Chips track missing baggage
Airlines are preparing to solve the problem of lost luggage by introducing technology to track bags throughout their journey.
Delta Air Lines is believed to be the first of the big carriers to embed radio frequency chips into baggage tags.
Under the NZ$69 million system, to be introduced by the United States airline this year, the tags will transmit a signal to information receivers, replacing the barcode hand scanners that have been used by airlines for decades.
It represents the most ambitious use yet of technology designed to prevent more than 23 million pieces of luggage being lost or delayed worldwide each year.
Air France/KLM has a tag that uses GPS and Bluetooth to allow passengers to track their bags, alerting them when the bag is on a carousel, and even telling them if it has been opened.
Other airlines such as Qantas, Lufthansa, Alaska Airlines and US budget carrier JetBlue are also testing the technology.
The developments will pile pressure on other airlines to introduce similar systems, amid anger over the number of bags being lost.
Some carriers are implementing new lost luggage finder systems. From next year, British Airways will introduce an electronic tag that passengers can reuse. However, the technology, which has been trialled over the last three years, does not include a tracking device.
Nick Preston, sales director for Trace Me, a British-based company that puts identity code tags on bags to match them with passengers if they get lost, said travellers were concerned about the ability of airlines to take care of their belongings.
‘‘The growth in air travel has been exponential but there has also been a huge strain on the infrastructure of airports and airlines of handling luggage. Baggage has become an increasing problem and, with it, people have become more concerned with losing their valuables.’’
However, he doubted that e-trackers would provide the solution for all lost luggage. ‘‘When you have an airport with millions of miles of underground cavity, bags will get lost.