Airline Industry Ramps up RFID-Based Baggage Tracking

The members of the International Air Transport Association will be required to use radio-frequency identification tags to track the current position of a bag. The technology is expected to cut down on lost-luggage incidents and save airlines money.

Among the many annoying things about flying, perhaps the most frustrating is lost luggage. Industry groups realize this, and they’re taking steps to ensure it happens as little as possible—and adding technology to improve airlines’ ability to track a lost bag.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is working on helping its members implement RFID application, a new industry regulation that will require checked baggage to be tracked using radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology.

The RFID application provides a foundation for the industry to track bags throughout the global network. The information is crucial to further reducing mishandlings and improving the customer experience. The new requirement comes at a time when lost luggage incidents are far less common than they used to be: Last year, 5.73 bags per 1,000 passengers were lost on average, an all-time low. But according to research from the airline technology firm SITA and IATA, the new initiative could further reduce the number of mishandled bags by as much as 25 percent by 2022, potentially generating a cost savings of as much as $3 billion.

When the technology is fully implemented, The Economist notes, it will be used by 83 percent of airlines globally, including most of the major U.S. carriers.