Electronic Bag Tags on Trial in Airports

Unfortunately, it's not an unusual problem. You arrive at your destination, but your bag doesn't. For all the airline staff know, it could have been shuffled off to Zanzibar by now. Or maybe it never even left home. With 90,000 or so flights in the air every day, worldwide, its location could be anyone's guess.

In an effort to decrease the frequency of the all-too-common mislaid luggage dilemma, British Airways, in conjunction with Densitron and UK-based creative agency Design Works, have come up with a digital solution. They're currently trialling electronic bag tags, which have the potential to replace the current paper-based system.

After checking in, the ticket-holder can use a smartphone to send flight details to the tag (via an app). Then, rather than having to stand in lengthy queues, he or she can drop off his or her bag for scanning. Not only does the electronic bag tag promise to make the tracking of luggage easier, it also means more efficient check-in procedures. Plus, it's reusable.

"[The e-tag] is more expensive, but ultimately it is re-usable — you would acquire and use it multiple times," Lewis Freeman, an industrial designer from Designworks told the BBC this week. "The life of the product is up to five years. I imagine the technology would move on faster than the tag would need replacing."

If the tags prove to be successful, they'll be publicly available in 2014.

[via Hypebeast]