Anicet Mbida 06:53, August 31, 2022

Anicet Mbida delivers to us every morning what is best in terms of innovation.

This Wednesday, he is interested in a novelty that should save travelers time at airports.

We will soon be able to deposit the suitcases directly on the conveyor belt, without going through the check-in counter.

There will be something new at the airports.

We will soon no longer need to queue to check in our luggage.

They can be dropped off directly on the treadmill, without going through the check-in counter.

All this because there will be no more paper luggage tags (the ones that are rolled up on your handle with all its barcodes).

It will be replaced by an electronic tag with a small screen.

It will work like the recording you make at home the day before you leave.

But in addition to choosing your seat, you will also program the electronic tag, with the right information, thanks to your mobile phone.

As a result, when arriving at the airport, all you have to do is put your luggage directly on the conveyor belts.

No need to print your label, like today, on an automatic terminal.

Nor queuing at the counters.

So we should save a lot of time.

Isn't there a risk that the tag's battery will discharge and therefore that you will lose your luggage?

Not exactly.

That's the novelty.

Airlines have been testing electronic tags for years.

But it never worked.

In particular because of the batteries that had to be changed or the battery that could discharge.

This new label is totally autonomous.

It does not need a battery.

It works with NFC technology, like building entry badges.

That is to say that the energy of the telephone, which is approached without contact, is sufficient to load the information and update the display.

Afterwards, the screen remains fixed, without consuming any energy.

Several companies have agreed to switch to these new labels: Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, China Southern and Alaska Airlines… But at Air France, we are still giving ourselves time for reflection.

We save time at check-in, but are we going to avoid luggage piling up in airports (as we have seen sometimes this summer)?

At first, yes!

Since most of the problems came from the lack of staff and canceled flights.

This is why companies want to automate as many operations as possible.

We'll have to get used to it: more technology to make up for staff shortages.

Expect more self-service and less human contact.

We can already see it in supermarkets.

Soon it will be the turn of airports.