Together with Qantas, ICM Airport Technics has developed a new self-service bag drop system. Eighty of these systems are already in operation at six Australian airports. For the first time in Europe, the system has been introduced at inter airport in Munich.

With the automatic self-service bag drop, the passenger can check-in their baggage without having to queue at a check-in desk.

This is how it works:

• A touch-screen monitor welcomes the traveller
• The system scans the boarding pass
• Boarding details are checked and validated
• The passenger places his bag on the weighscale conveyor, using a tub if necessary
• The bag is weighed and dimensions are checked
• Excess payments are calculated
• If excess weight is detected, passenger can opt to pay excess or to re-pack the bag
• Heavy tag is printed, if required
• The Bag is processed, the bag tag is activated and the bag is sent to baggage handling system

In comparison to other bag drop systems, the Qantas ICM bag drop system uses a two-step method. Passengers check in via kiosk or online. This first step consists of time consuming processes e.g. choice of seat, printing of boarding card and baggage tag. The
second step, the baggage check-in time is reduced as resulted by 15 to 45 seconds, depending on the passenger’s experience. As these processes are separate, less bag drop systems are necessary and the existing check-ins are less frequently used.

The system operates with both paper and RFID boarding cards, together with barcode and RFID baggage tags. The advantages compared to conventional check-in desks include fewer check-in staff and passenger processing is much faster.