When you fly from Changi Airport, checking in your bags is a simple matter of dropping them off at your check-in counter. But did you know that while you then head off to enjoy Changi’s retail and F&B offerings or visit all the attractions available at each terminal, your bags go on an intricate journey through and under the airport? Changi Journeys takes a journey deep into Changi’s baggage handling system to find out more about how the airport processes your bags. Also get an insider’s look at how Changi Airport Group (CAG) is intensifying automation and using state-of-the-art technology to elevate operational efficiency of its baggage handling system.

Entering the baggage handling system

When a bag is checked in at any of Changi’s four terminals or Jewel Changi Airport’s (Jewel) Early Check-In Lounge, it’s tagged, either by a ground handling agent at a check-in counter or by the passenger themself at a self-check-in kiosk, with a bar code indicating the flight it’s bound for, its destination airport, and a unique identification number. The bag then enters the terminal’s Baggage Handling System (BHS), a complex network of conveyor belts, sensors and sorters that is largely invisible to passengers.

Within each terminal’s BHS, bags first have their tags scanned by automated readers, and are then sent for security screening via conveyor belt, after which they enter the main sortation flow. The majority of bags, which are meant for flights that are departing within three hours, are sorted directly to their respective departure “racetracks” (similar to luggage claim belts in arrival halls) at the apron, where they are picked up by ground handlers and brought to the respective aircraft.

An overview of the Inter-Terminal Transfer Baggage System in Changi Airport and Jewel

To facilitate the movement of baggage belonging to transfer passengers whose incoming and outgoing flights are located at different terminals, Changi Airport has more than 13 km of a subterranean Inter-Terminal Transfer Baggage System (ITTBS) connecting Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Able to handle more than 2,700 bags an hour, the ITTBS whisks baggage between the three terminals at speeds of up to 7 metres per second. Over at Terminal 4, a manual Baggage Transfer Service brings bags to and from the terminal.

Bags in the ITTBS travel at speeds of up to 7 metres per second

What about early bags?

Early check-in has been rising in popularity among travellers who value having additional time to enjoy Changi’s and Jewel’s wealth of attractions, with more than 33,000 passengers using Jewel’s Early Check-In Lounge in October 2023. The BHSes have also been seeing a corresponding increase in baggage meant for flights that are departing more than three hours later. When a BHS scans the tag of such a bag, it automatically routes that bag to the Early Baggage Storage (EBS) facility of the appropriate terminal.

Enhancing T2’s EBS

The upgraded EBS facility at T2 features more than 1.2km of conveyor belts that move bags in and out of storage.

As part of the recently completed upgrading works at Terminal 2, a new T2 EBS facility was constructed, covering a floor area of 5,120 square metres, or about as big as four Olympic-sized swimming pools. Featuring more than 1.2km of conveyor belts, the facility can store up to 2,400 bags at any one time. The EBS facility was also upgraded to a fully automated one, with automated cranes placing bags in storage slots, and when a flight ‘opens’ three hours before its departure, the cranes automatically retrieve that flight’s early bags, and send them on their way to the flight’s departure racetrack. 

A set of automated cranes moves sorted bags into and out of storage in the T2 Early Baggage Storage facility.

Koh Ming Sue, Executive Vice President, Engineering & Development, CAG said, “The T2 EBS facility is a clear example of how Changi Airport is tapping technology to make our processes more efficient. Previously, with a semi-automated facility, bags still had to be manually moved into and removed from storage by workers after they’d been sorted. With the upgrade to full automation, there is no longer a need for this human intervention – passengers’ early bags are put into, and taken out of storage automatically by the system. Previously, there were 8 workers per shift who were tasked with the moving of bags; with the upgrade, they can now be re-deployed to other tasks. As other innovations in airport baggage management systems emerge, we will study them to see if they can similarly be harnessed to improve the way we work. Such continuous enhancement enables us to handle greater volumes of baggage, especially as air travel continues to recover.”

The previous semi-automated Early Baggage Storage facility still required workers to move bags to and from storage.

On the importance of baggage management

Most of Changi Airport’s baggage handling systems may not be readily visible to travellers, but they are vital components of the airport’s infrastructure, with Changi handling 33 million bags in 2019. So the next time you see your suitcase disappear down the conveyor belt at the check-in counter, do take a moment to appreciate the intricately designed system that it’s being inducted into.