Baggage handling is seen to have improved, and with potential for AI and digital capabilities travellers can now travel with greater peace of mind. Photo Credit: SITA
Information technology company SITA has observed improvements in the
air transport industry’s rate of mishandled baggage. According to the
newly launched SITA Baggage IT Insights 2024 report, the number
of bags mishandled by the industry has fallen from 7.6 to 6.9 per 1,000
passengers in 2023 despite passenger numbers rising above 2019 levels
for the first time in five years.
Current passenger numbers now sit at 5.2 billion.
A drop of 63% in baggage mishandling rates was recorded even as
passenger traffic rose by 111% – this is seen to be the result of
technology investments, but the industry still struggles to deal with
surges in baggage volume.
The relationship between airlines and airports does not appear to be a
mutually trusting one, with only 58% of airlines sharing baggage data
with airports and 66% of airports sharing baggage delivery data with
airlines.
Other research in the report recorded that two-thirds of airlines now
offer unassisted bag drop, and 85% of airports offer self-service bag
drop – reflecting industry demand for self-service tech that will allow
for better passenger flows.
With 32% of passengers reliant on their mobile phones for bag
collection information, it will be imperative for the industry to
strengthen its digitalisation agenda and improve communication and
visibility for passengers – this will be a good opportunity for the
industry to explore AI for data analysis and computer vision tech in
automated baggage handling.
David Lavorel, SITA CEO, said: “The improved mishandled baggage rate
in 2023 is great news for passengers and for aviation. It’s especially
impressive as global passenger traffic grew strongly in 2023 and is set
to double by 2040.
We clearly see from the SITA Baggage IT Insights results that baggage
automation is the way forward, with more collaboration, more
communication with passengers, and investments in new technologies such
as AI and computer vision to make the journey smoother.”