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An airline at U.K.'s Heathrow Airport will begin putting radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on passenger luggage as part of a test aimed at reducing lost bags.
Bar codes are being used today, but the BAA, which owns and operates the airport, reports that the six-month trial involves tagging about 50,000 passenger bags monthly. The tags will go on bags of those traveling or transferring on Emirates Airline between Dubai and Heathrow.
The tags are supplied by Motorola, which also supports the Hong Kong International Airport and McCarran Airport in Las Vegas. Other airlines have been reported as interested in the technology, too.
Heathrow staff at nine Emirates check-in desks will encode the passenger's name and route on the RFID tags. As part of the trial, Motorola XR480 fixed RFID readers have been installed in Heathrow Terminal 3 to read tags on luggage entering and leaving the airport.
This trial aims to become a tool to demonstrate interoperability for diverse RFID equipment by showing how the Motorola products integrate with a variety of technologies. The BAA already uses bar code scanners from Symbol, a Motorola company, throughout Heathrow.
Last year, around 10,000 pieces of luggage checked in by British Airways passengers went missing at airports in the United Kingdom after travel restrictions were put in place as a result of an airport security alert. The BAA ordered most luggage checked in, so they could be more thoroughly screened, which caused delays. The airport consequently canceling about 700 Heathrow flights within several days after requirements to check in hand luggage became overwhelming.
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