Delta Plans to Use RFID to Track Baggage By Year’s End

Image: PHOTO: Baggage claim at an airport. (photo courtesy of Thinkstock)
Image: PHOTO: Baggage claim at an airport. (photo courtesy of Thinkstock)
Amy Coyne Bredeson
by Amy Coyne Bredeson
Last updated: 3:46 PM ET, Sun May 1, 2016

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock

Delta Air Lines will soon become the first U.S. airline to use the baggage tracking technology called Radio Frequency Identification on all baggage - 120 million bags a year - the airline announced Friday, according to Mashable.

Delta anticipates the airline will be using the technology, also known as RFID, by the end of 2016, the airline told Mashable.

READ MORE:Is This The Baggage Tag of The Future?

After years of scanning barcodes to track baggage, the airline told Mashable that the transition is "historic."

"With this new technology, scanners use radio waves to capture highly accurate and consistent data stored on an RFID chip embedded in the luggage tag, driving superior tracking and increased transparency," Delta said. http://news.delta.com/delta-introduces-innovative-baggage-tracking-process-0

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The technology will be a $50 million investment, Mashable reported.

"We aim to reliably deliver every bag on every flight," Delta's senior vice president of airport customer service and cargo operations Bill Lentsch said in a statement obtained by Mashable. "This innovative application of technology gives us greater data and more precise information throughout the bag's journey."


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Amy Coyne Bredeson

Amy Coyne Bredeson

Amy Coyne Bredeson is a freelance writer and editor in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. She has worked in journalism for the past 16 years. In her free time, she volunteers with the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance.

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