Denver International Airport (DEN) has installed 86 new self-bag drop (SBD) systems as part of Phase 1 of its Great Hall Project.
More than 73 million passengers are expected to travel through DEN in 2022, and the opening of the 86 self-bag-drop systems is designed to provide passengers with a good check-in experience, including the ability to check-in over-sized luggage such as skis and snowboards. The unique hybrid self-bag drops are also equipped with counters and can be operated by the airline staff, when needed.
Materna IPS developed the self-service systems according to the exact requirements of the airport.
This project is the largest and most extensive hybrid SBD installation in the United States. The systems went live with Southwest Airlines early in November 2021 followed by United Airlines a week later. Within the first two weeks, over 35,000 bags had been processed by the newly integrated automatic baggage handling system. The Materna IPS systems were able to cut the average passenger transaction time at DEN by nearly 50% during this period.
In addition to the hardware solution, Southwest Airlines will be using the Materna IPS SBD application to operate the new automated baggage handling process. Materna IPS will also be responsible for hosting the self-bag-drop system within the AWS Cloud where the availability and functionality of the SBD units are constantly monitored.
"Everyone involved is absolutely honoured to be part of this incredible, ground-breaking and innovative project that is revolutionising passenger handling in the US at one of the busiest airports in the world," said Gary McDonald, president of Materna IPS USA.
