperson Nicholas Ionides saying that the airline expected the use of Internet and mobile phones for the check-in service to continue to increase in future.

The kiosks used to allow passengers to pick their seats and print their boarding passes. Passengers with luggage would drop them off at fixed counters for loading onto the plane. The whole process used to take just around five minutes as compared with 8-10 minutes for a counter check-in.

Separately, the Changi Airport Group has revealed that around 15,600 items were lost and found at the airport between January and November, up from around 14,000 in the year-ago period. The most common misplaced item was the mobile phone, with nearly 1,700 handsets recovered during the period.