Every Bag in Place

This article focuses on the use of radio-frequency (RF) technology in Las Vegas airport. The RF technology is provided by Matrics Inc. of Columbia, Md., which has a five-year contract to supply the airport with 100 million tags. The tags, which hold 96 bits of information, require no separate power source and are activated by a signal from the RF reader in the ultra-high frequency band between 902 and 928 MHz. The Federal Aviation Administration requires that passengers’ names pass through the Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System. Those profiled as suspicious by the system are known as ‘selectees.’ At Jacksonville, their bags are tracked by an ultra-high frequency UHF system. According to a case study published by FKI Logistex, the selectees’ bags are separated from the main stream of luggage and sent to a machine set for more intense screening. However, at Las Vegas airport, everybody will be tagged.