THE US AIR Transport Association (ATA) has reluctantly accepted the call by the Gore Commission on Aviation Safety and Security for a test of a 100% "bag-match" on domestic flights at named airports within 60 days.
Bag-match, or baggage reconciliation as it is known in Europe, is a basic security measure, rejected by the ATA after post-Lockerbie investigations as being impractical and unnecessary for domestic flights, which ensures that all passengers who check luggage in actually board the flight.
The concept of full baggage reconciliation for all flights is a key Gore Commission recommendation and has been backed by President Clinton.
The ATA says, however: "This is going to be an enormously difficult proposal to implement, but we are committed to working with the Clinton Administration- the logistics of matching up half a billion passengers with close to one billion pieces of baggage is a Herculean task, but we'll get it done on time."
The trade group says that the procedure, implemented fully rather than in this limited experiment, will create enormous delays and cost the industry $2 billion annually.
Source: Flight International
