Ever wondered what happens to your bag at an airport? Behind the scenes on the luggage conveyor belts of Heathrow Terminal 5



MailOnline granted exclusive access in London to Europe's biggest single-terminal baggage handling system

The structure is made up of a large conveyor belt-based handling system overlaid with a fast-track network



Fast-track underground system can deliver time-critical bags - and Terminal 5 also has an early bag store

Up to 4,000 bags checked in three hours prior to a departure can be stored in this facility in the basement




If you’ve ever wondered what happens to your bag when you bid it farewell at an airport check-in desk, then here’s your chance to go behind the scenes.

MailOnline has been granted exclusive access at Terminal 5 of London Heathrow Airport to Europe’s biggest single-terminal baggage handling system.

There are 30 miles of conveyors at Heathrow - with 2.8 miles of tunnels, 44 baggage reclaim belts and around 53million bags processed every year.

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On the move: Bags that arrive more than three hours before their flight are destined for the Heathrow T5 bag store, which can hold almost 4,000 at any one time

In storage: Once the flight time nears at London Heathrow Airport, the bags are put back in to the system to make their journey to the aircraft

Complex: The baggage system at T5 of the airport in South-West London can manage up to 12,000 bags a day

Baggage: The structure at T5 of London Heathrow is made up of a large conveyor belt-based handling system overlaid with a fast-track network

Behind the scenes: MailOnline has been granted exclusive access at Heathrow Airport T5 to Europe's biggest single-terminal baggage handling system

Huge: There are 30 miles of conveyors at Heathrow - with 2.8 miles of tunnels, 44 baggage reclaim belts and around 53million bags processed every year

Improvements: Almost six years ago in March 2008, around 70 flights were cancelled on the first day of BA's move to the £4.3billion terminal

The structure at T5 in South-West London is made up of a large conveyor belt-based handling system overlaid with a fast-track network.

Bags are entered into the system by airline staff at check-in desks, which feed a pair of tilt-tray sorters that deliver bags to the baggage hall.

Luggage is then transferred to containers by airline baggage staff at Heathrow and driven to the aircraft for manual loading.

A fast-track underground system can deliver time-critical bags to individual heads of stands, and Terminal 5 also has an early bag store.

Up to 4,000 bags checked in three hours prior to a departure can be stored in this facility in the basement and held until called out for a flight.

Airline agents at check-in attach a luggage tag to the bag, with a unique barcode and ten-digit number which has the bag’s destination and route.

On the move: Bags travel on the conveyer belt in little carts in Heathrow's Western Interface Building, which connects T5 to T3



Big distance: The tunnel which connects T5 to T3 in the Western Interface Building is the longest inter-terminal transfer tunnel in Europe

Project: Heathrow is in the process of developing a new T3 baggage system, which when complete will be the most advanced integrated baggage facility in Europe

Along they go: The new T3 baggage system will increase the terminal's baggage handling capacity from 5,200 to 7,200 bags per hour

Technical: Bags coming in to the new T3 baggage system will be sorted automatically by size, weight and flight number. They are then taken to be loaded onto containers Movements: The photographs give an insight to those who have ever wondered what happens to your bag when you bid it farewell at an airport check-in desk

Piled up: State-of-the-art devices load the flight containers by scanning each bag to make sure they are positioned to make the best possible use of space

Getting ready to fly: British Airways Boeing 747 aircraft are prepared prior to take off from Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 in South-West London

The terminal became synonymous with lost luggage when it first opened, with British Airways losing 270,106 bags in the first three months of 2008.



But the £26million tunnel was built to try to ensure every passenger at the airport was reunited with their baggage regardless of which terminal they fly to.



The 1.1-mile link runs under the Terminal 5 airfield and links up with Terminal 1 and 3. Terminal 1 and 4 are already linked by a tunnel, built in 1997.



Almost six years ago in March 2008, around 70 flights were cancelled on the first day of BA's move to the £4.3billion terminal.

