Halifax Stanfield’s Self-Service Baggage Drop Earns National Award

Halifax Stanfield International Airport has landed a significant national award for ingenuity.

The airport’s new self-service baggage drop was named last night (November 12) as one the nation’s most innovative technology achievements, by Information Technology Association of Canada.

The fully automated, common use, self-service bag-drop solution earned a coveted Ingenious Award. Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA) was the winner in the Not-For-Profit category. The award recognizes the system’s innovative use of information technology to improve internal efficiencies and upgrade the traveller’s experience at the airport.

The self-serve baggage solution is available to all passengers – a first in North America.  It allows travellers to take their bags to a kiosk, input their flight information, print their own baggage tag and drop their bags off without long lines or waits.

With 3.6 million customers carrying 2 million pieces of luggage annually, these time-savings add up to thousands of hours returned to travellers for work or pleasure.

The service was custom built, in house by HIAA working with Softchoice Corporation.

Quotes

“Halifax International Airport Authority’s use of technology to make air travel just a little easier for everyone is commendable. We hope that recognizing this innovation serves as a reminder that Canadian organizations can be global leaders if they think creatively and draw on the advantages technology affords. It also shows that even small improvement – like saving a few minutes for each passenger – can amount to impressive results for customers on an annual basis.”

-          Karna Gupta, President and CEO, Information Technology Association of Canada

 “On behalf of all our partners who worked with us on this project, we are very pleased to receive this prestigious award from ITAC. We are committed to making the travel experience at Halifax Stanfield International Airport smooth and easy, especially through the use of technology. We saw this project as an opportunity to be an industry leader, offering an enhanced, time-saving service to our passengers.”

-          Joyce Carter, President and CEO, Halifax International Airport Authority

Quick Facts

• The self-serve baggage drop cuts the average check-in time from 10 minutes to under two minutes.
• More than 3.6 million travellers pass through the doors of Halifax Stanfield International Airport annually.
• The system has returned thousands of hours to travelers. 
• The Information Technology Association of Canada is the voice of the ITC sector in Canada. It has been operating the Ingenious Awards since 2011.
• The Ingenious Awards Program was designed to showcase the achievements of innovative Canadian organizations using technology to build competitive enterprises and strengthen the Canadian economy.
• The Information and Communications Technology sector creates one million direct and indirect jobs and generates $155 billion in annual revenue.
• Halifax Stanfield International Airport is responsible for 13,130 direct indirect jobs and generates $1.29 billion in annual impact on the economy of Nova Scotia.