Zurich International Airport will have one of the most advanced and reliable Baggage Handling Systems in the world once it is fully renovated by Leonardo under a 150 million Euro contract being carried out in consortium with Austrian company motion06. The contract, which is worth approximately 120 million euros to Leonardo, is one of the largest in recent years in the European baggage handling field.
Leonardo is responsible for the overall project management, system design and integration, as well as the supply of cross-belt sorters and IT systems, while motion06 will provide some important equipment. A key factor behind Leonardo’s success is the technological excellence of its MBHS cross-belt sorter. The sorter was recently approved by BNP Associates Inc., a key consultancy to the international air transportation industry.
As part of a wider programme to improve and expand the infrastructure at Zurich Airport, the baggage handling project will involve most of the existing airport terminals as well as a number of buildings which are currently under construction. Design activities will start in the next few weeks, with work on-site due to commence in the second half of 2019 and with final delivery in 2025.
Zurich Airport is Switzerland’s main airport and an important European hub. It has been rated by passengers as Leading in Europe (World Travel Award 2018). In 2017, the airport served over 29 million passengers, an increase of 6.3% over the previous year, and hosted more than 270,000 flight movements. Today the airport serves 185 destinations worldwide.
The project will see most of the existing baggage handling system’s electromechanical and IT components replaced. This will allow it to meet the latest security standards, improve reliability and expand its capacity to be able to handle more than 16,000 bags per hour.
Leonardo’s solution will comprise 8 MBHS cross-belt sorters with 80 induction lines, for a total length of about 4 km, around 7 km of High-Speed Conveyors for inter-terminal connections with a speed of 6m/s and 12 km of traditional conveyors. There will also be a conveyor-based Early Baggage Storage for 2,000 bags. The system features technological innovations including advanced IT systems for management, flow management software for intelligent routing and a unique diagnostic system based on a network of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors with a ‘big-data’ analysis mechanism for predictive maintenance.
This contract further boosts Leonardo’s presence in the international baggage handling systems market, where the Company has equipped airports including Rome Fiumicino, Geneva, Paris Orly, Lyon, Mulhouse and now Zurich in Europe, as well as Kuwait International Airport and others in the Middle East and Asia.
