NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — Travelers at Charleston International Airport know that the wait doesn’t always end when their plane lands.
Baggage claim delays have been a common frustration, with some passengers waiting 20 to 25 minutes for their luggage to arrive. Airport officials say the challenge isn’t just what passengers experience, but it’s what happens behind the scenes.
When multiple flights land within a short window, the airport’s baggage system, built in the 1980s, can only handle luggage from three aircraft at a time, creating a backlog that travelers feel on the carousel.
Spencer Pryor, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at the airport, says the airport has begun implementing technology to better manage the flow.
“We’ve also developed some key areas where we’ve now included some AI factors that will allow us to see which flights are coming in, how many bags are coming in, so we can assign a baggage carousel to the airline before they actually arrive,” Pryor explained. “We’ve also started posting where folks can actually see which baggage carousel their luggage is coming up on as soon as they get off their flight.”
The AI system also helps staff manage baggage more efficiently.
“Kind of that AI tells you how many bags are on there, how long it will approximately take for those bags to be unloaded and reach the carousel,” Pryor said.
Looking to the future, Charleston International plans a major upgrade.
“We’re ready for an upgrade and over the next few years, we’ll be investing over $70 million in a new state-of-the-art baggage system,” Pryor said. “It will not only be able to do some of the things we’re doing now with AI but also handle oversize bags to avoid any type of congestion on the back belt.”
With passenger traffic up nearly 77 percent over the last decade, airport officials say the combination of AI technology and a modernized baggage system is key to improving the travel experience for everyone.
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