Melbourne Airport's $500m baggage system tracks bags with 99.5% accuracy
The new $500 million system uses cameras and RFID trackers to follow every bag through a 3.5km conveyor network.
Melbourne Airport has switched on its new baggage tracking system, which scans bags when passengers drop them off and matches each one to an RFID-tagged tote. The luggage moves through a 3.5km network of conveyor belts, reaching a 99.5 per cent accuracy rate.
For the rare bags that go astray, the system tracks them to a sorting room where operators can reunite them quickly. The upgrade doubles the terminal's capacity to 4000 bags per hour, one every second during peak times.
Passenger numbers at Melbourne are expected to grow from 38 million yearly to 75 million within two decades. From next year, travellers will be able to drop bags up to 18 hours before departure, and luggage will go into automated storage until flight time.
- $500 million
- System cost
- 3.5 kilometres
- Conveyor network
- 99.5 per cent
- Tracking accuracy
- 4000 bags per hour
- Peak processing
Why it mattersFewer lost bags and faster handling means less travel stress and fewer missed flights due to baggage delays.
AustraliaPassengers flying out of Melbourne will experience faster baggage processing and fewer lost luggage claims.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 2 h ago
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