More automation at passport control, baggage handing-in and excess fees.

International airline passengers want self-service extended from online booking and kiosk check-in to security and passport control and boarding their flights, an industry report said.

The report, based on surveys taken at seven major airports on five continents, said most travellers also want more automation for handing in baggage and paying excess fees, reporting missing luggage and switching flights.

The surveys found that on-line booking and check-in have well overtaken the traditional methods of visiting an airline office or travel agent and collecting boarding passes from registration desks at the airport.

"People just want more self-service at every step of their journey," said the report.

The report said an average of 71 per cent of passengers surveyed at the seven hubs had booked in online or at automated airport kiosks for their flights, and many more would be ready to do so if they understood the process better.

But checking in on mobile phones was much less common, with only 3 per cent of those questioned on the day of the survey having used the method.

SITA recorded a sharp growth in passengers using airline websites to book hotels -- up from 21 per cent of those surveyed in 2009 to 38 per cent this year -- and to rent cars -- up from 19 to 35 per cent.

There were similar increases in use of carriers' websites for other services like buying travel insurance, bus and train tickets and for ordering duty-free items in advance, SITA said.

The surveys were carried out on a single day among what SITA said was a representative sample of the millions of travelers using the seven airports -- Atlanta, Beijing, Frankfurt, Johannesburg-Tambo, Mumbai, Moscow Domodedovo and Sao Paulo.