New Inbound and Outbound BHS in New Terminal at Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY)

Overview

When they were designing and constructing an all-new 972,000 square feet North Terminal at Louis Armstrong International Airport, Leo A Daly Architects, in coordination with the Crescent City Aviation Team, obtained BNP’s services to design and develop a new Baggage Handling System (BHS).

Design Analysis and Planning

As part of the design, a flight schedule analysis was performed and refined to identify the corresponding baggage screening throughput requirements for the airport. The design team identified multiple alternatives for review and consideration by the airport, TSA, and other project stakeholders during integrated local design team review meetings.

System Components

The design incorporated a new outbound and inbound BHS system in the North Terminal, consisting of six ticket counters and three curbside subsystems, a new in-line screening system with four EDS machines, two main sortation lines, one manual encoding station, seven make-up devices, and six claim devices.

Design Criteria and Standards

The design team identified criteria to evaluate all aspects of implementation, including space usage, redundancy, financial affordability, architectural and engineering feasibility, and future expansion readiness. Preferred alternatives were further refined throughout the design stages for submission and approval to TSA. BNP’s designs incorporated the latest TSA planning guidelines and design standards.

PROJECT DETAILS

International Operations

Concourse A, which houses gates for international flights, includes one main sortation line and two make-up devices for the outbound portion of the BHS. One claim device serves arriving flights from international markets in Concourse A, located in the Federal Inspection Services area.

Screening System

The CBIS was designed as a centralized system with a total of four screening machines and twenty baggage inspection tables, which contributes to a reduction in staffing levels of TSA personnel.

Common-Use Design

A common-use outbound system was designed where any bag can be inserted anywhere in the system and sorted to any destination. This provides the airport planning department with flexibility, as any airline can be easily relocated anywhere in the ticketing lobby.

Centralized Operations

The new system features a centralized bag room for all domestic flights, housing all the make-up and load belts in one location. This helps shorten the sortation lines and reduces the time it takes to move bags around.