A DEDICATED team at one of the UK’s busiest airports plays a crucial role in getting your checked in luggage to its end destination safely with AI technology helping colleagues/staff monitor the operation and quickly identify potential issues.
Following on from last year’s exclusive Stansted Airport series, the Gazette has gone behind the scenes again, meeting more of the people who help keep the airport moving.
Not only did the Gazette spend time with the air traffic control team at NATS Stansted, but we also met some of members of baggage team.
In 2021, Stansted upgraded the baggage system underneath the terminal in a £70million revamp which involved replacing its old conveyor belts and chutes with 2.4kilmometres of track and 180 automated carts.
Remarkably, the team can get through around 20,000 pieces of baggage a day.
But before it gets to that point, it goes through the new baggage drop off system called shoreline which is meant to be an easier and more streamlined experience for passengers.
Explaining how it works once your bags are checked in, Kevin Hall, the lead system baggage operator at the airport, said: “Once someone is checked in, the bag is introduced onto the conveyor system.
“From this point on, it’s tracked throughout the whole system, so each time it passes a sensor, the system is expecting a bag to pass through.
“It means at any point in time, if a bag missed its flight for any reason, we can track the path of that bag, we can even potentially track a bag before it missed a flight.
“But if it has missed a flight, we can always trace it back to where it was lost.”
Airport staff stress that bags missing flights is rare, but the system allows teams to quickly locate and reunite bags with passengers should an issue occur.
There are several layers of security involved.
There are security measures in place before bags enter the main baggage system, helping staff keep the operation safe and secure.
On the AI system, Mr Hall added: “The technology helps us monitor the operation and can alert colleagues if it detects something that needs attention.
"It gives us much greater visibility of what's happening across the system and supports our teams in maintaining a safe and efficient operation.
“If someone was to make their way through here, it would shut down all of the conveyors in this area.
“We can then send security to check the area and make sure it is nice and safe.”
Once the baggage is downstairs it continues on its journey, and staff are present throughout the facility to manage any issues and to ensure everything is running smoothly.
The autocars will then take the bags through one of four large x-ray machines for scanning.
If further checks are required, trained staff can inspect bags more closely before they continue their journey.
Nigel Stone has worked for the airport in the baggage area for the last 23 years, and he normally works in the baggage control room which is the centre of the operations.
Mr Stone said: “I would advise passengers to never put straps around their cases as they fall off and create lots of faults.
“Since I was a young child, I’ve always loved airports, and I used to love watching the aircraft and seeing how things operate.
“The best part of the job is the people you work with, they are what make the job satisfying, but it’s also the variety.
“Once people check in their bag that is the last they see of it, they don’t know all about the operation and what goes into getting that bag from where they are to here.”
Once the bags have gone through the system, the bags are taken on carts by handling agents employed by the airliners.
To find out more about Stansted, visit stanstedairport.com.
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