Case Study: London Gatwick Airport achieves accurate, scalable baggage handling for 10M+ bags a year with SITA's BagManager

Handling More Than 10 Million Bags a Year

London Gatwick Airport, one of the world’s busiest single-runway airports handling millions of passengers annually, needed a robust, AAA‑compliant baggage management system to cope with rising passenger volumes, tight turnarounds, tighter security and the high cost of mishandled bags. To meet these challenges and support airline upgrades (notably British Airways), London Gatwick Airport partnered with SITA and deployed SITA’s BagManager suite along with BagMessage and WorldTracer.

SITA implemented a campus‑wide, integrated baggage management solution—linking BagManager with BagMessage, WorldTracer, flight displays and security systems and equipping handlers with around 450 wireless handheld scanners and a re‑flighting module. The SITA system automated reconciliation across four ground handlers, gave real‑time bag visibility, and scaled to absorb a 25% increase in hardware and throughput demand when BA came onboard—resulting in fewer mishandled bags, lower costs, quicker turnarounds and improved customer service.

London Gatwick Airport

Ian Envis

Airline Operators Committee