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British Airways to use robot baggage handlers at Gatwick

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British Airways to use robot baggage handlers at Gatwick

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Old Mar 17, 2024, 11:06 am
  #1  
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British Airways to use robot baggage handlers at Gatwick

A story that appeared in the Telegraph today. Copying directly from the report:

“British Airways and its parent company are to use self-driving robot baggage carriers at a UK airport for the first time as the aviation industry grapples with staff shortages.”

it seems it’s a Coventry based business, with the units having been under test in Singapore. They’ve also been tested at LHR, it reports, but this is a full-time permanent deployment.

There is a paywall (that’ll you JayHatch Snr for the gift of a +1 sub!) but here for those able to access…
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/03/17/british-airways-to-use-robot-baggage-handlers-at-gatwick/
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Old Mar 17, 2024, 11:36 am
  #2  
 
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This is the company for those without Telegraph access: - Aurrigo Autonomous Aviation Technology
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Old Mar 17, 2024, 11:43 am
  #3  
 
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Given BA's IT reputation, I think we all know what to expect...
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Old Mar 17, 2024, 1:05 pm
  #4  
 
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I hope it's called Tweeky!

Diddle-iddle-eee
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Old Mar 17, 2024, 1:19 pm
  #5  
 
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There is no staff shortage.

There is no money shortage.

There is a pay shortage.

There is also a respect shortage.
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Old Mar 17, 2024, 1:23 pm
  #6  
 
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You will still need to have humans to load the bags onto the aircraft it will not cut back 90% of labour cost as you will still need people to look after the baggage especially if it goes missing.Relying on a machine cannot replace humans especially when those machines do not work. There are not staff shortages
prof likes this.
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Old Mar 17, 2024, 4:17 pm
  #7  
 
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From the makers of the tech in the story:

​​​​​“Everyone tends to blame the airline, because that’s who you’re flying with, but it’s not actually the airlines handling the bags in a lot of cases.“​​
Of course for BA at Gatwick it is the airlines fault, or GGS’s fault, who are owned by BA.

I think the luggage system at Gatwick South is pretty basic, which presumably helps as there will be little integration with any other systems.
lcylocal is offline  
Old Mar 17, 2024, 7:30 pm
  #8  
 
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I love how IAG, a Spanish company, decides to test this out at Gatwick. They wouldn't dare do it at Madrid.
Sealink, SxMan, MatJarosz and 3 others like this.
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Old Mar 17, 2024, 10:02 pm
  #9  
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Originally Posted by JessicaB
I love how IAG, a Spanish company, decides to test this out at Gatwick. They wouldn't dare do it at Madrid.
It does make sense that the trial is at an airport that is less busy.
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Old Mar 17, 2024, 11:30 pm
  #10  
 
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Originally Posted by Tobias-UK
It does make sense that the trial is at an airport that is less busy.
Gatwick hardly falls into this category – why did they not choose Glasgow, Edinburgh or even Manchester?
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Old Mar 17, 2024, 11:50 pm
  #11  
 
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Here is what they look like. I had a vision of Daleks roaming the airport shouting 'Exterminate' at everything that moved...

BA or bust and PETER01 like this.
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Old Mar 17, 2024, 11:53 pm
  #12  
 
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Originally Posted by SxMan
Gatwick hardly falls into this category – why did they not choose Glasgow, Edinburgh or even Manchester?
Presumably because baggage handling at LGW is provided by an IAG-owned company, not outsourced to Swissport/Menzies/whoever like it is elsewhere.
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Old Mar 18, 2024, 12:16 am
  #13  
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Originally Posted by SxMan
Gatwick hardly falls into this category – why did they not choose Glasgow, Edinburgh or even Manchester?
It does when compared to MAD, which was the airport mentioned in the post I responded to. I suspect there is far too little IAG traffic at MAN etc for an effective trial.
BA or bust and the810 like this.
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Old Mar 18, 2024, 2:54 am
  #14  
 
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Originally Posted by JHodgson0801
You will still need to have humans to load the bags onto the aircraft it will not cut back 90% of labour cost as you will still need people to look after the baggage especially if it goes missing.Relying on a machine cannot replace humans especially when those machines do not work. There are not staff shortages
To pick up on your last two sentences: so, machines "cannot replace humans", as an engineer I beg to differ! Then, regarding staff shortages, I suggest you search out the many articles linked to ONS data that highlight the changes in the labour market post-pandemic! This includes a headline figure of a reduction in the workforce of 545,000.
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Old Mar 18, 2024, 2:55 am
  #15  
 
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Interesting, I guess they'll drive slower. So maybe a longer wait for the bags?
email2markt is offline  


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