Four advances in airport
technology to look out forWAY
FORWARD
1
Better Bag tracking
Fewer bags are getting lost by
airlines and airports – only
5.57 per thousand in 2017,
according to aviation tech
specialist SITA’s most recent
report. Happily, that figure
looks set to improve even
further. Last year, the International
Air Transport Association (IATA)
passed Resolution 753, which requires
members to track bags at four points –
handover from the passenger, loading
on to the aircraft, delivery to transfer
area and return to the passenger –
and share tracking information with
interline journey partners as needed.
While this hasn’t created a suddentransformation in practices, it is
leading airports, airlines and ground
handlers to invest in new technolog y
that allows them to better track the
4.65 billion bags they carry each year.
RFID (radio-frequency
identification) is one of the best
ways to track bags but is still not
used by a majority of airlines. Several
exhibitors showing machines that
can print RFID labels, such as AveryA
irport solution providers – the people
who make just about every part of
your journey possible, from shops and
security to airbridges and bag handling- gathered in London in March for
the annual Passenger Terminal Expo.
The exhibits provided an insight into
what you can expect to find in the airports of
tomorrow, and developments that should make
travel a more seamless and enjoyable process. This
is what’s in store...
Dennison, Custom and Seikodo,
explained that while the printing is
more expensive, the machines used to
scan them come considerably cheaper
than the ones that scan barcodes
(around US$2,000, compared with
US$10,000), and economies of
scale should mean the printing itself
becomes cheaper as more airlines opt
for the technolog y.
The labels contain passive chips
with no internal power source that
become activated when an antennae
“shines” on them, after which they
communicate information back.
This means they can be read more
easily, unlike a barcode that may be
concealed or damaged.
In its 2018 survey into passenger
attitudes, SITA found that 95 per
cent of respondents would like an app
that notified them about where their
bag was along the journey (like Delta’s
does, using RFID tags). The IATA
resolution could see this become
more commonplace.
SITA is also adapting its World
Tracer database, which shares
information about lost bags between
510 airlines and 2,800 airports, into a
public information source. Passengers
can use a website or app to submit
details of their lost luggage and enter
a return address, instead of having to
wait at an airport counter. They can
track the bag’s progress via the app. 2
SHOrter QueueS
The data that airports
compile on how people
move through them is
becoming much more
detailed. Numerous
companies offer hardware
and software to help
airports reduce queues, optimise space
and better allocate and position staff.
Abu Dhabi International Airport,
for example, partnered with Pads4 to
use smart sensors to siphon people
into efficient queue patterns, while
London City worked with Arcport
to create simulations of passenger42 words JENNI REID
AIRPORTS