Did you know that your luggage goes on an amazing journey when you're not around? Whether you are departing Changi Airport, getting off an arriving flight, or switching planes in transit, a highly efficient baggage handling system makes sure your luggage gets to where it should be.
Here are some questions which are answered in this informative, fun video starring Singapore artiste Michelle Chia.
Q: Where does the conveyor belt take my luggage after I check it in?
At Changi Airport, the common check-in system and 14 different race tracks at the arrival hall of each terminal ensure that each bag gets to the correct flight.
After that bag is tagged and scanned, it disappears down a warren of underground tracks and heads for the tilt tray sorter, which drops them individually into the baggage container to be loaded onto the aircraft carrier it belongs.
Q: How does my bag get from the plane to the arrival carousel even faster than me?
Changi Airport is famous for getting the first bag off the plane to the arrival belt carousel within as little as 12 minutes. The trays which carry your bag travel as fast as 7 metres/hour at certain points - faster than the average walking speed. That's why by the time you're done with clearing immigration and duty-free shopping, your bag is already on the carousel waiting for you.
Q: How do the bags of transit passengers travel from terminal to terminal?
They go underground, via some 2,000 trays in Changi Airport's inter-terminal transfer system. Located deep in the bowels of the airport - deeper than Singapore's MRT tracks - the bags are speedily whisked from terminal to terminal so that they don't miss their owner's connecting flights.
Q: What is the weirdest luggage ever to be checked in?
Seriously, a two-metre long Christmas tree.
Q: How many bags goes through Changi Airport everyday?
Every day, Changi Airport's entire baggage handling system processes about 70,000 pieces of luggage from all three terminals. Not all of them are coming in and going out of Singapore, though. About 30 per cent of the passengers who pass through Changi Airport are on transit.
Follow the baggage on its journey in this video above.
