Today, Vancouver International Airport / Aéroport international de Vancouver’s (YVR) Innovative Travel Solutions (ITS) and Glidepath, one of the world’s leaders in airport baggage handling, celebrated the installation of the first CHECKITXPRESS self-bag drop unit at YVR. CHECKITXPRESS is the world’s most accessible, efficient and intuitive self-service bag drop on the market, improving speed and ease of use for travellers regardless of age, digital fluency, language or mobility. The collaboration between a Canadian airport and a New Zealand Baggage Handling Solutions company brought together two leaders in airport innovation.
The reveal of CHECKITXPRESS at YVR comes at a time when the airport – recently named Best Airport in North America for the ninth consecutive year – is experiencing unprecedented growth. In March 2018, traffic was up more than nine per cent over the previous year, making it the earliest month of the year, where monthly traffic has exceeded two million passengers.
Glidepath and ITS applied ergonomic design principles by lowering the profile of the conveyor to four inches (10 centimetres) off the floor and creating durable ramps to wheel bags onto the conveyor. This allows CHECKITXPRESS to be accessible from multiple sides, offering a user-friendly bag-drop for all travellers. This industry first ultimately creates a more seamless and enjoyable travel experience for everyone.
CHECKITXPRESS also takes up less space in airport terminals and helps alleviate congestion in the bag drop area. Airports benefit by avoiding costly terminal expansions and saving valuable space for other airport features, amenities and procedures which ultimately helps increase overall competitiveness.
“We strive to deliver an outstanding experience for every traveller that comes through YVR,” says Craig Richmond, President and CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority. “This is an exciting time for us and offering solutions that are more accessible, efficient and intuitive enables us to prioritize speed and ease of movement for everyone, which improves overall traveller satisfaction. We’re excited to be launching CHECKITXPRESS at YVR today as a major step forward in becoming a world class sustainable hub airport.”
Through its innovative camera technology and superior first-time read-rates on baggage, CHECKITXPRESS has achieved some of the quickest customer processing times in the industry, with no agent intervention or assistance required. This results in a cost-effective solution to reducing passenger wait times, while taking pressure off essential airport personnel.
“Glidepath is proud to partner with North America’s best airport on this major milestone for our industry,” says Sir Ken Stevens, Chairman of Glidepath. “The holistic collaboration allowed us to create a truly unique product designed for the airport of the future.”
With the installation of the first CHECKITXPRESS at YVR, ITS and Glidepath will roll out more units in the airport over the course of the year. The team is also planning to expand CHECKITXPRESS to other airports around the world.
“As passenger numbers continue to increase, the need for innovative approaches to solve global processing challenges is profound,” says Chris Gilliland, Director of ITS, Vancouver Airport Authority. “Our partnership with Glidepath, an industry leader with extensive expertise in baggage handling systems, allows our team at ITS to provide a solution that we know will improve the travelling experience at not only YVR, but airports around the world.”
CHECKITXPRESS follows the success of BORDERXPRESS, the world’s first self-service border control solution that accepts all passports and doesn’t require pre-registration or fees. It automates the administrative functions of border control with a two-step process that makes it faster and more efficient. With more than 1,300 kiosks in 39 airport and sea ports, BORDERXPRESS has processed over 160 million passengers globally, and reduced passenger wait times by more than 50 per cent.
By implementing automation and technology, airports open the door for better passenger experiences. CHECKITXPRESS offers a world-class product customizable to meet the needs of all airports, globally, while meeting the highest levels of security.
