Automatic Baggage Drop with a Twist
A new automatic self-service bag drop system is currently being installed at Aalborg Airport; optimizing the effectiveness of baggage handling and significantly enhancing passenger flow and service.
Aalborg Airport is in a constant development – and with an increasing number of passengers and more routes – it is important to continuously evolve and employ optimization strategies to accommodate new demands. A new phase is currently in process, as a self-service bag drop system is being installed. Consequently, passengers will be able to print out their boarding passes and baggage tags at the self-service machines and simple drop off their baggage without any employee interactions. It will be a fast pace process, accommodating a larger number of passengers and thereby increasing passenger flow.
The main purpose of the self-service bag drop system is to create a faster and easier travel experience for passengers, where the potentiality for an overall advancement of quality of service will increase. Another important consequence of the self-service installation is the optimization of airport infrastructure, as fewer staffed check-in counters are necessary. It is our aim to be as cost-efficient as possible, thereby making sure we are able to compete efficiently. It is our goal to continuously optimize our cost-structure so airlines, operating from Aalborg Airport will experience a competitive incentive structure – thus heightening the yield potential for our partners.
A Twist You Say?
Self-service bag drop systems can be found at airports around the world, where one of the main and most innovative manufactures and system integrators is DSG Systems. The company primarily operates in Scandinavia, which, together with their particular expertise in airport logistics systems, made a solid foundation for a partnership for our project.
DSG System’s original model of the self-service system, currently installed at various airports, includes a classic baggage tag scanner to be used manually by passengers. It was our vision to implement a completely automatic self-service system at Aalborg Airport. Consequently, DSG Systems came up with an innovative approach to remove the classic tag scanner from the final product – this is done using the RFID chip in all our baggage tags.
In connection with the vast modernization and expansion of Aalborg Airport in 2013, design company, Marcus Pedersen, created a unique and modern interior design for the furniture throughout the terminal and gates. With the expansion, Aalborg Airport set the goal to maintain a unique identity with modern consistency. Therefore, cooperation with Marcus Pedersen in the innovative design process of the automatic baggage drop was a natural development to accommodate Aalborg Airport’s unique identity.
The Future Being Made
CEO of Marcus Pedersen, Niels Marcus Pedersen, has this to say about the process, “The development of the design is based on thorough user studies of passengers and staff in the check-in area at Aalborg Airport. The goal was to examine which design variables would accommodate user experience and needs in the best possible manner. Moreover, we aimed for a solution in close correlation with both the aviation business and the airport’s interior design in order to achieve a strong, consistent and streamlined identity at Aalborg Airport”.
In collaboration between all three partners, the solution was a modernized version of the original model from DSG Systems, where the tag scanners are removed. The design is simplistic and the materials used are visually similar to the ones used in the interior design of the airport, as to ensure the modern consistency and maintain the valued identity of Aalborg Airport.
A prominent factor for the completely automatic system to be a reality; was to exclusively rely on an advanced baggage handling system technology, being RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). This system was implemented at Aalborg Airport back in 2010, as to achieve improved baggage handling capacity. The RFID implementation uniquely includes stored sortation information within the bag labels, which made Aalborg Airport the first airport in the world with this technologically advanced baggage handling system.
Yearly, massive expenses goes to locating and retrieving lost baggage, but if airports around the world had the RFID system, baggage could be found, rapidly – often before making it on board the wrong flight – and costs could be significantly minimized. The implementation was our vision for Aalborg Airport; to improve quality of service, passenger experience and optimize baggage handling.
Read more about the RFID system implementation
With the efficient RFID system, self-service functionality and a modernized stylish design, Aalborg Airport depicts a future and vision for automatic self-service bag drop systems – enhancing baggage handling capacity to a greater extent.
The installation process is scheduled to be concluded December 31 2014, where three bag drop systems will stand operational. Until then, updates will follow to cover the process at Aalborg Airport.