RFID means never losing sight of your bags again
The radio frequency identification, or RFID chips are embedded into the luggage cards for some flights of China Eastern Airlines.
Baggage handlers have been caught recklessly treating passengers’ luggage at airports worldwide, one of the reasons suitcases often appear a little the worse for wear after flights.
RFID chips have been embedded into luggage tags for some China Eastern Airlines flights, the first domestic airline to allow passengers to follow the progress of their luggage by smart phone.
The practice was launched on domestic flights between the Hongqiao airport and Wuhan in central Hubei Province on Monday. It will be expanded to other flights soon, according to the airline.
Pudong International Airport has installed cameras over luggage conveyor belts on the tarmac and interested passengers observe how baggage handlers unload their suitcases. Passengers can watch the live broadcast on screens beside carousels while waiting for their bags to arrive. Trial operations have started on No.5 carousel at T1 and No.38 carousel at T2.
The airport has positioned staff beside the carousels to help passengers.
Pudong International Airport installs cameras over the luggage conveyor belts on tarmac and displays to passengers how the baggage handlers unloaded their suitcases.
Careless baggage handling is a common problem. Two handlers were caught throwing suitcases and fragile boxes off a conveyor belt at Hong Kong airport in October 2018. A video was posted on social media, raising public anger.
China Eastern and some other domestic airlines have made luggage information accessible, based on data collected each time the luggage tag is scanned during sorting, loading and unloading.
According to a survey by the International Air Transport Association in October 2018, 49 percent of global passengers want to receive more information about their luggage in real-time. Passengers with China Eastern alone check over 80,000 pieces of baggage through a WeChat app each day.
RFID technology can track objects more precisely than scanning or data collection, China Eastern said. Carriers including Air New Zealand, Qantas and Delta Air Lines use RFID technology for luggage tracking. Delta invested US$50 million in 344 airports to allow its passengers to track their luggage on a mobile phone app.
A China Eastern passenger checks the condition of her baggage at the Hongqiao airport on Monday with a newly introduced RFID tracking technology.
