BEUMER Group wins contract to extend the baggage handling system at Helsinki Airport’s Terminal 2

BEUMER Group, a leading global supplier of automated baggage handling systems, has been awarded a contract by Finavia for a redundant baggage handling system for the extension to Terminal 2 at Helsinki Airport. The new contract is in addition to BEUMER Group’s previous successful partnership with Helsinki Airport. In 2009 BEUMER Group installed a complete baggage handling and transfer system in Terminal 2 which enabled Helsinki to achieve ultra-fast transit times. The new Terminal 2 extension to the baggage handling system is designed to provide Helsinki Airport with even greater transfer capacity, redundancy and flexibility. The contract comprises a system based on two energy-efficient LS-4000 tilt-tray sorters, a CrisBag® tote-based system with in-tote screening and CrisBelt conveyors, all from BEUMER Group’s Crisplant® product range. The new extension to the baggage handling system has been designed to ensure full redundancy throughout the sorting, make-up and dynamic Early Baggage Store (EBS). The sorting process achieves full redundancy with a seamless link between the new and existing systems and the ability to control both systems from a single control room. For baggage make-up, redundancy is ensured by allowing each pair of sorters to discharge to the same destination chutes. The integration of BEUMER Group's CrisStore® dynamic EBS will allow operators to recall individual items of baggage from any of the 1000 storage positions. This provides increased efficiency by enabling Helsinki to implement future batch-building of baggage in the make-up area. The new EBS will also support the existing lane-based storage which was installed as part of the first CrisBag System. “The extension of Terminal 2 will ensure that Helsinki Airport maintains its strong competitive position, especially in transfer traffic between Europe and Asia,” explains Mr. Henri Hansson, Technical Director of Finavia Corporation. “The passenger volumes between Helsinki and Asia have increased steadily for several years now. One of the main goals of Finavia’s Development Programme 2014 - 2020 is to increase Helsinki Airport's transfer capacity.” The extension will provide the high unload capacity needed to support fast and secure handling of transfer baggage. Transfer baggage which has been deemed as having a ‘safe’ origin will be diverted directly to its destination via the LS-4000E tilt-tray sorters. Transfer baggage where the origin is ‘unsafe’ will be routed via the new CrisBag system to in-tote ECAC 3-compliant screening. To minimise the number of screening machines, the system also merges the oversize baggage with the in-tote screening System. Klaus Schäfer, Managing Director, BEUMER Group adds, “Helsinki Airport has been using BEUMER Group technology since the T2 system was installed in 2009. The technology has proven to meet Helsinki Airport’s high-performance targets. In addition, the operators’ familiarity with this technology means that minimal training will be required for them to operate the new extended system.”