HEATHROW JOINS BOOST PROGRAM AS 5TH AIRPORT

London Heathrow Airport has officially signed on as the fifth airport to join the BOOST program—a global initiative dedicated to transform baggage operations through smart collaboration, innovation and automation. This isn't just about conveyor belts and rollers—this is about building a smarter, more human-centered future for airport operations.

Why join and why now?

After more than a decade of operational deployments, the pace of progression, development, and refinement in baggage automation has not been as rapid as many had anticipated. Heathrow sees BOOST as a catalyst to change. The opportunity to join forces with like-minded partners and other airports in a setting entirely focused on baggage was a "refreshing idea" for the baggage team of Heathrow.

“The idea of a baggage-focused forum where airports can openly collaborate was just too good to pass up. We see real value in learning together, reducing costs, and sending a clear signal: we’re ready to push this forward.” — Jamie Rattcliffe, Baggage Development Manager, Heathrow Airport

Making baggage automation the new normal

Success in automation isn’t about headlines—it’s to make automation feel routine. The vision is clear: when automated baggage build is so effective, it becomes "boring". That's the goal. A world where baggage operations no longer depend on heavy human lifting, and automation becomes Business As Usual. BOOST provides the framework to align on this shared end goal—and help each other get there faster.

Proof of Concept: introducing Flexwheels

Every airport runs a Proof of Concept within the BOOST program. Heathrow decided to bring in Flexwheels - an innovative system that combines computer vision with mechanical movement to handle baggage with greater precision and consistency. Its modular design allows the units to scale up or down without major redesign.

Unlike traditional systems that rely on angled rollers or distance sensors, Flexwheels aims to provide more reliabile centralization of bags. Thanks to its accuracy and consistency, Heathrow is quietly optimistic that it will be widely distributed within their baggage systems once further developed and productised. Reducing jams and improving overall system performance.

As Heathrow finalizes the prototype, input from fellow BOOST partners is shaping its direction. For instance, Schiphol’s team raised the possibility of testing vertical as well as horizontal configurations—feedback that Heathrow directly agreed to incorporate into its testing roadmap.

“Partner-airports: you give us the requirements you want to test with Flexwheels, and we’ll build them in.”— team baggage of Heathrow Airport.

Leading by Example

As the busiest airport in the UK, serving nearly 84 million passengers annually, Heathrow’s decision to join BOOST highlights a growing commitment to improving the systems that keep global travel moving.

Rather than waiting for the industry to catch up, Heathrow is taking a proactive role—embracing automation not just as a technology upgrade, but as a shared journey with other leading airports. BOOST is very excited about this new partnership and happy to have you!

More on the Proof of Concept and other BOOST will follow soon. Stay tuned!