JFK Int'l Airport Invests In RFID Baggage-Tracking Technology For Terminal 4

New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, the main international gateway to the United States, will invest in technology to ensure luggage is accurately matched with departing passengers, reducing delays.

The airport's Terminal 4, a privately managed facility that processes some 7.7 million passengers annually, will use a computerized tracking system called BagManager that producer SITA said will reduce handling errors and misdirected luggage while improving security.

"The amount of baggage passing through our terminal is extremely important to the millions of departing passengers every year," said Daryl Jameson, IT director for Terminal 4, which is jointly operated by JFK IAT LLC, a consortium made up of Schipol USA, LCOR Inc. and Lehman Brothers. "We are committed to employing the best and latest technology to give our airline customers and their passengers a hassle-free experience at JFK."

SITA, a provider of information technology systems to the air transport industry, said the new system will help Terminal 4 manage a growing number of bags working through the airport, the company said. The technology will be in place by the beginning of June.

BagManager uses radio frequency identification technology to interface with airline departure control systems and the airport operations database. By scanning a bar code on a bag, an agent can make real-time decision about baggage handling. For example, an agent can see if a connecting flight is late and adjust accordingly.

"It minimizes the delay of the airplane and verifies that baggage doesn't get on the wrong airplane,'' said SITA spokeswoman Dana Mark. Federal law requires bags travel with passengers.

Continuous Baggage Tracking

BagManager tracks all local and transfer baggage from customer checkin, to the airport baggage sorting process, to placement into containers, to loading on the aircraft. The system quickly identifies and locates bags at any given stage of the handling process, including passing through security screening devices. At departure, the system is used to reconcile a passenger with the bag, a process known as positive passenger bag match. It also reduces the number of mishandled bags.

Terminal 4, which operates separately from other airport terminals, awarded SITA the project after an earlier contract expired. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Terminal 4 opened in May 2001 on 165 acres and is considered the cornerstone of a $10.3 billion revamp of JFK International Airport. It serves more than 50 airlines from 40 countries and is staffed 24 hours a day by Customs and Border Protection agents. It is designed to annually accommodate as many as 12 million passengers.

"JFK International Airport is a key location in the U.S. for both domestic and international travel. By implementing BagManager at JFK Terminal 4, the terminal users will be able to handle the growing numbers of bags through the airport," said Sandra Girona, SITA vice president of sales and relationship management for North America. BagManager already is in use at more than 30 airports around the world, including Toronto's Pearson International Airport and London's Gatwick. At Gatwick, BagManager allows ground handlers and airlines to run an automated baggage reconciliation system using some 250 wireless hand-held scanners.

Simon Elliott, operations representative for Gatwick's Airline Operations Committee, said the tool has worked well there. "We now have a world-class baggage reconciliation system in place," he said.