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BAA's RFID trial prepares for takeoff
Any day now...

By Natasha Lomas

Published: Wednesday 14 November 2007

Airport operator BAA is preparing to kick off an RFID luggage-tracking trial at Heathrow.

Back in the summer the track and trace pilot was slated for a September launch but although all the necessary equipment for the trial has been installed it has yet to be switched on, according to a BAA executive.

Speaking at a roundtable event in London to discuss BAA's wireless strategy, enterprise architect Jonathan Prizeman said the trial will kick off "any day now" and said the organisation is looking at RFID, adding "but for us it's about fitness for purpose".

While the industry may tend to want RFID for everything, Prizeman said "quite often, barcodes are adequate".

The proliferation of wireless technologies in its airport environments has led BAA to work with wireless professional services provider Red-M, to ensure the various systems are able to operate with minimal interference to each other.

Prizeman said: "The ultimate aim of merging all radio infrastructure [on a common infrastructure] is that everyone who wants to use radio systems is able to do so."