Airport unveils new greener, faster baggage system
Reduced wait times for baggage, a quicker check-in and fewer lost bags — three goals the Calgary International Airport hopes to meet when its new baggage system for domestic flights debuts next week.
Unlike the old conveyor belts, which transported luggage to baggage claim or connecting flights, the new system uses nearly 3,000 individually numbered bins to track each bag as it moves to its next destination.
Moving nearly twice the baggage of the old system at 8,000 bags an hour, the new automated system is more than seven kilometres long and is designed to cut down on lost or misplaced bags.
Ivonne Gamboa, director of terminal construction with the Calgary Airport Authority, said the new baggage system will improve the airport’s customer experience by reducing wait times at luggage claim, speeding up the check-in process, and cutting down on lost bags.
“When you check in, your bag is matched and paired with a tote that is like a tray with an ID and a chip that we can track along all the baggage system,” Gamboa said.
“So it gives us the opportunity to provide our airline partners with reliability ... and efficiency they need to process the bags of their guests.”
The airport’s international terminal opened in 2016 with the new automated track already up and running.
But Gamboa said the domestic side’s older conveyors weren’t compatible with the new system, a problem that has finally been addressed thanks to a “consolidated, state-of-the-art system across the terminals.”
Calgary is the first Canadian city to adopt the new system designed by Danish company Beumer Group.
The company has installed similar units at airports in Munich, Copenhagen and Los Angeles.
The first phase of the domestic baggage system will go live on Tuesday, starting with Air Canada’s newly renovated domestic check-in area.
WestJet will be the next airline in the domestic terminal to get the new tote system in 2019.
Gamboa said the new track is 60 per cent more energy efficient and only turns on when bags come through, unlike the old conveyors which ran 24 hours a day.
A CT scanner examines the contents of each bag as it moves along the track, monitored both automatically and manually. Any bags flagged with suspicious-looking items get sent for additional screening before they continue down the line.
The new system is one of 16 projects in the airport’s connectivity program.
The $150-million baggage system is three years in the making, with crews working night shifts to complete the track without disrupting service.
Gamboa said Calgary International Airport is on track to move 17 million passengers this year.