Dublin Airport Enhances Operations with More Self-Service Options

Rockwell Collins recently deployed two major self-service bag drop zones at Dublin Airport's Terminals One and Two.

The multimillion dollar project streamlines and simplifies the baggage check-in process.

“Touchless bag drop means that passengers can drop their bag at a self-service machine that requires only minor user interaction, eliminating many of the steps they have to deal with today,” said Liz Walshe, project manager at daa. “This solution from Rockwell Collins and Pulse.aero is providing passengers with the services they need to make their travel as easy and seamless as possible. Beyond providing a better check-in experience, the solution is reducing costs by enabling us to use our existing infrastructure to check in more passengers.”

Terminal One, home to Ryanair, now has 15 self-service bag drop units. The units use a one-step approach, allowing passengers who have checked in online to take their bags directly to a bag drop unit where they can print and tag their luggage. The bag is then dispatched straight into the baggage system.

In Terminal Two, the airport now has 32 self-service kiosks and 12 bag drop units in the Aer Lingus check-in area. The bag drop units in Terminal Two are the world’s first touchless bag drops, employing a two-step approach. Passengers first use their reference number to print a boarding card and/or weigh their bag and print a tag. Once tagged, the luggage is taken to the self-service kiosk and the bag is automatically dispatched.

“Different airlines often have different passenger processing models, which means that there isn’t a ‘one-size fits all’ solution for baggage handling,” said Chris Forrest, vice president of Airport Systems for Rockwell Collins. “This, combined with the requirement to work with the existing infrastructure and systems at the Dublin Airport, enabled us to create the right approach for each terminal—and it’s having a real impact on daa’s passengers’ travel experience.”

The self-service solutions will be expanded to additional airlines in the near future and more features, such as baggage payment, will be added over the summer.

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