İGA Havalimanı İşletmesi (IGA), the company responsible for operating Istanbul New Airport in Turkey, has announced the completion of its 42km (26 miles) baggage handling system (BHS), capable of processing up to 30,000 bags per hour. The BHS took 24 months to install and, according to IGA, is one of the fastest baggage systems in the world.
Yusuf Akçayoğlu (above), CEO of IGA Airport Construction, said, “The baggage system is critical for Istanbul New Airport, which will be serving 200 million passengers per year along with flight services to more than 350 destinations, when all phases are completed. It will ensure an uninterrupted passenger experience by bringing down the waiting period for the baggage items to a minimum level. To establish the system, we used 3,300 tons of steel and laid 650 cables, each measuring 1km (0.6 miles) in length. Furthermore, the terminal building is equipped with 13 check-in islands and 468 points where passengers can check-in their luggage.
“We have the storage capacity for 10,800 baggage items, which means that passengers who arrive at the airport early will be able to hand in their luggage whenever they wish. The system also includes 28 (10 domestic, 18 international) incoming passenger baggage receiver carousels. Eight of these carousels have the capacity to handle wide-body aircraft (F and E series). We also have 48 baggage sorting carousels, which will help to allocate outgoing baggage for flights.”
Istanbul New Airport is due to open in 2018 and will have an immediate capacity of 90 million passengers per year.