THE EU has announced funding for Optag, a €2.2 million passenger tagging scheme that could make flight delays a thing of the past.
Under the new scheme, developed by the Engineering Department at University College London, passengers will be given small, wearable tags at check in.
The tags use short radio bursts to communicate with cameras around the airport, enabling ground staff to locate passengers who are lost or late.
Latecomers are estimated to account for 10% of delayed take-offs, costing European airlines an estimated €100 million a year. The problem is likely to worsen as larger capacity aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 super jumbo, make the process of baggage removal more time-consuming.
Once the scheme has passed the development stage, each tag will cost around $1 to produce. The project’s backers believe that its benefits will ultimately balance out the cost of maintaining the system and replacing lost or broken devices.
An earlier plan to place the devices in boarding cards is now likely to be shelved as advances in technology are expected to make paper documents obsolete in the next few years.
Optag’s inventors admit that the system could be used for surveillance, but deny that its chief purpose is to tighten security. Project co-ordinator Bob Lloyd said: “There are potential security applications for the technology, but this is more about avoiding delays than tracking suspicious behaviour.
“After all, our system would not have thwarted the 9/11 attacks.”
The tags may also be of interest to airport retailers, who would be able to gauge passengers’ shopping patterns. Due to data protection laws, however, Optag would not allow retailers access to personal information.
Optag is to be trialed at Debrecen Airport in Hungary, and will be extended if successful.