Modern technology’s development over the past ten years has greatly increased the success rate for handling bags. Airports all over the world are making significant investments in cutting-edge technology to lower operating costs, enhance customer experiences, and maintain competitiveness. The most frequent problems travellers encounter include airline delays, long lines at baggage carousels, mishandled or lost luggage, etc. These result in annual revenue losses of several billion dollars and dissatisfied visitors. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that luggage is handled carefully and that the traveller leaves the destination airport with all of his luggage in tact. According to a survey by Fortune Business Insights, the global market for baggage handling systems was worth USD 8.55 billion in 2019 and is projected to grow to USD 14.79 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 7.2%. To improve traveller comfort and baggage management, the majority of airport authorities are investing in modernising airport infrastructure.
Manually moving luggage from the boarding gate to the plane is one of the most difficult airport tasks since it takes a lot of time, money, and effort. Efficiency, passenger experience, and safety are all improved by automating the check-in conveyors, luggage screening, sorting, and reclamation processes. Airports struggle to classify and process thousands of pieces of luggage every day as a result of the rise in travellers. Only with reliable and efficient transportation infrastructure can this be accomplished. For instance, rough treatment and improper management of luggage at airports have frequently been the subject of complaints from tourists in India. There have been numerous instances where passengers’ bags were lost and never found, or the plane took off without them. Despite their best efforts, airports are having trouble handling the luggage, and it keeps getting lost or damaged.
Systems known as airport baggage handling systems (BHS) are used to keep track of luggage transfers at ticket counters. The current baggage system is made up of a number of parts and subsystems from several suppliers that work together to ensure that each bag is handled properly and gets to its destination with the traveller. Major airports and airlines have been searching for a chance to employ Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in the field of baggage handling for a very long time in the aviation business. One of the technologies judged to have the most impact on society in the twenty-first century is RFID. This technology’s market is rising quickly, and an increasing number of companies are using it to boost their operational effectiveness and acquire a competitive edge.
Businesses must anticipate the chances to utilise robotics and artificial intelligence to improve the tracking of luggage and set new standards for airport operations. In addition to enabling airports to develop and better serve customers and businesses, the adoption of an end-to-end baggage handling system will establish contemporary airports as industry leaders. Instead of focusing on making minor adjustments to the current baggage handling systems, we need a symphony of humans and machines working together if we want to make a quantum leap.
Airports could take a cue from contemporary merchants and begin implementing robotics to manage traveller baggage. Imagine a line of miniature robots (like the robotic vacuum cleaners we currently have at home) ready to assist any incoming customers. One can load their luggage on it and scan their boarding card. According to the information on the boarding pass, it will print an RFID baggage tag on the luggage and transport it to either the storage facility or the human checkpoint designated for the flight, depending on the time of check-in. These machines will weigh each passenger’s luggage and communicate with the check-in systems regarding its specifics. The luggage will then be put onto the appropriate aircrafts with the aid of the RFID tag. Once there, the luggage can once more be loaded onto the robots and delivered to the appropriate passengers along with information about its weight. These types of technological advancements and investments are required in the modern era to enhance customer experience and lower operating expenses.
