Radio Frequency Technology for Baggage Management

Vision

• Auto identifying bags using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) mean that mishandled bags are a hassle of the past.

Benefits

Cost Benefits

• A major airline may handle up to 70 million pieces of baggage per year
• Of these an average of 0.7% are mishandled
• RFID will reduce that by 30%-40% bringing down service recovery costs
• Greater efficiency in off-loading baggage for no-show passengers

Consumer benefits

• More reliable baggage handling
• Fewer delays from no-show passengers
• Fewer mishandled bags

Implementation

RFID technology exists today

Costs of RFID are being driven down by volume purchasing

• Supply chain giants like Wal-Mart, the US Department of Defense and Tesco are adopting RFID for their inventory handling processes

IATA's Action List

• Lead development of an implementation strategy involving all stakeholders (ground handlers, airports, airlines etc.)
• Achieve an industry standard for RFID implantation
• Ensure that RFID efficiency gains are shared by cargo and passenger operations