Siemens Logistics has won a contract to expand the baggage handling system in Terminal 2 of South Korea’s Incheon Airport, which it is hoped will help the airport operator, Incheon International Airport Corporation, increase capacity. In addition to supplying the baggage conveying and sorting technology, Siemens is responsible for the technical project management, layout design and software solutions. The project scope also includes integrating the new equipment into the existing system.
“We are proud that Incheon International Airport Corporation chose us for this strategically important project,” said Michael Reichle, CEO of Siemens Logistics. “With our high-performance VarioTray technology and intelligent software solutions, we are significantly supporting the customer to become even more competitive.”
Siemens Logistics will supply its high-throughput VarioTray conveyor technology to transport baggage in Terminal 2. For the final sorting of the bags, the company will implement several of its VarioSort TTS tilt-tray sorters with a total length of more than 3km. In addition, the capacity of the airport’s existing VarioStore early bag store, which has been in operation since 2018, will be significantly expanded to accommodate a total of 6,000 storage spaces.
Siemens says that fully integrated automation will form the core of the system, with functionalities including the computer-based monitoring and control of all technical processes with SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition). The software will control existing and new system components across the whole of Terminal 2. To ensure a high level of fail-safety, Siemens will implement hot backup controls in conjunction with a virtualized server architecture for maximum system availability.
The company notes that its customer will also benefit from the smart Baggage Vision System software, which combines optical character recognition (OCR) with barcode reading to optimize the identification of every individual bag – even if the baggage label has been partially destroyed. This solution lowers the number of delayed or misdirected baggage items.
The extensive hardware and IT measures are to be implemented over the next four years. Siemens will execute the project without any interruption to ongoing airport operations.