Midway International Airport Launches NEW Inline Baggage System

Travel through Midway Airport is now safer, faster and more convenient for the public, due to the new inline baggage system.  It will replace nine explosive detection systems (EDS) located in the airport’s ticketing lobby with a new behind-the-scenes baggage handling conveyor system, designed to screen  more than 30,000 bags per day at Midway.

Passengers are no longer required to carry their bags to a separate location within the airport’s lobby.  The new inline system moves baggage from the counter through security areas where it is screened for explosives and then placed onto departing aircraft.  Designed to process up to 4,500 bags per hour, the new system is more than three times as fast as stand-alone EDS machines.  Inline systems are also less labor-intensive, making more security officers available for checkpoint duties or training.  The current system marks the completion of the project for the north half of the ticketing lobby.  The south lobby system is slated to open on July 18.

Inline baggage systems are currently operating at Terminals 1 and 5 at O’Hare International Airport.  The re-check system at Terminal 5 handles about 20 percent of all of O’Hare’s checked luggage.  One major benefit of this system is that international travelers entering the United States through O’Hare and connecting to domestic flights can recheck their bags in Terminal 5 without having to carry them from the international terminal to a domestic terminal.  Plans for an inline baggage system at O’Hare’s Terminal 3 are also proceeding.