As an avid traveller and frequent flyer for work, I spend a lot of time at airports. It’s probably my favourite way of travelling, the feeling of being up in the air, almost floating on clouds simply amazes me. I often travel for business with Aviation Spares and Repairs, a ground support equipment supplier based in Romsey, Hampshire. It was by working with them that my love for aviation grew bigger and bigger.
If you’ve ever travelled by plane, how many times have you wondered what happens “behind-the-scenes” at an airport? What happens to your luggage when you drop it off at the check-in desk? Even if you’ve never thought of it, this question might have now sparked your interest.
It is very easy to take our suitcases for granted, but there is a lot of work that goes on at the airport to make sure our suitcases join us on our holidays. As stated on the London Gatwick airport website, a total of 113,000 metric tonnes of cargo was shipped in 2018. While you’re at an airport reading your favourite book or catching up on some sleep – your luggage is actually going on a little adventure of its own. If you are interested to know what happens to your luggage behind closed doors, keep on reading.
It all starts when you drop your luggage at the check-in desk to a member of staff, who attaches a barcode tag to your luggage and places it on the conveyor belt. This tag has all your flight information, including your destination, any stopover cities and a barcode that contains a ten-digit number. Your suitcase will then enter the baggage handling system, which will read the barcode number on the tag and will ensure your luggage is routed in the right direction.
A video from the Manchester Evening News shows exclusive footage of what happens inside the baggage handling system in Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport. After going through several rows of different conveyor belts, of what could be described as a lengthy roller coaster (in this case, equivalent to the size of eight football pitches), suitcases pass through x-ray machines to ensure they don’t contain any illegal objects and end up in a collection area.
In this collection area, a baggage handler will scan again the tag and will load it onto a baggage cart. In case your flight has more than 60 minutes to go, your luggage will be taken to a “suitcase hotel”, otherwise, the baggage cart will take your luggage to the airplane you’ll be boarding, so that airport operators can place your luggage into an aircraft belt loader. This vehicle has a mechanical conveyor belt which helps the process of loading and unloading luggage to and from the aircraft.
Once you’ve safely landed into your destination, your luggage will then be taken from the airplane to another baggage handling system, which will then take your luggage onto a large circular carousel where you’d be expecting your luggage to appear. Then, grab your luggage and enjoy your own adventure.
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Author Bio: This article was written by Hannah Tolson, a part-time freelance blogger. She loves all things travel and aviation related. You can find her strolling around airports and having the time of her life at air shows around the world.
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