ODIN To Provide RFID Bag Tag Screening For International Air Transport Association
ODIN recently announced that has been chosen by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as an Affiliated Organization.
ODIN will provide vendor-neutral testing and guidance supporting RFID airline baggage tagging standardization across the industry. The first phase of the IATA/ODIN partnership will feature a comprehensive scientific RFID baggage tagging benchmark designed to set a standard for the industry to speed adoption, help airlines reduce cost and improve traveler experience.
“RFID baggage tagging represents one of the most compelling opportunities for airlines to realize cost savings during a time of rising operational expenses and for airports and municipalities to increase revenue and attract more flights,” said Patrick J. Sweeney II from ODIN technologies. “RFID has already proven to reduce costs and handling errors and recent improvements in tag technology should improve those results further.
“Through IATA’s leadership the implementation of global standards will help unlock value in this important operational challenge. The entire ODIN team looks forward to assisting IATA in its groundbreaking ‘Baggage Improvement Program’ for the airline industry. We’re particularly excited about the green aspect of eventually eliminating literally millions of feet of printed bag tags every year.”
IATA’s baggage tag program objectives require a focus on two quality components: consistency and performance across the global UHF RFID spectrum. These are critical because airlines must be able to rely on the tags to perform as expected since operations will be optimized around expected performance levels.
ODIN’s benchmark will focus on identifying the best performing commercially available baggage tags and defining key quality standards and metrics for future RFID enabled baggage tags. It will also set the foundation for pre-packaged solutions based on those performance standards.
“Mishandled baggage costs the industry $3.8 billion every year,” said IATA spokesman Lorne Riley. “RFID alone can reduce mishandlings by 20 percent and it is a critical element of our Baggage Improvement Program. We are counting on ODIN technologies to support this initiative with methods, software and best practices that can enhance the consistency and performance of RFID baggage tags across the globe.”