Baggage Handling Systems installations at King Khalid International Airport (RUH)

A modern Baggage Handling System (BHS) is a multi-kilometre network of conveyors, tilt-tray and cross-belt sorters, destination-coded vehicles, Early Bag Stores and inline Hold Baggage Screening (HBS) Standard-3 CT machines. It is the single largest mechanical CAPEX in any terminal programme after the airfield itself. Buyers are airport authorities and terminal concessionaires; the systems are commissioned in tandem with IATA Resolution 753 tracking, RFID tagging and the airline's DCS. Reliability targets typically exceed 99.5% availability with misconnect rates below 0.3%.

A sprawling 1980s-era masterplan set in desert pink sandstone, RUH was designed by HOK when Riyadh was still a secondary capital. Four decades later, the city has outgrown it. Terminals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 now share the load as traffic hit 37.2 million in 2024, and new carrier Riyadh Air prepares to launch before the airport itself is eclipsed by King Salman International just across town.