What exactly is it that greets our bags as they disappear through the check-in flaps into the twilight zone beyond? The first thing that strikes me is the absence of people and the relative calm. There is just a constant hum, like a marine engine.
I’m standing directly under the central bank of check-in counters in the busiest terminal of Europe’s busiest airport: Terminal 5 at Heathrow.
I’ve come to Britain’s flagship airport to see the magnitude of the challenges facing an airline industry frantically trying to keep up with the renewed demand for flying – and the chaos that ensues. Luggage is just one of many.
Bandwork: Robert Hardman in the baggage storage area at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 – the busiest terminal of Europe’s busiest airport
No sooner has each bag removed the rubber flaps in the departure lounge than it falls down and joins more than 20 miles of conveyor belt – in Terminal 5 alone.
The computers already know what goes where. All bags have a digital tag, just like the paper tag on the handle.
Each goes to the ‘tipper zone’, which leaves each suitcase flat to optimize exposure to one of 23 huge X-ray machines.
Here everything is scanned by machine and also by remote teams of security experts. Even a toy water gun is enough to divert a bag for a closer look.
Baggage under the central bank of check-in counters. “The computers know what goes where. All bags have a digital tag, just like the paper tag around the handle,” says Robert
Above is the early baggage storage for passengers who checked in their baggage hours before their flight
Everything then goes to the ‘sorter’ – a fast rotating loop. Each bag whizzes along until it reaches its assigned chute and falls into a metal bin on wheels called a ULD (unit loader).
At this point, for the first time, a human hand intervenes and places the heaviest items on the bottom. When the ULDs are full, this staff then tows them away to be placed on the plane fully loaded.
A shortage of ground personnel like this has caused major problems in recent weeks. Many simply did not return to this work after the pandemic. They are not employed by the airport, but by airlines or outside contractors, and many of them are still struggling to fill the gaps.
Further on I find a baggage tunnel that connects to other terminals. It’s like a roller coaster ride for suitcases, with each new suitcase flying up a ramp at 20 mph and then being spat out into the system.
Upstairs, the bags move through the ‘tip zone’, leaving each case flat to optimize exposure to one of the 23 massive X-ray machines
Terminal 5’s baggage area houses over 20 miles of conveyor belt
In the luggage room. Robert notes that baggage is ‘just one of many’ challenges facing an airline industry frantically trying to keep up with renewed demand for flying
Stefano Villaverde, Heathrow’s head of baggage operations, points out that, pre-pandemic, 99 percent of bags left Heathrow with the right-hand passenger. Currently, that figure is 96 percent. However, almost all of them are on their way, checked in elsewhere and on their way to another destination.
I ask him for some expert travel tips. Any advice on locating a missing bag? “A bright pink suitcase with a unicorn on the side is easier to find than a black travel bag,” he says, adding that his own vacation bag is a blue hard suitcase with red handles.
Compared to all the wizardry spent on outbound bags, the inbound system is amazingly simple. Convoys of trolleys are being dragged from the plane to the back of the baggage claim, where I find a man with a suction hose lifting each bag onto the belt that spins down the hall.
Above is the baggage area, where baggage is sorted for delivery to outbound aircraft
“Compared to all the wizardry spent on outbound bags, the inbound system is amazingly simple,” says Robert. Above are bags arriving at the airport
Problems arise when there is a sudden plethora of latecomers, leaving at some point not enough people to tow the carts or hold the hose.
Back in the terminal, I notice that in the span of just a few hours, long queues have formed – especially those for security, which loop back to overflow areas.
There are two things that keep the peace. One is a team of Heathrow employees in pink shirts who guard the line and explain the waiting time (half an hour).
The other is the team of ‘queue-combers’. They walk past the lines yelling that anyone who has to fly within the hour must identify themselves for priority treatment.
Here on the shop floor, I join Heathrow’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye on his morning rounds. He has spent much of the week on the air, explaining that when things go wrong at airports, it has to do with multiple factors. “This is actually too complex an ecosystem,” he says.
Robert (right) joins Heathrow’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye (left) on his morning rounds
The staff handles flights according to pre-planned schedules. There’s only so much room to maneuver if dozens of planes suddenly show up too late – or if an eco-protest on the M25 stops ground handlers and cabin crew from arriving on time.
‘Only 50 to 60 percent of the flights arrive here on time and that causes enormous problems,’ says Mr Holland-Kaye.
One reason for this is a bottleneck in the clouds. There is a shortage of safe airspace and Ukraine, Belarus and Russia are now off limits. The pandemic has also prompted many European air traffic controllers to opt for early retirement before sufficient replacements had been trained (the internship lasts approximately three years).
Robert at the baggage claim on arrival. Stefano Villaverde, Heathrow’s chief of baggage operations, gives him tips to track down a missing bag. “A bright pink suitcase with a unicorn on the side is easier to find than a black travel bag,” he says
“Airports perform exactly the same job as plumbers. When things flow normally, you don’t notice. However, just one small blockage can quickly back up,” says Robert. Above are queues at Heathrow Terminal 5
Another problem is too punctual passengers. Recent travel horror stories mean that many people now arrive at airports not only three hours early, but sometimes six hours in advance, wreaking havoc.
It’s worth remembering that Britain is actually doing quite well. Holland-Kaye says its daily maximum number of passengers of 100,000 (less than the usual summer average of 104,000) is much higher than that of other giant European hubs.
Amsterdam’s mighty Schiphol Airport currently handles only 65,000 outgoing passengers per day.
While Gatwick has limited flights (from a pre-pandemic average of 950 per day in August to 850), it beats out most European rivals.
Ultimately, all journeys depend on the flow rates. Airports perform exactly the same job as plumbers. When things flow normally, you don’t notice. However, just one minor blockage can quickly start creating a backup. And if not sorted quickly, the result can be very expensive – and very messy. As we have discovered.