and other new technologies to solve issues around baggage movement in airports in order to save time and cost of operations.

According to a white paper by the company, more than 4.5 billion bags are handled by industry baggage systems each year but airlines and airports will have to cope with twice that number as passenger numbers are set to double over the next 20 years. Though the air transport sector has brought down the annual mishandling cost from $4.22 billion to $2.1 billion, the industry is still looking at ways to bring down the number.

“SITA has a unique role to play in realizing the potential of data, and baggage management is one area that will benefit. It is an area we are strongly focused on, collaborating across the industry to innovate,” Ilya Gutlin, president of SITA Air Travel Solutions, said.

According to SITA, the industry’s immediate focus should be on implementing the International Air Transport Association’s Resolution 753. This resolution requires member airlines keep track of each bag, share that tracking information with all incumbents involved, and deliver those bags back to passengers at their destination.

“The bag tracking data that will be generated and collected under Resolution 753 will provide the air transport industry with a rich stream of data. This can be enhanced with AI tools to create greater efficiencies in baggage operations and, ultimately, to improve our experience as passengers,” Gutlin explained.

From an operations point of view, AI will allow airports and airlines to learn what baggage routes cause the most stress on their systems and what factors are most likely to cause them, he said. These systems could also generate insight into the patterns of baggage movements that would enable airlines to deliver bags more effectively, Gutlin added.

“In this vision of the future, autonomous loaders could be used to transport bags between the terminal and aircraft. Baggage data will also allow airlines and airports to provide passengers more relevant information on their baggage as it makes its journey from departure to destination,” SITA explained in the paper.

source : https://tinyurl.com/y7r7sby6

Baggage handing is undergoing a worldwide tech revolution. To explore this further, International Airport Review spoke to Max Rangeley, CEO, ReboundTAG about microchip tag technology and why it could revolutionise the baggage handling process.

What is ReboundTAG and how does it work?

ReboundTAG is the first microchip luggage tag that works in all airports worldwide. It means that a lost bag can be identified in any airport – it has a radio frequency identification microchip (RFID) for airlines using RFID but also has NFC chip for smart phones, a Qr code and an ID printed on the tag which can be entered manually. It is also integrated with baggage systems so that the owner of the bag is updated by SMS and email when their bag is found.

Could you briefly describe how the ReboundTAG came into being (a brief history)?

We have worked with airlines for several years, from before we even started selling tags Lufthansa showcased ReboundTAG as a way of preventing lost luggage worldwide, including at the Annual General Meeting of IATA where they showcased it for three days to all of the delegates (Lufthansa has generally been the most advanced airline for these types of technologies). We worked with airlines, airport microchip companies and other related parties to ensure that the tags work in all airports.

We were also invited to contribute to the IATA working group deciding standards for microchip luggage tags for airlines – we helped design the system so that tags cannot be cloned by drug dealers/terrorists etc and also so that flight details can be securely encoded onto the chips in specified memory banks, so we have a good knowledge in how these systems work.

Why is ReboundTAG an example of an important product to aviation and the airport industry at present?

Airlines lose around 25 million bags every year and lost luggage is frequently voted the most annoying aspect of modern air travel in polls. Almost all frequent air travellers will have their bag lost by an airline at some point, and we provide the most advanced and effective solution.

On a more general note, what is the biggest challenge facing our industry at present?

Well, security is of paramount importance – nothing is more important that safety – but when it comes to passenger experience lost luggage has to be at the top. When a few hundred holidaymakers or business-people arrive at a destination, statistically there will be several whose bags did not arrive – this has to be dealt with.

read more at : https://tinyurl.com/

Hand to Hand RFID Baggage Tracking System (HHRBTS) is fully compliant with IATA Resolution 753, ISO18000-6C standard and the application protocol EPC GEN-2 uses the ISO/IEC 15961 & 15962, IATA Recommended Practice RP1740c, IATA Recommended Practice RP1745, and as such will be compatible with any other RFID systems used by other carriers or airports adhering to IATA industry standards. This means that not only HHRBTS can read RFID from other carriers, but also that HHRBTS tags can be read by other systems utilized by other air carriers.

IATA RECOMMENDATION  LETTER:
http://www.longestchance.com/src/pdf/Letter_to_airports_from_IATA.pdf