Auckland Airport And Baggage Screening

Auckland Airport And Baggage Screening

Auckland International Airport Limited (AIAL) today responded to the Board of Airline Representatives (BARNZ) media advice about performance of the new hold stow baggage screening system during its commissioning process.

The new baggage system has been installed to incorporate screening so that all bags on board an international aircraft have been security checked. This was done in accordance with new international requirements which needed to be complied with by 1 January this year. At the same time, the system's capacity to handle flights was almost doubled.

Airport chief executive, Don Huse, says "The commissioning process for such a complex project can be expected to present some challenges, particularly as airline, ground handling and airport staff adopt new techniques and procedures. In a live environment such as Auckland Airport, the technology 'hits the ground running'. In our view, the commissioning process has actually gone very well, thanks to the sterling efforts of all involved.

"Any disruption to services is unacceptable. However, the scale of the issue at Auckland needs to be put into perspective. Over more than a month of the commissioning process to date, a few hundred bags have missed their flights, most of which were on one flight last weekend. This, from a baggage system that handles anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 bags daily."

A number of parties worked together to design, implement and commission the new system. The parties include airlines, BARNZ, ground handlers, technology providers, commissioning engineers, security services and the airport itself.

"As a result of this team effort, performance standards have been well maintained throughout the commissioning process. When a problem has occurred, its cause has been identified and rectified properly. This group will continue to work closely together to ensure that such problems do not occur again as the commissioning process progresses and before the system is officially handed over to the airport."

ENDS

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