Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is working with baggage handling companies in order to test two new technologies that aim to improve the work of employees in the baggage handling hall.
One of the options is with a robot developed for Schiphol that lifts suitcases instead of a baggage worker engaged in the same work, SchnegenVisaInfo.com reports.
According to the statement of the Schiphol, a new lifting aid is also being tested that permits suitcases to be pushed onto the baggage belt.
Director of Asset Management at Royal Schiphol Group, Sybren Hahn, said that work in the baggage handling hall is crucial in allowing all travellers to go on their journeys.
“We want everyone at Schiphol to have a good workplace and therefore want to use technology to improve working conditions. In the coming period, we will test at least five more lifting aids and several fully automated solutions, some of which are new in aviation,” Hahn pointed out.
Employees of Aviapartner company are working with a robot which is developed for Schiphol in particular. Schiphol said that because it works with the robot, the airport expects the robot to be eligible to lift about 80 per cent of all baggage, while the ultimate goal is 90 per cent of all baggage.
“The Danish Cobot Lift robot was originally used in other sectors, such as bakeries. Over the past six months, the robot has been further developed for lifting suitcases and for use at Schiphol,” the statement reads.
At the same time, the report shows that in the baggage handling hall, KLM employees are testing a lifting aid that permits suitcases to be pushed onto the baggage belt.
The airport is testing this solution and will do so with several other alternatives in the following days so that the most suitable options can be introduced where necessary. For a period of one year, every work location will have a functioning lifting aid that can be used by employees.
Schiphol’s airport is among the busiest airports in the Netherlands. In the May Day holiday that started on April 22, about 66,000 travellers were scheduled to depart from the airport every day.
Through a statement, issued on April 12, the airport said that the number of departing passengers would surpass 70,000.
At the same time, on May Day this year, the number of passengers flying from this airport was expected to be 14 per cent higher compared to the figures of the previous year.
The new technologies planned to be introduced in this airport would therefore significantly ease the travel process.