Students at the University of Newcastle are working on ways to solve problems with baggage handling systems and to better service the growing number of passengers at Newcastle Airport.
Through an innovative partnership, students like Josh Price have been using a 'living laboratory' at the airport. This semester, its focus fell on baggage handling.
"As an engineering student we focus a lot on mathematics. This project gave us the opportunity to analyse problems, come up with a solution and then convey that to others in real-world language, not an equation," Mr Price said.
During the 12-month project, he worked directly with baggage handlers and other airport staff to learn what the issues were and how they could be solved.
Passenger numbers are expected to increase to 2.6 million by 2036 and 5.6 million by 2076 at Newcastle Airport.
The study aimed to deliver a holistic view on options for the airport to develop and expand the baggage handling system in an efficient, environmentally friendly and space sensitive manner.
The final report with observations and recommendations of the study was published on June 2, 2023 and shows large parts of the current system are fit for duty in the future.
Recommendations included adding new technology such as adding radio frequency ID chips to baggage tags to find further efficiencies for the system.
Mr Price wanted to thank University of Newcastle professor Gabriel Lodewijks and Newcastle Airport's Paul McFarlane for their time and support.
"They gave us this fantastic opportunity. Not a lot of uni students can say they've spent 12 months of their degree working in a real business on real problems," he said.
Head of airport and customer experience Paul McFarlane said it was a really great experience and the students were really keen to get their hands dirty.
"They really got stuck in, and spent time along the entire chain, working alongside our operations staff and baggage handlers to really understand what was going on, and figure out ideas for improvement collaboratively," he said.
Newcastle Airport's executive general manager of aviation Shane de Wit said the insights from the students' work were welcome.
"We're always looking for ways we can do things better, improve passenger experience, and reduce the carbon footprint of Newcastle Airport," he said.
The Living Lab program at Newcastle Airport continues with a new cohort this semester and will look at the freight opportunity in the region.
