The document discusses optimizing baggage cart handling at Copenhagen Airport through collaboration between the four ground handling companies. Currently, each company uses their own carts, taking up valuable space. The study models a joint baggage cart handling system and finds potential benefits like reduced inventory needs, lower costs, and decreased processing times. Introducing such a collaborative change would require overcoming barriers through stakeholder engagement, change management practices, and demonstrating the common benefits of a shared strategy.

1. Executive Summary
The ground handling operation in Copenhagen Airports A/S (CPH) currently involves four competing
handling companies. These handling companies all operate their own baggage carts when transporting
baggage to and from flights. This results in an accumulation of baggage carts consuming vital ground
capacity in CPH. Accordingly, one way to indirectly increase ground capacity is by collaboration. In CPH
this would require the development of a collaborative baggage cart handling procedure where all of the
handling companies are sharing baggage carts seized from various depot locations.
Despite a somewhat broad attention to airport planning in research. The topic of optimising joint
baggage cart handling is one of the first of its kind. A limitation in research is understanding the
underlying potential in introducing collaborative processes. While research shows that the airport
industry finds it difficult to deal with the complexity of the decision, only small fragments of frameworks
and models have been developed to assist airport planning in structuring and balancing efforts towards
a more collaborative airport ground handling operation. The thesis addresses the problem by
investigating the potential benefits related to a joint baggage cart handling procedure in CPH.
The study addresses the gap in research by an exploratory analysis of the current baggage cart handling
procedure in CPH, together with a cart demand assessment studying flight traffic from July to August
2016. Three critical peak periods for baggage cart handling are identified in the assessment and applied
for further investigation. A deterministic mathematical model relying on a column generation scheme is
developed to determine the outcome of a joint baggage cart handling procedure in CPH. Additionally, a
stochastic simulation model is developed to evaluate the robustness of the results by accounting for
typical airport planning uncertainties such as flight delays.
The study showed a potential correlation between joint baggage cart handling and increased ground
capacity together with an enhanced possibility of process improvements. Thus, the results have
provided new knowledge to research within collaborative airport planning. Moreover, the studies
showed that CPH may gain operational benefits by introducing a joint baggage cart handling procedure.
The results suggests; (i) potential release of baggage cart due to unutilised resources in a common
setup, (ii) the inventory level in eight designated depots, (iii) possible annual savings of close to x.x
xxxxxxx DKK based on released baggage carts and (iv) a likely decrease in the current process and
waiting times associated with baggage cart handling.
Due to the novelty of the topic, several points of interest were identified for steps to take towards an
implementation phase of a joint baggage cart handling system. The main findings are related to; (i)
identifying the relevant stakeholder and their willingness to change, (ii) a cross organisational change,
(iii) collaboration between the handling companies and finally (iv) using different techniques to
overcome the barriers and restraining forces towards a change in baggage cart handling. The studies
suggest that a joint baggage cart handling system will generate a common strategy and vision for all of
the handling companies which may eventually result in positive synergies. The study found that CPH
must take on a supporting role and assist the handling companies when seeking to introduce
collaborative ground handling procedures, specifically in gaining an understanding of the benefits
related to a change in the business model. Conclusively, the thesis encourages the use of organisational
learning and change management when seeking to introduce joint baggage cart handling.