Copenhagen Airports: Partnership to improve arriving baggage service

Copenhagen Airport has partnered with the airport handling companies to shorten the process time for arriving baggage. The goal is to achieve faster and more stable baggage delivery, so that passengers will be more satisfied. 

Copenhagen Airport has joined forces with the three handling companies operating at Copenhagen Airport - SAS Ground Handling (SGH), Novia and Copenhagen Flight Services (CFS), whose services include handling of baggage at the airport - in a project to improve arriving baggage service. The goal is to improve passenger experience through shorter waiting times.

The project started shortly before Easter and will run for nine weeks only, so it will be both short and efficient. The project will review and analyse the infrastructure and working procedures of both the airport and the handlers to identify potential areas of improvement in the short, medium and long term. The aim is for passengers to see the first improvements as early as this year's busy summer season.

"As part of our effort to strengthen our position as the key transport hub of Northern Europe, it's also important that we supply better service on the arriving baggage side so that the service is faster and more uniform in quality. This will give them a really good impression of us before they leave the airport," said Kristian Durhuus, COO for Copenhagen Airport.
Better for passengers
Copenhagen Airport and the handling companies already today have service level agreements that include specific targets for baggage delivery: e.g. that the first bag must be on the arriving baggage conveyor belt not later than 25 minutes after flight arrival and the last bag 35 minutes after flight arrival.

Copenhagen Airport plans to use the project to collect data that will be used to provide a better basis for revising those targets with clearly defined goals that benefit both passengers, handlers, airlines and the airport.

"We've already seen a slight improvement in passenger satisfaction with baggage delivery lately, after we and the handlers changed a few things and we improved our infrastructure. But the idea is to use this project to significantly improve our arriving baggage services over the next few years," said Kristian Durhuus.
Short, medium and long term
The project includes 14-15 different analyses of the airport's infrastructure, handlers' equipment, baggage flows from aircraft to passengers, passenger behaviour and comparisons with other European hub airports.

The airport and the handling companies will together take a closer look at the current baggage process to identify potential improvements that can be implemented in the short, medium and long term.

1. Improvements in the short term are things which the airport and the handlers can implement that will affect this year's summer traffic.
2. Improvements in the medium term are things that require a year or so of preparation before they can be implemented.
3. Improvements in the long term will be based on decisions that are so wide-ranging and extensive that they have to be included in CPH's master plan, which runs 10-15 years into the future.