United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Amadeus touchless bag drop tech trialled at Heathrow Airport
Amadeus is piloting touchless bag drop tech at London Heathrow Airport.
The touchless bag drop service taps proximity sensors to allow passengers to check-in their luggage without touching the screens on the kiosks.
The new contactless experience has initially been installed on six of Heathrow’s Auto Bag Drop (ABD) units provided by ICM Airport Technics, an Amadeus company.
The Amadeus contactless solution has an infra-red proximity sensor installed along the top edge of the bag drop screen, which detects the passenger’s finger as far as 3cm from the screen surface.
This allows passengers to interact with the bag drop unit as usual but without the need to physically touch the screen.
Heathrow’s Process Improvement Director, Mark Burgess said: "We’re delighted to be working with Amadeus to trial these touchless self-service bag drop units. This is just one of many new measures that we’re implementing across our terminals, as part of Heathrow’s Fly Safe programme."
ICM Airport Technics, which became part of Amadeus in 2019, has supplied more than 270 Auto Bag Drop (ABD) units to Heathrow since 2016 as the sole partner for self-service bag drop, which are shared by 30 airlines.
Over five million bags were dropped by passengers using this solution during 2019, with the self-service process taking less than 60 seconds on average.
Richard Dinkelmann, CEO, ICM Airport Technics, an Amadeus company, said: "We’re working closely with our airport and airline partners to deliver solutions that help them adapt passenger services to the new environment."
Amadeus and Heathrow have been trialling several contactless technologies for self-service over recent months, including ‘screen mirroring’, which allows the passenger to operate an ABD unit with their own mobile device..
Related News Stories:
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
Robert Terrell: A Journey Through BB King’s Influence
Rochelle Hicks: Celebrating Mississippi’s Musical Legacy
Exploring Jacksonville with Katie Mitura: The Flip Side of Florida
Dozens fall ill in P&O Cruises ship outbreak
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Boy falls to death on cruise ship
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Storm Lilian travel chaos as bank holiday flights cancelled