Artificial Intelligence could end lost luggage

Technology company SITA believes the use of artificial intelligence could end the problem of lost luggage for passengers. SITA argues artificial intelligence will revolutionize the management of luggage over the next decade and will make mishandled baggage an increasingly rare event. It says it will be able to allow airports and airlines to learn what baggage routes cause the most stress on their systems and what factors are most likely to be the cause. A SITA report, Intelligent Tracking: A Baggage Management Revolution, published Wednesday notes that more than 4.5 billion bags are handled by the aviation industry each year and passenger numbers are expected to double over the next two decades. Read:Passengers need to read the fine print on rights The industry is already tackling the problem of mishandled baggage and has halved the annual cost of the problem over the past decade from $US .22bn to $US2.1bn. Read: Bag tracking technology could save airlines $US3 billion. “We at SITA believe that harnessing data and artificial intelligence in a meaningful way will revolutionize how we manage the air transport industry in the next decade,’’ said Ilya Gutlin, president of SITA Air Travel Solutions. The International Air Transport Association has already launched a resolution that requires member airlines keep track of each bag and share that tracking information with those involved in delivering those bags back to passengers at their destination. “The bag tracking data that will be generated and collected under Resolution 753 will provide the air transport industry with a rich stream of data,’’ Gutlin said.  “This can be enhanced with AI tools to create greater efficiencies in baggage operations and, ultimately, to improve our experience as passengers.” The report noted the digital transformation of the air transport industry was evolving and the use of AI was still in the early stages. “But machine learning, autonomous vehicles and robotics promise to transform the sector and have much to contribute to revolutionizing baggage operations,’’ it said. .