A year-long campaign has been launched by Airlines for America (A4A) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) with a view to increasing baggage handling operations and reducing the number of mishandled bags.

Approximately 4 billion bags are carried by airlines on an annual global basis, with 0.43 percent failing to arrive with their owners. In an attempt to improve on this figure, the Industry has agreed to Resolution 753 whereby come June 2018, airlines have committed to being able to track a bag when it is accepted at the airport, loaded onto the aircraft, transferred to the arrival system or put into the transfer system for carriage by another airline. Airlines should also be able to share this tracking information with interline carriers as needed.

According to Andrew Price, IATA’s Global Head of Baggage: “Arriving without a bag is a very frustrating experience for our customers. Over the last decade we have reduced mishandled baggage by 54% with improved processes. The next step is to realize the full benefits of baggage tracking to further improve performance. In the rare cases when a bag does not arrive with the passenger there will be much more information available to facilitate a quicker reunion. And the benefits don’t stop there. Tracking bags will, enable proactive reporting, speed up aircraft readiness for departure, facilitate the automation of baggage processes and also reduce fraud.”

Patty Edwards, Managing Director of Passenger Services at A4A has stated that: “Implementation of baggage tracking is a collaborative effort between airlines and airports to improve the passenger experience. Airlines and airports are working together to ensure the infrastructure is available to provide this enhanced service to our customers.”

The baggage tracking campaign will enable carriers to ready themselves for the R753 June 2018 implementation deadline with a number of initiatives tailored to various stakeholders. Additionally, IATA is offering member airlines a readiness certificate to recognize them when they develop their implementation plan for R753.