The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has commenced moves to deploy Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology at Nigerian airports to tackle persistent cases of lost, delayed, damaged and misrouted passengers’ baggage.
The technology is expected to track passengers’ luggage from check-in through sorting and aircraft loading to arrival at their destination.
The proposed system was unveiled on Tuesday at a technology modernisation briefing organised by the NCAA for airlines, ground handlers and other aviation stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said baggage handling remained one of the biggest sources of passenger complaints in the aviation industry 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,” Achimugu said.
He explained that the RFID system would allow passengers to monitor their luggage through an application and determine whether a bag had left the check-in area, reached the sorting point, arrived at the boarding area or been loaded onto the correct aircraft.
The technology would also help prevent bags from being sent to incorrect destinations by identifying discrepancies during the processing and loading stages.
Achimugu used the example of a passenger travelling from Lagos to Kano, saying the system would make it difficult for the passenger’s bag to be loaded onto another flight without the error being detected.
RFID technology would also improve how airlines respond to missing-baggage complaints by creating a digital record of a bag’s last known location.
“If you have landed in Lagos, but your bag is in Enugu, for instance, you can tell the airline specifically where your bag is,” he said.
According to Achimugu, greater visibility across the baggage-handling process would reduce the time airlines spend investigating complaints and increase accountability among operators involved in baggage handling.
However, the system is not yet operational, as the NCAA continues consultations with airlines and other industry stakeholders on its implementation.
Achimugu said discussions were also ongoing on how the RFID platform would integrate with airlines’ existing Passenger Service Systems and Departure Control Systems.
The authority is also considering regulatory changes that could make baggage automation mandatory across Nigerian airports.
Airlines have expressed support for the initiative but raised concerns about integration, infrastructure, human error and the cost of implementation.
Operators questioned whether existing baggage-tagging equipment and printers would need to be replaced and sought clarification on who would bear the cost of deploying the new technology.
They also warned that RFID would only deliver its full benefits if airports have adequate baggage-sorting infrastructure.
The contractor handling the project, Aviation 360 Solutions, said the system would use multiple scanning points at baggage-sorting and aircraft-loading areas to create a digital record of each bag’s movement.
The company said the system would enable airlines and other stakeholders to identify where a bag was last scanned if it failed to reach the aircraft.
Achimugu stressed that successful implementation would require cooperation between the NCAA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), airlines, ground handlers and other aviation service providers.
“The NCAA does not own airport infrastructure,” he said, emphasising that all stakeholders have different responsibilities within the baggage-handling process.
The NCAA said the RFID project is expected to commence later this year, with the ultimate goal of reducing one of the aviation industry’s most persistent sources of passenger complaints.
