Deerns uses rapid simulation to optimise airport baggage handling capacity, space, power, maintenance and future automation for airport terminals.
Airports need baggage handling systems (BHS) that can accommodate growing passenger volumes, fit within constrained buildings and adapt as operational requirements evolve. Yet many baggage handling systems across Europe are reaching the end of their original design life, having been built around operating models, security requirements and passenger volumes, that no longer reflect today’s airport environment.
For many operators, modernising these systems is therefore not simply a matter of replacing old equipment. Passenger numbers have increased, security technology has changed and available space is often already occupied by other infrastructure. Before extending, upgrading or replacing a baggage handling systems, airports need to understand what their existing infrastructure can support, where the constraints lie and whether a proposed solution is technically and operationally realistic. This is where early-stage simulation and modelling can provide valuable insight.
Turning early requirements into rapid decisions
Using simulation, Deerns creates functional layouts for greenfield and existing airports that enable rapid decision making on the concept design of infrastructure. Starting with the required capacity and operational objectives, we test whether the BHS can fit within the available area and whether supporting electrical and mechanical infrastructure can accommodate it.
4 critical insights into baggage handling system feasibility and requirements:
- System capacity and baggage flows
- Spatial requirements and functional layout
- Indicative power demand
- High-level cost consequences
This helps operators decide whether to proceed, reconsider the allocated area or revise the capacity requirement before detailed design. It also allows conventional conveyors, tray-based systems and other technologies to be compared without committing the client to a supplier.
As an independent advisor, Deerns would then translate the preferred concept into technical drawings, reports and tender documentation; supports supplier engagement; and helps assess proposals against the airport’s requirements.
Simulating the complete baggage operation
Capacity is only one part of an effective BHS.
" The position of make-up areas, their relationship with the apron and the movement of baggage tractors and carts all affect baggage handling turnaround.
A technically adequate conveyor layout can still create major challenges and delays in baggage turnaround s if vehicles cannot enter, turn or leave efficiently.
Deerns therefore considers vehicle movements, apron access and buffers. In some layouts, a separate buffer is required; in others, the conveyor route itself can provide temporary storage. Rapid simulation makes it possible to compare these options while the design remains flexible.
Simulation does not replace detailed design; it makes detailed design better informed. 3 essential benefits of simulation in early-stage planning:
- identifying risks earlier
- comparing alternatives faster
- supporting investment decisions with a clearer understanding of capacity, space, infrastructure and operational performance
Designing for maintenance and resilience
A baggage system must remain accessible throughout its operating life. Conveyors contain many moving parts, motors and rollers, while screening equipment is costly and operationally critical. If these components cannot be reached quickly, a routine failure can become a wider disruption.
This means that maintenance requirements are embedded in the functional design. The tool determines sufficient access space around critical equipment and helps verify that motors, rollers and scanners can be repaired, removed or replaced efficiently.
4 key maintenance requirement checks include:
- Access to motors, rollers and conveyor sections
- Clearance for component replacement
- Maintainable routes to screening equipment
- Enough space to remove and replace critical components
" By addressing maintainability early, Deerns helps airports avoid designs that appear efficient on plan but are difficult to operate.
Rapid adaptation at Salerno Airport
Deerns used this approach while developing a baggage handling layout for the new passenger terminal at Salerno Airport on the Amalfi Coast. Although the airport was new, the available space was constrained. The design also had to respond to feedback from the architect and changes in the client’s spatial requirements.
Since the functional layout could be revised quickly, the team was able to test various configurations without resorting to a lengthy manual process. The simulation supported capacity analysis, spatial coordination and a conventional conveyor solution suited to the airport.
This adaptability is particularly valuable during early project stages, when requirements are developing and space may be reassigned between functions.
Future-proof baggage handling systems
Many baggage handling systems (BHS) in Europe are reaching their ‘sell-by’ date, with ageing infrastructure and increasing operational demands creating a strong case for modernisation and automation.
Automation can help airports respond to two key challenges. Passengers expect earlier baggage acceptance, better tracking and more reliable information about each bag’s journey. At the same time, many airports face shortages of baggage handlers and growing concern about the physical demands of repetitive manual work.
Robotic assistance can reduce repetitive lifting, while cameras and AI-enabled recognition can support automated bag identification, routing and loading. Deerns assesses how automation and robotic equipment could integrate with existing or planned BHS infrastructure, helping airports understand the implications before committing to major investment.
Crucially, automation does not have to mean designing for a fixed scenario about the future. Modular solutions can allow functionality to be added as operational requirements evolve, giving airports greater flexibility to respond to changing passenger volumes, technologies and baggage flows.
By combining rapid simulation with independent engineering advice, Deerns helps airports make better-informed decisions earlier, reducing project risk and creating baggage handling systems that are practical to build, operate and adapt over time.
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