The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has commenced moves to deploy Radio Frequency Identification technology at Nigerian airports to tackle persistent cases of lost, delayed, damaged, and misrouted passenger baggage.
NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said baggage handling remains one of the industry's biggest sources of passenger complaints after flight delays. "For many years now, one of the biggest complaints in the industry has been that of baggage. Passengers frequently contend with bags that are short-landed, missing, lost or damaged," he said, noting the NCAA has met with domestic airlines, ground handlers, and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to finalise plans for the migration.
The RFID system, which would replace the current barcode-based tracking technology, will allow passengers to monitor the location of their luggage through a mobile app from check-in until arrival at their destination. The NCAA is also reviewing existing regulations with a view to making automated baggage tracking mandatory for airlines operating in Nigeria, though it has not yet announced a timeline for the system going live.