India airport to pilot bag technology

A new passenger-baggage reconciliation system is to be piloted at the new Bangalore international airport next year.

Aviation solutions company Sita has announced that its passenger-baggage reconciliation system, the first of its kind in the industry, will be deployed at the new Bangalore international airport in March 2008.

The technology combines the use of barcodes, wireless local area networks and other systems to ensure that bags reach their destination on time.

It is expected to reduce delays by facilitating the quicker offloading of baggage and automatically redirecting bags that have missed connections onto alternative flights.

Elyes M'Rad, regional vice-president of Sita, described the forthcoming deployment as a significant milestone for the industry and a benchmark for future airport development.

Marcel Hungerbuehler, chief operation officer of Bangalore international airport, added: "Nothing is more frustrating than being separated from your bags and we intend to reduce this risk to the minimum possible through the deployment of state-of-the-art technology which will give airlines and passengers maximum visibility on baggage movements through the airport."

Bangalore airport is scheduled to open on March 30th next year and expected to handle ten million passengers in its first year.

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