The full replacement of Guernsey Airport’s Hold Baggage System (HBS) is nearing completion despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Extensive equipment and site acceptance testing of the HBS began in the first quarter of 2022 and the project’s completion is expected to be in late April 2022.
The HBS processes and screens passenger hold baggage from the check-in desk before the items are loaded onto aircraft.
Guernsey Ports’ Head of Passenger Operations and Aviation Security, Steve Langlois said: “The project team have managed many challenges through the duration of phase 1 of this complex project. At the same time, Guernsey Airport has had to ensure any disruption to passenger and baggage operations has been kept to a minimum.
“I would like to thank passengers, our business partners and our staff for their patience and understanding whilst phase 1 was underway. This multi-million pound investment in airport infrastructure is now providing state of the art scanning equipment and meets the latest aviation security standards.”
The new system has built-in resilience, since both scanners are now identical, and the airport has the capability to automatically divert baggage between both scanners to reduce disruption for passengers.
Mr Langlois added: “Early indications suggest the new scanning technology and the conveyor systems are performing well. The scanning technology is very different compared to the equipment it replaces. The technology provides scanning quality on a par with CT medical screening, giving security staff vastly more enhanced imaging capability.”
A new project is due to commence after the Easter holidays to upgrade equipment in the passenger security area prior to departures. Once the project is completed, its anticipated there will be improvements in the passenger journey experience including a reduction in passenger processing and queue times.
