With new hi-tech security measures in place, Airports Company SA (ACSA) promises that baggage loss, which has been a major problem in South African airports for years, will be a thing of the past.
According to Tebogo Mekgoe, assistant GM of OR Tambo and 2010 project leader, the new systems have already brought a huge improvement in baggage loss rates. He says local airport baggage handling capacity is now ready for the mass influx of visitors expected for the World Cup. ACSA expects the number of passengers to double over normal peak periods, particularly in the initial stages of the tournament.
One of the most promising baggage handling systems ACSA has implemented is the hold baggage screening system, which can be enhanced by the incorporation of a modern PC-based management information or 'supervisory control and data acquisition' (SCADA) system.
SCADA enables every piece of baggage to be monitored and tracked from the moment it is checked in until it reaches the plane, ACSA said. “Digital tags are attached to the bags and read by overhead scanners that track the baggage and record the times it passes each and every stage till it is loaded on the plane,” it added.
“SCADA systems provide an interactive PC-based operating system offering a powerful and user-friendly interface for the supervisory control of the system. This continuously provides specific information on the baggage handling system performance,” ACSA said.
CCTV cameras have also been installed to help the SCADA system show what happens to the baggage when it is in the airport.
Queue busting
Mekgoe told media that ACSA's top priority is to reduce waiting times in all queues at the airports. He said during normal peak periods (morning, lunch and evening), over 2 000 passengers an hour pass though OR Tambo.
During the World Cup, however, South African airports are expected to be operating at peak levels continuously for 16 to 18 hours a day, especially during the initial stages. Mekgoe stressed that all systems will be up at all times to avoid a bottleneck of passengers.
He said ACSA has also implemented technologies like the 2D barcode self-check-in service. The upgraded central terminal building features a common user self-service system enabling passengers to skip queues, check-in on their own, and print their own boarding passes.
With this technology, customers can print their barcode and use it at the last security check before boarding the plane. At the security check point they simply pass the 2D barcode, which contains the customer information, and board the plane.
Time savers
Another queuing management system enables passengers to SMS their flight number to 36848 for an instant update on the status of flights before arriving at the airport.
To further reduce congestion, ACSA has installed a computerised parking bay detection system that monitors all bays and guides drivers to the nearest available parking spot in the new multi-storey parking garage.
The system also automatically assesses overall parking availability and makes the information available on an Internet platform for any user that needs it at any time, Mekgoe explained. “Airport users can also SMS at any time of the day to get an accurate count of how many parking bays are available and at which parking lot,” he added.
Mekgoe says the various initiatives have already improved on-time flight departures from 78% to 80%. “Security processing has improved from nine minutes to two minutes while the global benchmark is 10 minutes,” he said. Waiting time at immigration has improved from 25 minutes to eight minutes, he added.
According to Mekgoe, the infrastructure upgrades are complete at all 10 SA airports and now ACSA is ready and waiting for the World Cup kick-off.
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