Hi-tech baggage management system to be introduced in 36 AAI

As many as 36 AAI-managed airports are likely to have a hi-tech baggage management system in place by next year, which would reduce waiting period for fliers by a significant amount besides minimising disruption.
According to a statement, a new world-class baggage reconciliation system, SITA BagManager, by the global airlines IT solutions major SITA, has already been implemented at Chennai and Kolkata airports, which together receive some 15 million bags per year.
The rollout to the other 36 airports has begun and SITA's baggage systems are expected to be in operations at all of them by 2016, SITA said in a release.

In 2014, mishandled bags cost the global air transport industry a total of USD 2.4 billion, according to SITA.
The technology provides a real-time information on the status of passengers' baggage at these two airports, which helps reduce mishandling and solves baggage issues, and it is being used to facilitate loading, reconciling, tracking, tracing and managing all the 15 million bags.
The Government-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) manages 125 airports, which include six joint ventures across the country.
Of these, 18 are international airports, (100 per cent owned and operated by AAI), six joint venture international airports, eight custom airports, 45 domestic airports among others.

Under the system, more than 100 hand-held devices have been issued to workers at the two airports which allow them to scan baggage tags anywhere and provide information on the location of each and every bag.