It doesn't often happen, but sometimes it does – finding yourself stranded at the airport without your suitcases and their contents. Often the airline has an explanation, but at other times it doesn't. As a passenger, it helps to understand the luggage tracking system a bit more to get an idea of how airlines handle and cope with transporting your bags and finding them
if they get lost .
All bag tags contain the following information: airline/carrier name, name of destination airport, flight number, and a 10-digit code and
barcode . Most airlines use thermal or
bar code printers to print bag tags on adhesive paper that is subsequently attached to the baggage at check-in. Airlines use laser scanner arrays, known as automatic tag readers, to read the barcoded bag tags in what constitutes an automated sorting of baggage.
Baggage usually gets lost or misdirected when the flight plan is a complicated one. Passengers taking international flights, or flights with various connections, are more likely to see their luggage get lost or misplaced. Many situations can cause airlines to lose luggage. If a passenger checks in late for a flight, there might not be enough time to load the luggage on to the plane. Airport workers can accidentally tear off or misread the tags and place the luggage in a wrong location. Sometimes there is no more space on the plane because of weight limits. Security delays have also been linked to luggage arriving late or being misplaced. It's worth emphasising, however, that most lost luggage is easily located by airlines and delivered to passengers soon after their arrival.
Barcodes must be undamaged if they are to be read correctly. The problem of poorly-printed, crumpled, obscured and damaged barcodes has forced some airlines to turn to identifying
radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips embedded in the bag tags. There is a stronger likelihood of RFID tags being read by baggage handlers.
All in all, the technology for tracking baggage in airports is improving as airlines increasingly embrace RFID technology. Already, Hong Kong International Airport, Lisbon International Airport, Milan's Malpensa Airport and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas have adopted RFID systems. In the meantime, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is looking to standardise the new bag tags worldwide.
