Pack your suitcase, drive to the airport, get on a plane and fly to a destination of your choice – currently this still seems a long way off. The summer may be the earliest time when we can return to at least some destinations. For many parts of the world, it will be even later.

Regardless of whether your next trip is this summer, or in the more distant future, most people will have become a bit more sensitive about certain aspects of travel. For example, you may wish to avoid:

• Queues and large crowds at airports
• Touching things that have had hundreds of other people’s fingers on them already, like the touchscreens of check-in machines.

Digital solutions make travelling easier and safer

By using practical digital tools, air travel can be made much more comfortable. Even simple things can be helpful –  like taking advantage of online check-in to significantly reduce the amount of time you have to spend queuing.

Queuing and wasting time waiting for bags is a common complaint for frequent travellers. In a survey by InsideFlyer and BAGTAG in the summer of 2020, over 60 percent of those surveyed stated that they try to fly without checked baggage. The main reason for the reluctance to check in suitcases was the waiting time – be it at the check-in counter, or at the baggage carousel.

In the same survey, however, the participants also stated that checking in luggage does make the rest of the journey more comfortable. If you don’t have to pull and lift heavy hand luggage, things like boarding/disembarking the aircraft, and passing through security, are quicker and easier.

Fortunately, there is a digital tool that can help you achieve the best of both worlds.

Electronic bag tags lead to shorter waiting times

Companies in the aviation/travel industry are always coming up with new ideas. For instance, electronic baggage tags like the ones you see on some expensive Rimowa suitcases.

BAGTAG is a company that develops this technology, replacing paper bag tags with an electronic one that can be placed on any piece of luggage. They work with big carriers like KLM, Lufthansa, SWISS and China Southern. 

When you can check-in for your flight, you choose the option to use BAGTAG for your baggage label, via the airline’s app. The app loads the necessary information onto your BAGTAG, and you’re good to go!

At the airport, all you have to do is drop off your luggage at the designated counter. The only thing you will need to touch is your own suitcase or bag.

By taking advantage of digital solutions, it is no longer necessary to wait in long queues at the check-in counter. That means less time wasted at the airport and fewer unnecessary contacts.