Rising passenger numbers and consequently rising passenger baggage volumes present new challenges to airports around the world with regard to fast and efficient baggage handling.

An important component of the baggage handling system of large airports is the so-called early-morning storage. In this, luggage pieces are placed between the passengers on the evening before check-in, as well as transfer baggage which must later be loaded into a not yet landed connecting flight. The early luggage storage, especially during peak-season, relieves the other baggage handling system at the airport.

There are different types of early storage, such as static systems like high-rack storage and dynamic storage systems that continuously move the luggage in an endless loop of belt conveyors. Both variants are space- and cost-intensive.

A future-oriented alternative can be grid-based systems. They consist of a large number of equally sized cells, similar to a chess board.

Each of the cells is capable of moving cargo into the four cardinal directions and thus bringing it to the adjacent cell. This allows the baggage to be stored very densely and is only moved by a control software if necessary.

Within the scope of the SimFö research project sponsored by the federal state of Hesse, a simulation study is to be carried out, which will investigate the use of a grid-based storage system as a premature accumulator for Frankfurt Airport. Project partners are benjamin Systems GmbH, SimPlan AG, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and Fraport AG.

Fraport AG supplies the necessary application data for the baggage handling system at Frankfurt Airport. SimPlan AG developed the SimFö class library used for the simulation model.

This project (project number HA 405/13-44, HA 422/14-32) was funded within the framework of the Hesse ModellProjekte by LOEWE (Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz, Förderlinie 3: KMU Verbundvorhaben).