Copenhagen Airport intends to expand its baggage reclaim facilities

The daily flow of 30-35,000 inbound bags requires a well-functioning baggage reclaim area. With the expected growth in the number of new routes and destinations over the next few years, the area needs continued improvement. Copenhagen Airport has therefore taken the first step towards expanding the baggage reclaim facilities with longer baggage conveyors and more space for passengers.

“In recent years, we have seen quite significant growth in passenger numbers; in the first seven months of this year alone, the growth rate was in fact 10.7%. Although far more passengers today travel only with carry-on baggage, the overall volume of checked baggage has also grown somewhat. We have therefore started planning for an expansion of the baggage reclaim area,” said Copenhagen Airport COO Kristian Durhuus.

In the past couple of years, Copenhagen Airport has completed a number of projects that have provided more space and light to enhance the passenger experience. In particular, there are today much fewer short shipped and late arrived bags sent from other airports taking up space in the baggage reclaim – the result of a close collaboration between the airport and the handling companies in charge of baggage handling.

The airport’s passenger satisfaction surveys show that, although the airport is a busier place, the overall level of satisfaction with baggage delivery services has been retained at 86 on a scale to 100. 

The plan is now to extend two of the eight baggage conveyors and concurrently create more space for passengers. That requires significant modifications. The airport will therefore put the contract for consulting services for the project out to EU tender.

“It is a very complex job to build at the very heart of a busy airport without affecting passengers and operations. It requires tight planning and plenty of time. We therefore expect that the planned expansion will be ready for use in a couple of years. Right now, the target is the summer of 2018, but we will know more about that when the project is ready for start-up,” said Kristian Durhuus. (2018 is stated in the tender material)

For the same reason, a price tag cannot yet be put on the project. But the investment will amount to more than DKK 100 million.

The project will provide about 500 sqm of additional space for passengers – a total of 3,150 sqm around the new baggage conveyors 1 and 2. To this should be added extra space for the larger baggage conveyors, technical facilities and new access roads for the baggage staff.

As stated in Copenhagen Airport’s expansion plan, “Expanding CPH” from 2014, further expansion of the baggage delivery facilities is expected in the future. However, before those changes can be made, extensive expansion and modification terminals and technical facilities are required. (2023 is stated in the tender material)

“The project is being developed in a close collaboration with the airlines and the handling companies which handle both inbound and outbound baggage,” said Kristian Durhuus. 

FACTS ABOUT BAGGAGE AT COPENHAGEN AIRPORT

• On peak days, there are more than 60,000 pieces of inbound and outbound baggage at Copenhagen Airport.
• Passengers perception of wait for the bags is an average of 8.6 minutes
• Inbound baggage is picked up at the aircraft by the ground handling companies working for the airline, who transport it to the baggage area. The bags are loaded onto short conveyor belts and transported to the baggage reclaim area, where passengers pick up their bags.
• In 2013, the facilities for outbound baggage were expanded substantially, including more conveyor belts, updated software and new X-ray machines, bringing the capacity to more than 30 million passengers per year.
• A large part of the facilities are redundant ensuring that any operational disruptions will have the least possible effect.
• 26.6 million Passengers travelled through Copenhagen Airport in 2015 to one of the 156 non-stop routes.
• The airport is expanding in an ongoing process in step with the growth in the number of flights and passengers. The goal is to build an airport with capacity for 40 million passengers per year.