The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) is on track to complete the installation of a state-of-the-art baggage handling system by the end of September, according to Engineering and Maintenance Manager Voshana Lall.
The system will replace the manual bag-screening process at the check-in area, which requires passengers’ luggage to be screened separately before check-in, which created congestion in the terminal.
“Within a few weeks, this will be here,” Lall said, standing near the existing screening point. “You won’t be having this congested area here anymore in a check-in.”
Under the new system, passengers will check in and weigh their bags at the counter, after which the bags move by conveyor belt for screening before loading onto the aircraft. This process is similar to the setup at major international airports.
The upgrades also brings a stronger security layer. New cameras will provide continuos CCTV coverage of bags from check in to loading, and baggage screeners and law enforcement officers stationed at the airport will be required to wear body cameras.
The upgrade is part of a broader modernisation drive at CJIA, which has in recent months also advanced work on a new air traffic control tower and Terminal 2, a 150,000-square-foot arrivals facility being built in partnership with UK-based BHM Construction and the Manchester Airport Group.
Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar has said the airport’s expansion is intended to accommodate rising aircraft movements, which climbed from roughly 64,000 in 2020 to close to 100,000 by the end of 2025.
Lall said testing and commissioning of the baggage system will be completed alongside installation, ahead of it becoming fully operational.