No search and handling costs for lost or delayed baggage – Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport benefits from the use of the ALIS400 Hybrid code reading system from SICK. The combination of barcode and RFID technology helps achieve read rates of 100%.
Improved reliability in sorting and conveying transfer baggage increases satisfaction among passengers, airlines and the airport operator.
Baggage handling without ‘stopover‘
At 13 million passengers a year, Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport is the largest airport in Finland and the fourth largest in northern Europe. Due to its geographical location, it serves many airlines as a hub for long-haul flights between Europe, North America and Asia. In 2009, state-owned airport operator Finavia Corporation extended the terminal facilities.
One focus was on smooth handling of transfer baggage that possibly may not be transferred in time or at all because of unreadable luggage labels, which means it must take an unscheduled stopover. In order to evaluate the benefit of the hybrid technology, which is a combination of barcode and RFID, for the optimisation of transfer processes, Finavia decided to test the identification of transfer baggage from Hong Kong, which is tagged there exclusively with barcode RFID labels. The goal was reliable handling of the transfer baggage between the terminals and the new baggage logistics centre.
No read figures in a nosedive
Finavia opted in favour of the ALIS400 Hybrid – the code-reading system with integrated barcode and RFID-reading technology. Developed completely by SICK, it was integrated by the Danish Crisplant Company. Within the tunnel, a homogeneous and consistent reading field is generated, shielded against any cross-interference form outside. It allows reliable identification and localisation of the RFID tag on the piece of luggage.
The barcode portal, the second component of the system, detects the luggage label in any position and orientation. When a piece of baggage from Hong Kong passes the tunnel, both the barcode and the RFID tags are being read. In the baggage handling facility in Helsinki, the ALIS400 Hybrid makes possible a 100% read rate for the transfer baggage from Hong Kong, with the number of non-identifiable baggage in a nosedive.
For more information, please contact SICK.