When Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) opened the first phase of its $4.1 billion redevelopment project in mid-September, one of the most critical aspects had been commissioned about six months earlier. It was imperative for the new baggage handling system to be ready to serve passengers on day one, and SLC officials report that it came through in spades.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is turning heads with the architecture and art in Harvey Milk Terminal 1, but the rebuilt facility also includes some important less visible features. The new baggage handling system is one of its hardest-working hidden gems.
An updated logo referencing the Pacific Northwest is a graphic symbol of what's new at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). But its most impressive new offering is a back-of-house system few will ever see.
The ticketing lobby at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) on the island of Honolulu was transformed late last year with fresh finishes and updated check-in kiosks that print a new breed of bag tags. Podium panels now feature custom graphics designed by a Maui tattoo artist. The new self-service kiosks, 54 in all, allow passengers to check themselves in and print their own tags for checked baggage. But you won't find backing paper from the tags strewn about the floor or overflowing from garbage cans.
Anytime an airport outgrows part of its infrastructure, it's challenging to keep operations running smoothly. When that component is the outbound baggage handling system, it can cause a cascade of other operational inefficiencies.
With unprecedented growth of 1 million annual passengers, Miami International Airport (MIA) hit a record 45 million passengers in 2018. Moreover, 2019 appears to be on the same track.
In late 2018, Dallas Love Field (DAL) wrapped up an $8.8 million renovation to ease congestion in its Checked Baggage Resolution Area (CBRA). Looking beyond traditional fixes, the project team deployed Mobile Inspection Tables to speed the area's flow and improve conditions for the TSA personnel who work there.
As a follow-up to its popular transit station bag drop, Denver International Airport (DEN) debuted free luggage drops at two remote parking lots in November. The new sites up the ante with valet-style service. Earlier this year, the parking lot bag drops were handling about 3,500 pieces of luggage per month.
Most terminal connectors are simple structures'enclosed hallways without much additional utility or aesthetic flourish. The five-level connector that opened at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in 2016 is an entirely different story. The new, modern facility that joins Terminal 4 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal includes a checked baggage inspection system, an interline baggage transfer facility, its own TSA passenger checkpoint and a public plaza with outdoor seating.
With 46 self-service bag drops operating in its terminals as of mid-October, Toronto Pearson International (YYZ) is on the fast track to expediting the check-in process for passengers flying out of Canada's biggest and busiest airport.
Since YYZ debuted its first self-service bag drop stations in January 2016, travelers have chosen the automated option more than 3 million times.
Already commonplace in South and Central America, bag-wrapping services are gaining a foothold in the North American marketplace, with a high concentration in Canadian airports.
The new $29.4 million checked baggage facility at Westchester County Airport (HPN), near White Plains, NY, was in the design process for four years, but the delay was worth the wait. The new handling and screening system contains in-line explosives detection and is less costly to operate and maintain than similar systems at peer airports.
