With 13.5 million passengers passing through every year, Hamburg Airport is the fifth largest in Germany. 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.
As a general contractor, Materna GmbH based in Dortmund is now working with project managers from Hamburg and designers from EVANS Airport Solutions on a modern self bag-drop system which will allow passengers from airlines such as Lufthansa or Easyjet to hand over their luggages themselves quickly and easily, thus saving a great deal of time.
Hamburg Airport carried out an invitation to tender for the installation of the first self bag-drop systems, which was won by IT specialists Materna from Dortmund. The brief from the airport was clear: they wanted a system that fitted in aesthetically with the design of the check-in area, easy to use and met stringent security requirements. The existing conveyor systems were also to be used.
The system, which has been in use since September, uses a CUSS-based software application to provide a simple menu navigation system which considerably accelerates the bag drop process. Once passengers have checked in, they can identify themselves with their boarding card, which takes just a few presses of the touch screen. 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, preventing long queues at the counter.
"This improves our service to our passengers by reducing waiting times, cutting distances and making getting around easier," explains Thomas Lüders, terminal management project leader at Hamburg Airport.
"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."
The scope of this order means another major customer for Materna and another chance to build on its position as a leading provider of integrated passenger services in the German market.
For more information, please contact Materna.