Passengers Give Terminal 5 Vote of No Confidence



A survey conducted by i-TRAK, the intelligent baggage ID service, asked over 1300 members of the public whether they expect Terminal 5 to improve baggage handling this summer, and 69% said no. In addition, one in five of those questioned had lost an item of luggage at an airport, and yet a staggering 84% said that the recent baggage chaos had not changed the way they identify their luggage.

"While Terminal 5 is being heralded as the solution to many air travel problems, the reality of combining two very differently operating terminals will no doubt generate major teething problems, especially where baggage movements are concerned" , comments Adam Dalby, managing director, i-TRAK. "The public is clearly very pessimistic about seeing improvements to baggage handling , especially with so many having been personally affected in the past. Lost luggage is an unfortunate by-product of air travel, however passengers should realise that they are part of the solution, rather than looking to the airlines to take sole responsibility for ensuring their luggage arrives."

i-TRAK conducted its survey of 1333 people during January and February 2008, to gauge current perceptions of Terminal 5's baggage handling capabilities and the public's lost luggage experiences to date.

Key findings included:

-    69% said they did not expect the opening of Terminal 5 to improve baggage handling this summer. This comprised 38% who said they did not expect to see changes this year, and 31% who did not expect to see improvements at all

-    20% of respondents had lost an item of luggage at an airport

-    84% of those questioned said that the recent baggage chaos at UK airports had made no difference to the way they identified their luggage

About i-TRAK

i-TRAK was founded in 2000 to provide luggage and personal item tracking solutions for travellers and the travel industry. The i-TRAK, number plate style, identification system makes luggage totally unique through its individual code displayed on the tag. In addition to the web and a 24 hour finders phone line, it is the only identity tag that uses the airline industry's very own telex communication system, allowing both airline workers and the public alike to quickly reunite lost bags with their owners. i-TRAK for luggage was launched in January 2003 and was followed by i-TRAK micro labels for passports, cameras, laptops, MP3 players and other valuable items in February 2006.





Passengers Give Terminal 5 Vote of No Confidence