Employees in Schiphol’s baggage halls can now use a lifting aid wherever they are working. Schiphol is a Partner of the FTE Baggage Innovation Working Group (BIWG) and a member of the pioneering BOOST initiative, which spun out of the BIWG and aims to eliminate physical strain and improve working conditions for baggage workers by rapidly adopting advanced technologies.
The airport has installed lifting aids at all 385 workstations, therefore reducing physical strain and contributing to a healthy workplace. Schiphol is a global leader in offering this to employees on such a scale. It has also launched several trials for the full mechanisation of baggage handling in order to continue developing the baggage halls.
“This makes the work of baggage employees lighter – a significant improvement,” said Esmé Valk, Chief People & Transformation, Royal Schiphol Group. “We tested, bought and installed the lifting aids in rapid succession while the regular baggage process continued. We made every effort to achieve this together with the six baggage handlers, Aviapartner, dnata, KLM, Menzies, Swissport and Viggo. We are proud to be able to offer this to employees, because a safe, good and pleasant workplace is our top priority.”
With the lifting aids, Schiphol and the baggage handlers are fulfilling the requirements of the Netherlands Labour Authority. Various types of lifting aids are now being used at Schiphol, and they have been extensively tested by employees. The airport and baggage handlers encourage employees to use the lifting aids, including by way of information campaigns, so that this new way of working becomes standard practice.
To be able to place a properly functioning lifting aid at every workstation, Schiphol and the handling companies worked with the suppliers to develop this technology further. This was necessary because it did not yet exist. The past two years were therefore devoted to having employees test the lifting aids and to making adjustments in terms of use, safety and speed. Changes were also made to the baggage halls themselves, including the relocation of pavements and modification of guard rails. Baggage handling continued as usual while the lifting aids were being installed.
Even now that lifting aids are widely available and their use is being encouraged, Schiphol continues to develop the baggage halls of the future together with the people who use them. The technology to fully load and unload suitcases using machines is still in its infancy throughout the world. Schiphol is collaborating with the airports of Brussels, Incheon, London Heathrow and Oslo to develop this technology though the BOOST initiative.
Several trials are currently underway in Schiphol’s baggage halls. For over six months now, a new type of robot has been independently loading baggage departing from Schiphol into baggage carts and containers destined for the aircraft. And since June, another advanced innovation has been automatically unloading some of the baggage that arrives in containers at Schiphol every day. Employees open and inspect the containers but no longer lift the baggage themselves.
In the coming years, Schiphol also plans to work with suppliers to develop new baggage containers and other robots made specifically for work in the baggage halls. It will also test self-driving transport to make working with baggage containers lighter and more efficient.
Hear more from Schiphol at FTE Global – the “CES of Aviation” taking place in Long Beach, California, on 9 to 11 September 2025. Martijn van Boven, Product Manager, Schiphol and Mohamed Talbi, Product Manager, Schiphol, are participating in a session focused on ‘Deep-dive digital transformation case studies’ with a presentation titled ‘How Schiphol is leveraging technology, design, and data: In-house developed intelligence that reduced passenger peaks by 22% and elevated airside efficiency and safety’.
View the full FTE Global 2025 conference agendas >> Join us at FTE Global – the “CES of Aviation” – in LA, 9 to 11 September 2025 – registration live >>You may also be interested in
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