Schiphol can be a fine airport. It can also be awful. Baggage and security check issues over recent years have really made a big dent in the airport’s reputation.
The airport is making good efforts to improve these areas.
The security check is now a more pleasant experience. Passengers leave their stuff in their hand baggage and can carry liquids. But the body scanners are far too sensitive – I’ve been stopped because I had a euro note in a pocket. And whenever I fly it seems like about half the handbags are selected for a further check.
A big improvement is that the security staff have had a collective character transplant and now are friendly and helpful.
Schiphol also introduced pre-booked security check time slots. I’ve tried it and found it easy to book a slot but no one at security knew about the facility.
More about Schiphol
New real time information about baggage at arrivals
Schiphol has now introduced another useful feature.
Passengers arriving at Schiphol can now see where their baggage is and when it will arrive on the baggage belt. They can see this on all 150 screens in baggage halls, via the Schiphol app and the website.
They can see whether the bags are still on the plane, on their way to the baggage basement or already on the baggage belt.
The information though is about the flight number, not the individual bags.
Sander van Tienhoven, Product Owner Passenger Information:
“We regularly conduct surveys among passengers to find out what they need on their journey to or from the airport. One need was very clear: knowing when their baggage will arrive on the belt. Thanks to our new AI-driven capability, we can now provide this information in a clear way.”
Self-learning datamodel
Schiphol can provide this data thanks to predictive algorithms. The airport has developed a self-learning model that makes use of thirteen different data sources to predict baggage waiting times.
One of these sources is the Deep Turnaround technology the airport uses to gain insight into the aircraft turnaround process. As soon as a plane lands and then parks at a gate, work begins to get it ready for departure. This includes cleaning, catering, baggage handling and refuelling.
Having insight into this process means the airport can see whether the baggage is still in the plane or on its way to the baggage hall and therefore accurately predict how long it will take for baggage to arrive on the belt.
