Plans to install a new £59m new baggage handling system – capable of speeding Stansted airport passengers’ luggage from check-in to loading in six minutes – have passed a major milestone.
The first phase of the scheme - which involved constructing new chutes and track - has been completed and the airport is now two years into its 'Transformation Project'.
The tracks run in and around the current web of conveyor belts so that the airport can stay operational during the upgrade.
MORE - What are the top food items surrendered at Stansted airport security?The work is designed to coincide with the improvements to the airport's check-in areas, and the installation of new hi-tech 'Standard 3' baggage scanners which are required under new European Union regulations.
When the automated system is fully installed in two years' time, special baggage carts will speed luggage around the network at 18km an hour.
It will take about six minutes for each bag to travel from check-in to being ready to load onto an aircraft.
John Farrow, change director for the Stansted Transformation Project, said: "We're absolutely delighted to reach the first major milestone in the hold baggage system project.
"While passengers simply hand their baggage in at check-in for their journey, below the terminal is a highly automated and complex system that seamlessly and safely ensures the right bag reaches the right flight."
Over the next couple of years, the whole landscape of the baggage hall at Stansted is set to change as it remodels the layout with the new fast-track system, which will span the full length of the terminal.
"The new system will future-proof the airport for years to come giving us flexibility to allow us to accommodate new airlines and prepare us for the next phase of our terminal redevelopment work," said Mr Farrow.
The new system has been designed and is being installed by airport baggage system specialists BEUMER Group.
BEUMER Group managing director Klaus Schäfer said: "The BEUMER Group is delighted to be working with London Stansted and installing our state-of-the-art Autover independent carrier system (ICS) at the airport. When the project is complete the Autover system will transform the airport's baggage operation, improving performance and efficiency for both passengers and airlines at Stansted Airport."
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