B'luru airport launches fully automated self bag drop system

City's Kempegowda International Airport said on Thursday it has installed 16 fully-automated self-bag drop machines which are expected to significantly reduce check-in queues and pace up the baggage transaction time.

The facility would initially be available to Air Asia India and SpiceJet passengers but going forward it would be expanded to more airlines, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) said in a release.

"The introduction of the new self-bag-drop facility will ease the process of air travel. Our goal is to use technology to improve the passenger experience and to make airport operations more efficient," said Javed Malik, chief operating officer, BIAL.

Besides, as many as 32 brand new self check-in kiosks will be installed to print boarding pass and baggage tags, which will help expediting the check-in process further, the company said.

The facility employs a two-step approach. A passenger must first print a boarding pass and an eezee-tag (bag tag) at a self check-in kiosk. Once tagged, the passenger should go to the bag drop machine, scan the boarding pass to initiate the bag drop process. The bag will be measured, weighed, scanned and automatically fed into the baggage handling system, BIAL said.

In case of excess baggage, the passenger will be directed to a hybrid counter to complete the check-in and payment, the company said, adding that multiple payment gateway options for excess baggage will be integrated into the machines at a later stage as part of the technology enhancement.