Dear community, dear devs,
I have a question regarding the drop-off points and self-check-in desks:
Is is correct, that the self-check-ins only work in conjunction with the drop-off boxes?
I had the following situation:
I built my airport from scratch and had only a small terminal with 4 small check-in counters, which I wanted to replace with automated ones. First thing I noticed, was the automated ones were not used. Pax were still piling up my small counters. No baggage handling at this point so this is fine although buying the self-check-ins for naught was a bit disappointing. I was under the impression, that those could replace a small check-in desk in functionability.
When I dropped the drop-off boxes and set my baggage handling to work the drop-boxes were accepted, but now there was another flaw in my book. Of 4 boxes placed next to each other, only 2 were used and people still did do large queues. Funny thing, the self-boarding counters were working absolutely great. I placed 4 in front of a skybridge and people were dividing their numbers just fine.
I took a closer look and observed, that the drop-off boxes work exactly like check-in desks. They open at certain hours and one of them claims a flight for itself. Why should that be like that? As automated system every box should accept any piece of baggage dropped in. Sorting is done automatically. I hoped that the drop-off boxes would help me reduce queues but they made them worse at even medium planes. Large check-in counters with agents are the better choice.
Is there any way to rethink how the automated new gadgets work? The boarding desks are fine, but drop-off boxes and self-check-ins are somewhat not fulfilling the expectations. When 4 of those are placed next to each other and all are connected to the same baggage conveyor belt then it should be irrelevant which one you use. Split up the waiting masses and haul the luggage in with 4 of 4 boxes and not 2 of 4 with 2 idling just because of a 1-box-per-flight limit, I say.
