Heathrow Airport has taken a leap forward in its long-term plans for transforming the UK’s global hub. A new deal with BEUMER Group will see the construction of a state-of-the-art replacement baggage system in Terminal 2 – The Queen’s Terminal. The project marks a pivotal stepping stone to unlock future developments at Heathrow and will allow the airport to switch off the 30-year-old Terminal 1 baggage system that currently supports Terminal 2.
Once complete, the system will be capable of handling 31,000 bags a day with improved resilience. New technology with greater data analytics means the upgrade will deliver the predictable and reliable service customers need.
Importantly, the project allows the next phase of demolishing Terminal 1 – which closed to passengers in 2015 – as a new vision for the ‘heart of Heathrow’ takes a step closer to reality. The airport’s long-term plan will completely transform the Central Terminal Area with new buildings and infrastructure between the airport’s runways.
Once the full removal of Terminal 1 is completed, Terminal 2 will ultimately be extended to its full size, opening capacity to serve more passengers with world-class facilities within the airport’s existing footprint.
While airlines and their ground handlers are responsible for the majority of a bag’s journey to the final destination, Heathrow’s systems swiftly sort and scan up to 140,000 departing bags a day as they move between check-in and the airfield. Maintaining high baggage performance is just one way Heathrow can maintain its position as a leading global hub airport. In turn, this gives UK businesses and travellers direct access to an unrivalled 239 destinations in 89 countries.
“We know our customers want great and reliable journeys and that begins with having world-class facilities. Installing a new dedicated baggage system in Terminal 2 is the next stage in our plans to breathe new life into the beating heart of Heathrow. Just like home renovations, we’re improving Heathrow room by room as we continue to build the airport of tomorrow, without interrupting the passengers of today,” said Heathrow’s Chief Solutions Officer, Helen Elsby.
“It is with great pleasure that we have received confirmation that Heathrow has chosen BEUMER Group as the strategic partner for the design and installation of the new baggage handling system in Terminal 2. We've collaborated closely with Heathrow, in the true spirit of partnership, throughout these early stages of the process, and it's a huge honour to be selected as a partner for the T2 project. We've put all our technological visions into the design of the new state-of-the-art baggage handling system, which will be based on our CrisBag® technology combined with our data analytics solution,” said BEUMER Group Airport Director, Ronald Willems.
BEUMER Group has been appointed to deliver the six-year project, which will, in addition to passenger benefits, build on Heathrow’s continued commitment to give airline and ground handler partners a safe and efficient work environment, including improvements to support manual handling roles
