Faster together. BOOST’s collaborative approach to baggage innovation.
Challenge
The baggage handling ecosystem is at a crossroads: rising costs, challenging working conditions, and the pressing need to improve operational workflows. Yet tackling these challenges alone takes time, and limits impact.
Results
A collaborative innovation program uniting five leading airports to reduce physical strain, improve efficiency, and accelerate the transition towards the future of work, through shared pilots and open collaboration.
Client
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Brussels Airport, Heathrow, Incheon, Avinor
In short
For decades, airports have struggled with the same baggage handling challenges: manual processes, heavy workloads and siloed systems. Each airport tried to solve them independently—until Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Incheon and Avinor took the lead and collaborate directly. They were later joined by Brussels Airport and Heathrow.
Together, the airports are reimagining baggage handling through robotics, automation, and shared learning, shaping the future of the sector while improving working conditions and accelerating the Future of Work in aviation.
nlmtd has been powering BOOST from day one, helping to design the initiative, guiding the collaboration, and facilitating the open innovation process.
Participants:
Challenge
A system that hasn’t changed in decades
While air travel has grown dramatically, baggage handling has largely stayed the same: manual, fragmented, and labour-intensive. Workers face high physical strain, and airports face rising costs and efficiency limits.
Everyone faces the same problem
Each airport was developing its own solution, often to identical challenges. The insight was simple but powerful: instead of fixing the same issue five times, why not create one shared solutio, and shape the future of baggage handling together?
Process
BOOST follows a collaborative, step-by-step approach: aligning stakeholders, testing solutions through shared pilots, and scaling what works through continuous learning.
Deepdive in the process
Building trust before technology
Rather than jumping straight to automation, BOOST began with collaboration. Through nlmtd-led co-creation sessions, airports mapped their operations, identified common bottlenecks, and shared pilot insights openly. This foundation of trust enabled true cooperation across organizations that once operated separately.
From pilots to progress: testing together
The airports jointly developed and tested 12 proof-of-concepts so far, exploring key areas of baggage innovation, such as:
- Autonomous vehicles for container logistics
- Robotic loading to reduce physical strain
- Real time baggage tracking for full visibility
- Load cell automation and orchestration software for seamless flows
Competing loading robots
Load cells
Bag hygiene performance
Out-of-gauge baggage loading
AGV in Baggage halls
Simulation AGV operation
Baggage orchestration
Bag tracking tool
Loading robot live operation
Make up loading unit
Bag orientation for robot
Transformation to full Load Uniti
Each pilot added to a shared understanding: what works, what doesn’t, and what’s next. By openly sharing results, BOOST accelerates learning across the ecosystem and prevents airports from repeating the same mistakes five times over.
Performance by design: the 3P model
Baggage handling is often assessed based solely on technical performance. BOOST applied a broader perspective 3P model. All work is viewed through these three performance lenses:
- People – Reducing physical strain and improving working conditions
- Process – Streamlining workflows for seamless operations
- Product – Implementing cutting-edge automation and robotics
Results
A stronger ecosystem through shared innovations. BOOST’s biggest achievement isn’t a single technology—it’s a new way of working. By aligning airports, partners, and innovators around a shared mission, the program enables ecosystem-wide change.
The operational baggage concept of the future
A jointly developed vision that serves as a shared direction, not a rigid blueprint. Each airport adapts the framework to their local context and operational realities. This “white paper” defines design principles, identifies current bottlenecks, and provides a shared foundation for airports worldwide—so no one needs to start from scratch.
Download the white paper: Beyond the Belt: Baggage handling of the future.
Lowering the boundaries for innovative tech
By connecting airports and technology partners in real operational environments we create a live ecosystem where innovations are tested, refined, and shared. This open approach accelerates adoption across the industry and lowers the risk and cost of innovation.
More ecosystem thinking
The program goes beyond individual pilots and fosters a culture of openness and co-creation. “What’s powerful about BOOST that it’s not just about alignment—it’s about activation,” says Wopke Dost – one of the founders of BOOST. “With BOOST we transform isolated efforts into collective momentum—turning learnings into shared tools, blueprints, and scalable roadmaps that help the entire sector move forward, together”.
Our drive is toward achieving industry collaboration. I believe airports should lead the way — by sharing a clear vision for the future while accelerating real change today. That way, we learn, adapt, and innovate to shorten the transition period
Next steps
BOOST is now translating pilot learnings into actionable roadmaps that airports worldwide can follow. These roadmaps provide clear pathways for implementing automation, robotics, and digital orchestration—making it easier for new airports to join the movement.
With next to the 4 European airports, Incheon Airport already being part of the collaboration from the start, BOOST is now building momentum across continents. The program is actively exploring opportunities to expand the collaboration further into the Asia region, bringing more airports into the ecosystem and accelerating innovation on a global scale.
Conclusion
At its core, BOOST is about people. By reducing physical strain and improving working conditions through smart automation, it marks a key transition toward the Future of Work – from manual, siloed labor to safer, smarter, and more meaningful work across the aviation ecosystem.
Want to explore how collaborative innovation can transform your sector? Explore BOOST or get in touch with Wopke & Romy.
Want to know more? We worked on this!
Romy van Kessel
Romy van Kessel
