Siemens to supply baggage handling system for the biggest airport in Northwestern China

Siemens Mobility has been awarded an order from the China West Airport Group, one of China’s major airport operators, for a baggage handling system in the new Terminal 3 of Xi’an Xianyang International Airport (XIY). This order is worth about 20 million euros. Siemens is to supply the baggage handling system, including the departure and arrival systems, together with the material flow IT system. The project is due to be completed by early 2012.

Covering an area of over five square kilometers, Xi’an Xianyang International Airport is physically the largest airport in Northwestern China. It is located in Shaanxi Province and currently serves 79 national and international destinations. In 2008, the airport handled nearly 12 million passengers. Terminal 1 was built in 1991, with Terminal 2 following in 2003. Due to ever increasing passenger numbers, the China West Airport Group is now planning to build a new Terminal 3. As of 2020, Xi’an Xianyang International Airport will be able to handle up to 31 million passengers per annum. This operating company is owned by the People’s Government of Shaanxi Province and runs a total of 11 airports in China.

Siemens will equip the new terminal with a complete baggage handling system. This will include a departure and arrival system as well as an Early Bag Store (EBS) with a 1,000 bag capacity. The departure system will comprise four check-in islands with a total of 80 counters and three check-in counters with integrated Hold Baggage Screening (HBS) facilities. Two tilt-tray sorters covering an overall handling distance of one kilometer will ensure 100 percent fail safety of the sorting system. It will feed 27 terminal points and 4 make-up carousels. Nine inclined carousels will be installed in the arrivals hall of the new terminal. A separate transfer line will transport transit passengers' bags reliably and securely straight from their incoming airplanes to their connecting flights. The whole baggage handling system will be controlled by Siemens’ own material flow IT system, which is already operating successfully at a lot of mega-airports around the world.

Siemens is installing an empty tote return (ETR) system in the check-in hall at Xi’an Xianyang International Airport. Bulky and irregularly shaped baggage, like baby carriages or rucksacks, is loaded into trays and transported automatically to the terminal point. A sufficient number of empty trays will always be available in the check-in area. This solution speeds up the loading process for this type of baggage and also avoids possible jams on the conventional belt conveyors.

When the new baggage handling system has been integrated, Xi’an Xianyang International Airport will be able to handle around 31 million passengers every year.

Source: Transportweekly