Manchester airport partners with Airportr to offer baggage collection service

Airportr allows passengers to have their luggage collected from home and delivered to the airport, meaning they can travel bag-free, make their way straight to security, and reunite with their luggage at their final destination.

It will be available to passengers travelling with Manchester airport partner airlines, which include Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Finnair.

Those booking with other airlines can also make use of the service by having their bags picked up from their homes ready for collection when they arrive at the airport.

Andrew Harrison, chief executive, airport services, MAG, said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Airportr, which will allow our passengers to streamline their airport experience, through an efficient and secure process, meaning they can arrive at the airport with one less thing to think about and get ready for their trip.

“MAG is working hard to find new and innovative ways to enhance every step of the passenger journey through our airports, and this new partnership, which is a market first here in the UK, is another crucial development in that process.”

Randel Darby, founder and chief executive, Airportr, commented: “We couldn’t be more excited to see this ambitious project materialise. In combining MAG’s operational and digital capabilities, and our shared appetite to innovate the airport experience, we have been able to create something unique.

“Our new airport-backed model raises the bar in terms of operational delivery and is designed to enable us to add more airlines in the future. This will open up home bag check-in to more passengers, which is key to our goal of transforming the passenger experience and airport operations. Manchester is the UK’s second technology hub and home to its biggest airport outside of London, making it the perfect place for us to realise our ambitions for growth.”

MAG will be the first airport operator in the UK to use Airportr within its own infrastructure, with baggage processed in a dedicated facility away from the traditional terminal check-in areas.

It will also be the first to digitise the service, meaning passengers can book and pay online via Manchester Airport’s website.

Passengers can choose an allocated one to three-hour collection slot in the days before their departure date, and as late as the morning of their flight.

A vetted driver will then collect the luggage and take it directly to the airport for check-in and processing. Travel documents are scanned when the bags are collected, and passengers can track their progress in real-time via the use of digital bag tags.