British Airways has partnered with AirPortr to develop a series of fast bag-drop areas for its flagship Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, UK, before travelers head to the departures concourse.
Launching on July 19, the first drop-off point is planned for the Heathrow Express train platforms, enabling customers to drop-off luggage during peak travel times before traveling through security bag-free. After drop-off, AirPortr’s team will seal, secure, and check in bags for passengers’ flights.
Through the AirPortr service it is also possible for customers to book luggage collections from their home. This allows travelers to check in their bags prior to traveling, and once collected, AirPortr ensures that the bags are sealed and tracked throughout the delivery process to the airport. Upon choosing this option, passengers can track their luggage online, from their door, all the way until the point it is loaded onto the plane. A digital bag tag receipt will also be sent to users of this service.
“Ahead of July 19, we have been busy investigating and trialling ways to ensure that we can offer our customers the smoothest journey through the airport possible,” commented Tom Stevens, director of customer experience, British Airways.
“We believe this contactless initiative with AirPortr allows our customers to avoid baggage check-in queues and move through the airport without the hassle of carrying luggage, as well as offering the reassurance that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safe delivery of their bags from doorstep to destination.”
In addition to AirPortr’s luggage service, the airline also offers a twilight baggage drop service the night before travel from Heathrow Terminal 5, enabling customers to drop their bags at the airport terminal between 4pm and 9pm the day before flying.
As British Airways seeks to streamline its customer experience, the company is trialling a range of digital travel apps to ensure customers meet the entry requirements of different countries and destinations before they arrive at the airport for departure.
BA customers can use VeriFLY for all flights to the USA, Canada, France, and all inbound flights. The airline also announced recently that it has become involved with IATA’s Travel Pass; the digital travel solution will be available for use on British Airways flights from Heathrow to Geneva and Zurich.
Furthermore, it is now possible for British Airways’s customers traveling to Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, to upload negative Covid-19 test results and related documentation to the company’s website for verification before travel.
“We’re proud to be able to play our part in helping British Airways and its customers with the restart of international travel this summer,” said Randel Darby, CEO and founder, AirPortr Technologies.
“Seamless, contact-free journeys through the airport are in everyone’s best interests and removing bags from the equation makes this possible for many more people. As the specialist in this space, we’re excited to be working with British Airways once again to lead development of innovative new baggage solutions, for the benefit of customers traveling in a post-pandemic world.”
