Despite increasing passenger numbers, SITA’s 2016 Baggage Report has confirmed that the vast majority of bags make their way back to travelers thanks to the effectiveness of technology aiding baggage management systems.
As the industry prepares for the implementation of IATA Resolution 753, and aims to reduce the amount of mis-routed baggage, the report demonstrates that things are moving in the right direction.
The number of mishandled bags fell by 10.5% in 2015 when compared to the previous year, reaching its lowest-ever rate of 6.5 bags per 1,000 passengers. Detailed analysis showed that delayed bags accounted for 79% of all mishandled baggage, with transfer baggage operations being a major cause of these delays.
Beumer Group, a supplier of automated baggage handling systems (BHS), believes that the addition of camera systems can significantly improve transfer baggage performance. The integration of a Beumer Video Coding System (VCS) as replacement for, or in addition to, Manual Encoding Stations (MES), also offers the flexibility to add more operators in a peak situation, such as in the case of an airline having a departure control system (DCS) failure.
VCS enables an image of the bag tag to be sent directly from the reading position to an operator, who views and encodes the information remotely while the bag remains in motion within the main BHS. This eliminates the delay of diverting a bag to an MES, which saves time and helps reduce the risk of having to short ship the bag, enabling airports and airlines to reduce costs and increase passenger satisfaction.