Modular, innovative Baggage Handling System for Noida International Airport

As India continues its growth on the global stage, the country’s aviation sector grows with it. In 2019 the development rights for a new airport in the Delhi region were awarded to Zurich Airport International and planning was initiated for its first phase consisting of one runway and a terminal that will have the capacity to accommodate twelve million passengers per year upon its planned opening in 2024.

As part of the winning terminal design, an innovative Baggage Handling System was designed capable of meeting several requirements, including:

• A focus on minimizing the BHS footprint in view of efficiency and sustainability
• Full integration with terminal design, including architecture, security, and IT systems
• Anticipation of future developments to create flexibility and reduce the need and cost of terminal reconstruction and impact on operations
• Allow flexibility for implementation of future technological innovation

To answer the needs NACO delivered an innovative BHS solution. Our experience in BHS projects across the globe, expertise in architectural design, and IT Airport Systems ensured an in-depth understanding of the airport’s needs and the ability to develop and implement solutions.

A modular approach – ensuring compliance and adaptability

With a strong focus on minimizing the BHS footprint to ensure efficiency and sustainability for the airport, our team developed the solution to provide a final product that saved 25% of the usual square footage required for a BHS. Leveraging decades of design experience and in-depth systems knowledge we were able to optimize the space usage all while ensuring technical and operational efficiency.

This drive to meet the client’s needs extended throughout the project as we provided support and– incorporated their demands and requirements while using a modular approach that ensured the design had flexibility for the airport’s future growth and modernisation.

In any major development, various suppliers and contractors will be involved in creating and realising designs. In this, our team again went the extra mile to ensure that the design and specifications allowed for sufficient flexibility to accommodate the features of various Baggage Handling System suppliers– leaving room for them to implement their own system components in an optimal way.

Combining expertise with digital technologies to improve the passenger experience

From day one of the project, our team used Building Information Modelling (BIM) 360, a digital design and construction method that brings together all data and information surrounding a project into a digital model.

The process ensured a comprehensive overview of how any proposed BHS would integrate and impact other airport processes – while having the added benefit of improving stakeholder collaboration and alignment.

Using domain expertise our team developed a number of different BHS design scenarios with various design iterations. Through BIM 360 the different design scenarios were proposed – incorporating a clear understanding of CAPEX and OPEX investments for each; allowing the client to make informed decisions based on reliable and verified information.

“In developing Noida International Airport, Zurich Airport International intends to bring a state-of-the-art, environmentally and financially sustainable facility to the Delhi region. Achieving such a goal requires the best innovators and collaborators and NACO have been the ideal partner in, for instance ,developing a Baggage Handling System that meets our current needs and gives us not only the optimal footprint but also the tools and foundations for future growth, sustainable development and the agility to adapt to new technologies.”

- Zurich Airport International

“Our digital methods and technologies were combined with an understanding of airport strategies and what it takes to design and build a greenfield airport. Through this expertise and insight, we were able to provide a BHS solution that meets the needs of one of Asia’s most prestigious greenfield airport developments – Noida International Airport – today and into the future.”

- Henk Brandsma