Paris Charles de Gaulle airport unveils new baggage handling system ahead of Olympics

Officials at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on Tuesday unveiled a new security baggage system and a dedicated baggage handling area ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The new equipment includes a revamped scanner system to allow a more detailed scan of passengers’ baggage, so that travelers won’t have to remove items such as electronic devices, aerosols or liquids from their bags.

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"If we have doubts about a piece of luggage, the luggage won’t leave," said Edward Arkwright, CEO of Aéroports de Paris Group, the body that runs Paris’ airports. "We prefer an athlete to leave without their luggage rather than leaving (with something) questionable."

As the first gateway to the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, Charles de Gaulle Airport expects to process over 114,000 baggage from delegations and the media and will receive an estimated 47,000 pieces of sports equipment.

The airport also unveiled the "baggage factory," a dedicated space covering 10,000 square meters to process equipment and luggage of the athletic delegations leaving the airport following the closing ceremony.

"The biggest challenge is the oversized luggage," said Sébastien Malaussene, the airport’s project manager. "Athletes travel with all their sports equipment and they are not your average passenger bringing up to four, five bags. They have sports items, many of which are oversized."