High-volume Leonardo baggage system for MSC's PortMiami mega-terminal

Leonardo will collaborate with Fincantieri Infrastructure, which is developing what will be North America's largest cruise terminal and one of the world's largest, to provide an advanced baggage management and sorting system.

Cross-belt technology comes to cruising

Leonardo is known in the airport sector and in the US recently introduced the baggage handling system at Denver International Airport. The Miami project marks the introduction of the same technology, the cross-belt, into the cruise realm.

The new system will be able to simultaneously manage the baggage of three cruise ships and up to 36,000 travelers per day, improving boarding operations, security checks and delivery times. It includes a screening area with 14 lines and a sorting system based on Leonardo's Multisorting Baggage Handling System, integrated with IT solutions and advanced software to manage flows.

Massimiliano Veltroni, managing director of Leonardo's automation business unit, hopes the system will become a reference point in efficiency, reliability and passenger satisfaction. He said the project also lays the foundation for developing baggage handling facilities at future MSC cruise terminals.

Promoting Italian technology

Fincantieri Infrastructure CEO Salvatore Esposito expressed pride in collaborating on an iconic project that disseminates and promotes the best Italian technology.

'We are delighted to work with Leonardo and Fincantieri Infrastructure to introduce this cutting-edge technology and to be the first cruise company to adopt, together with PortMiami, the first airport-level automatic baggage handling system,' added Gianluca Suprani, SVP port development and shoreside activities, MSC Cruises.

It's aimed at providing the best possible guest experience, he said.

The terminal is scheduled to open later this year.