Hamburg is the latest airport to introduce self-tagging and self bag drop.
Germany’s fifth largest airport started the service in September 2014 in cooperation with Dortmund based Materna.
The new facilities have been installed in Terminal 1 and can currently be used by passengers for Lufthansa and easyJet. Other airlines will be included over time.
Hamburg Airport carried out an invitation to tender for the installation of the first self bag drop systems, which was won by Materna in February 2014.
The airport wanted a system which fitted in aesthetically with the design of the check-in area, was easy to use and met stringent security requirements. The existing conveyor systems were also to be used.
How it works
- Once passengers have checked in, they identify themselves with their boarding card
- They place their cases on the conveyor belt where they are weighed
- If everything is in order, the self-adhesive luggage label is automatically printed out and the passenger attaches it to their luggage
The whole process can be completed in just a few minutes. Frequent flyers who are used to self-service machines at the airport take less than a minute to check in their own luggage.
Thomas Lüders Terminal Management Project Leader at Hamburg Airport:
“This improves our service to our passengers by reducing waiting times, cutting distances and making getting around easier.
“The success of the Self Bag Drop Project is based on trusted cooperation with Materna. We developed and implemented a vision together. The focus was on short communications channels, fast response times and permanent on-site support from employees of the Dortmund-based system provider. We are now optimistic about approaching the second phase expansion of the self bag drop service.”
Hamburg Airport (HAM) has 13.5 million passengers passing through every year. In order to meet the current and future challenges of passenger processing, Hamburg is relying on increasing capacity in the terminals and optimising use of the check-in area.
N.B. Image credit: materna.de
