Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) in Bengaluru is to become the first airport in India to introduce a fully automated bag-drop system.
Implemented by Materna, the new Air.Go solution will enable passengers to complete the process of checking their bags in, in just 45 seconds.
Operated by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), Kempegowda will deploy 16 fully-automated self-bag-drop kiosks, which initially be available for passengers travelling with Air Asia and Spice Jet.
“Continuous improvement of the passenger experience at BLR has always been a priority for us and the introduction of the new self-bag-drop is a testimony to that,” said Javed Malik, COO, BIAL. He added: “We’re excited to be the first airport in the country to offer our passengers and airlines a unique technology that will ease the process of air travel. Our goal is to use technology to improve the passenger experience and make airport operations more efficient,” he added.
Earlier this year, Kempegowda Airport celebrated another first when it was announced that in 2019 it would be the first airport in India to have an end-to-end solution for paperless air travel having partnered with Vision-Box to deploy face-recognition technology to identify passengers throughout the airport.
Using a two-step approach, passengers will first print a boarding pass and a baggage tag at a self-service check-in kiosk. They will then proceed to the bag drop terminal where their bag will be measured, weighed, scanned and automatically fed into the baggage handling system.
Commenting on the partnership, Shibu Mathews, head of Materna in India said:
India’s airports are being confronted with growth of up to 25% right now and have expansion plans to match. However, above all, they have to make the best possible use of their existing infrastructure as extensions and new buildings take too long.
Acknowledging Kempedgowda as one of the most modern and attractive airports in India, he added: “We look forward immensely to improving the passenger experience and to mastering the challenges in this exciting growth market with established solutions together with our customers.”
