Identity and automation customize travel experience
27 January, 2015
category: Biometrics, Contactless, Government, Library, NFC, Transit
A new system for baggage
International travel industry leaders predict that 10 years from now, there will be a variety of bag drop locations – rail stations, hotels and airport parking lots – eliminating the need for bag-check counters and their Disney-esque queues. Passengers will be able to track their bags on their mobile devices and then pick up their luggage at a stored location when they are ready.
Innovations to streamline the baggage process are already in the works. SITA, which provides baggage management for more than 125 airports and 450 airlines worldwide, uses bar codes and RFID tags to manage baggage flow. They offer an app that enables passengers to obtain a real-time status of a bag using either their name or bag tag number.
Air France, British Airways and a host of other airlines are also testing digital luggage tags that enable passengers to use their smart phones to track bags. British Airways started testing the digital tags on its Seattle-to-London flights last October and plans to expand to more flights.
SITA’s Peters predicts that, eventually, purchased luggage will come equipped with embedded permanent bag tags so that that the passenger doesn’t have to buy a separate tag. “I think you’ll see these technologies evolve with products coming out from various companies including suitcase manufacturers,” he says.
