Placement system for an airport for automatically loading a freight container with baggage items

A placement station for an airport for automatically loading a freight container with baggage items from a feeder belt, comprising

• a feeder belt for feeding baggage items with one end;
• a placement machine for picking up the baggage items from the feeder belt and transporting them into the freight container;
• a handling area at the end of the feeder belt, into which the feeder belt extends and in which the placement machine is arranged;
• a container area arranged within the handling area, in which the freight container is to be arranged and which has a prescribed length and width;
• wherein
• the placement machine is arranged stationarily fixed outside of the container area;
• and
• the placement machine is arranged off-center to a longitudinal axis of the feeder belt and/or off-center to the perpendicular bisector of the longitudinal expansion of the container area for the freight container.

A method for automatically placing baggage items from a feeder belt on a freight container at an airport, comprising the following steps:

• detecting a baggage item at the end of the feeder belt;
• positioning a baggage rack unit of a placement machine in a pick-up position in proximity to the end of the feeder belt;
• picking up a baggage item from the feeder belt;
• moving the baggage rack unit from the pick-up position into a feeding position in front of a loading opening of a freight container, which is arranged in a container area within a handling area;
• detecting a free place for the picked-up baggage item inside of the freight container;
• moving the baggage rack unit from the feeding position into a stacking position;
• putting the baggage item down in the freight container.