Lost or delayed luggage can ruin a vacation or business trip. Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), admitted in a speech last year that he had not checked in a bag for 35 years because he was afraid of this happening. Now, IATA has launched a new initiative to help airlines improve a major weakness in baggage handling - interline baggage transfers, by improving communication between airlines and with airports to better handle cross-airline baggage checks.
IATA plans to launch a pilot project later this year to test its digital messaging standard for baggage exchange communications. IATA said the standard will enable airlines to share information, such as baggage images and baggage geolocation, which are not supported by traditional baggage messaging technology.
