News

Finavia installs self-service bag drop machines at Helsinki Airport

May 21, 2014

Finnish airport operator Finavia is to install 10 self-service bag drop machines for its customers in the departure hall of Helsinki Airport’s Terminal 2 by the end of May, Travel Daily News International reports. Finnair worked with Finnish airport operator Finavia on the project.

Finavia has piloted self-service bag drop machines at Helsinki Airport since 2012. The company said it will introduce two self-service bag drop units at Finland’s Oulu airport this autumn, and will also deploy the technology at Turku airport in 2015.

"We want to utilize technology in making the travel process smoother, and we continuously develop security checks, for example," Helsinki Airport's director Ville Haapasaari said in a statement. "Helsinki Airport has one of the most extensive border control machine lines in Europe, with a total of 30 machines."

Travel Daily News said that the self-service bag drop machines allow customers to tag and drop their checked baggage without assistance, provided that they have checked in online or at a self-service check-in kiosk. The baggage tag is printed at the self-service check-in kiosk. The bag is then placed on the belt at the self-service bag drop unit, with the passenger scanning the bag tag using a handheld scanner. The bag is then ready to go.

“Customers are accustomed to handling many stages of their journey independently,” Johanna Bagge, Finnair’s director of customer service at Helsinki Airport, said in an announcement. “Self-service check-in is already used by over 80 percent of Finnair’s customers. Dropping off checked baggage at a self-service bag drop unit reduces the customer’s queueing time at the airport and speeds up the start of the journey.”

Bagge said that customers who need help will still receive personal service from Finnair baggage drop counters and departure hall personnel. Normal bag drop counters, where tags are printed for customers, will remain in use alongside the self-service bag drop units, she said.