Vanderlande has joined forces with Avinor to trial innovative solutions to automate the last mile of the baggage handling process at Oslo Gardermoen Airport in Norway.
Two solutions will be trialled at the Norwegian hub, BAGLOAD for integrated robot loading and FLEET Batch for the transportation of unit load devices (ULDs), with funding of around NOK 15 million (€1.3 million) provided to Avinor by Innovation Norway.
The airport operator has a long history of partnership with Vanderlande, having first collaborated on Oslo Gardermoen Airport’s first baggage handling system (BHS) in 1994. The aim of this latest project is to automate a part of the BHS that has remained unaltered for more than 50 years. The unloading of baggage from the BHS on to containers bound for the aircraft is currently a labour intensive and costly practice. According to Avinor, around 50% of costs related to baggage handling are incurred through these last-mile activities.
Vanderlande’s two products will be subject to a three-month trial at Oslo Airport starting in September 2024, with assessments undertaken in a liver operational environment.
Ole Petter Storstad, Director of Technology and Infrastructure at Avinor said the main objective of the innovation partnership (IP) is to increase efficiency of baggage handling while removing repetitive heavy lifting duties currently undertaken by baggage handlers. “We’re excited to work with Vanderlande, whose current level of technology provides us with confidence that a viable solution can be developed and rolled out across the entire industry,” he said.
Meanwhile, Andrew Manship, Vanderlande’s Executive Vice President Airport and Parcel Solutions and Board Member added, “The collaboration will supercharge our development work, and a successful outcome will benefit the airlines, handling companies and all individuals currently engaged in difficult manual work.”
