Emirates Invests In RFID Trials At Three Airports
Emirates Airline today announced it is partnering with London Heathrow, Dubai International and Hong Kong International
airports to trial the latest RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology in baggage handling.
Emirates will be investing to test the effectiveness and benefits of RFID against the existing barcode tracking system.
The largest-ever trial of its kind for the airline industry, some half a million bags on Emirates flights will be tagged
with RFID chips over the six-month duration of the trial.
The Dubai-based airline hopes its investment will help revolutionise the way bags are tracked and monitored, and present
innovative solutions to handle the increasing volumes of baggage every year as more people around the world use air
travel more frequently.
Dale Griffith, Emirates' divisional senior vice president airport services, said: "This is about embracing the latest
technology for the benefit of our customers, and we are very glad to be able to embark on this extensive trial together
with our airport partners. Our investment in this project is a small price to pay to give our customers greater peace of
mind.
"Previous RFID trials by other parties on a smaller scale have shown that the technology almost eliminates scanner
'misreads', significantly improving the efficiency of the baggage system and customer experience. We are now applying
this on a much larger scale at three major airport hubs, including Emirates' Dubai home-base, thus allowing the trials
to include most possible baggage handling scenarios, including international transit."
With 58 of the double-decked Airbus A380 aircraft entering Emirates' service, each doubling the number of bags handled
per aircraft, the airline is keen to find innovative technologies and new ways to improve baggage handling
infrastructure and safeguard the level of trust of its customers.
Mr Griffith added: "We look forward to sharing the results of this trial with IATA, who we know will be following
developments closely. If this trial is as successful as we expect, Emirates will be encouraging airports across its
network to embrace this technology. This could become a new industry standard for baggage handling."
RFID equipment has been installed at some of Emirates' check-in desks at the three participating airports. During the
trial, trained staff will apply tags containing RFID chips to bags as part of the normal check-in process. The chips
contain stored information including the bag unique ID number and route. In addition to the embedded RFID chips, these
tags will also continue to display the traditional bar code.
The chips are read as they pass through the airport's baggage system, enabling effective sorting, security screening and
delivery to the aircraft. Arriving bags are read on entry to the baggage system and receipted into the system for
effective tracking. Essentially, the chips will enable bags to be tracked at every stage of their journey, and minimise
the possibilities for mishandling baggage.
In the future, RFID technology could also make it possible for airlines to send a text-message alert to notify
passengers the moment that their luggage has arrived on the baggage carousel - meaning customers will have one fewer
thing to worry about as they begin their holiday or business trip.
Emirates flies its wide-bodied aircraft four times daily from New Zealand to Dubai and beyond, via Australia. Passengers
can enjoy Emirates' award-winning services, sumptuous meals and the finest wines in First, Business and Economy class on
all flights. Most services also have Emirates' award-winning 'ice' inflight system, providing more than 600 channels of
information, communication and entertainment.
Emirates Airline flies non-stop to six continents from its Dubai base and on March 30 Cape Town will be added to its
rapidly expanding network of more than 90 destinations in more than 60 countries.
ENDS