Case Story: Aalborg Airport
Digitalizing Airport Baggage Handling with RFID Technology
In partnership with Lyngsoe, Aalborg Airport digitalized every bag movement — from bag drop to aircraft loading — with fully integrated RFID technology, achieving real-time visibility, automated reconciliation, and IATA compliance.
About Aalborg Airport
Aalborg Airport is Denmark’s third-largest airport, serving approximately 1.6 million passengers annually. As a regional airport operating in a highly competitive aviation environment, Aalborg Airport prioritizes operational stability, passenger experience, and intelligent automation to ensure predictable, efficient baggage operations.
The Challenge:
Limited Visibility and Manual Dependencies in a Compact Airport Environment
For a regional airport, operational stability is not optional — it is essential.
At Aalborg Airport, even minor disruptions can have a significant impact. Limited resources and compact operations mean that downtime in the baggage handling system (BHS) and lost or mishandled baggage are not just operational issues – they directly affect passenger experience, airline performance, and airport reputation.
To maintain reliability and efficiency, Aalborg Airport needed to:
- Increase visibility across the BHS
- Automate data capture at self-service bag drop
- Reduce dependency on manual handling in a smaller airport setup
- Digitally verify physical baggage movement
- Ensure compliance with IATA Resolution 753 and RP1740c
- Improve reconciliation during aircraft loading
- Minimize system downtime and operational disruptions
- Reduce the risk of lost or mishandled baggage
Manual scanning and limited data visibility create inefficiencies, increase labor costs, and introduce risk into critical workflows. When processes rely on manual intervention, the likelihood of delays, errors, and system interruptions rises, making it difficult to maintain consistent uptime and operational control.
Without real-time tracking and automated validation, it becomes challenging to identify where a bag has been or whether it has been handled correctly. This lack of visibility increases the risk of mishandled baggage and reduces the ability to proactively prevent issues before they impact operations.
As Kim Bermann, Deputy Director & COO at Aalborg Airport, explains:
“At Aalborg Airport, operational stability and passenger experience are fundamental. Our partnership with Lyngsoe has spanned almost 20 years and is built on trust, continuity, and a shared understanding of airport operations.”
The Solution:
Fully Automated RFID-Enabled Baggage Tracking – Integrated into the Core Infrastructure
Lyngsoe has supported Aalborg Airport for almost two decades, delivering both the Sort Allocation Controller (SAC) and RFID-enabled baggage tracking capabilities that today form the backbone of the airport’s baggage handling system (BHS).
As Bastian Bech Hedegaard Gaardahl, Sales Director at Lyngsoe, adds:
“By combining our Sort Allocation Controller with RFID tracking, we have helped Aalborg Airport move from manual processes to fully automated and data-driven baggage handling.”
Rather than adding manual scanning layers, Lyngsoe delivers purpose-built RFID hardware fully integrated into Aalborg Airport’s BHS, enabling seamless, hands-free scanning across critical process points.
The solution includes:
- Five self-service RFID bag drops
- Two RFID sortation readers
- Five belt loader readers installed on loading equipment[NJ5.1]
- Real-time data filtering and processing
- Automated reconciliation at aircraft loading
- IATA Resolution 753 and RP1740c compliant infrastructure
Through automated live capture, physical baggage movement is transformed into validated digital events, creating end-to-end traceability, high data accuracy, and full operational control.
As Kim Bergmann continues:
“This long-term partnership provides us with confidence in the accuracy and reliability of the data that underpins our baggage handling processes. Lyngsoe delivers more than technology. They bring expertise, insight, and solutions that ensure valid, real-time data across critical workflows.
Through RFID integration, we achieve full transparency across the entire baggage handling process from check-in to the baggage being loaded and verified onboard the aircraft. With seamless, hands-free scanning, we eliminate manual control points and ensure consistent, high-quality data capture throughout the journey.”
The Proof:
Measurable Improvements in Visibility, Efficiency, and Reliability
By digitalizing and verifying baggage at every critical checkpoint – from bag drop through sortation to aircraft loading – Aalborg Airport has achieved measurable improvements across its operations.
Operational Results:
- Increased check-in utilization
- Faster self-service bag drop process
- High sortation read rates
- Automated reconciliation during aircraft loading
- Reduced reliance on manual scanning
- Improved system availability and operational stability
- Real-time, accurate visibility of baggage status
Kim Bermann summarizes the outcome:
“For Aalborg Airport, this results in visibility control and efficiency across the entire baggage handling process. For our passengers, it means predictable operations, fewer disruptions, and a smoother, more reliable travel experience.”
Building End-to-End Visibility
Delta Air Lines is one of the world’s largest global airlines, operating an extensive network of domestic and international routes. Handling more than 130 million bag tags annually, Delta’s operation represents one of the most complex and high-volume logistics systems in the aviation industry. Delta’s RFID program now delivers end-to-end tracking across the airline’s operations, including:
- Fixed RFID infrastructure across baggage handling environments
- RFID-enabled belt loaders at aircraft operations
- Mobile RFID solutions for recovery and irregular operations
- RFID tag encoding and certification standards
Together, Delta Air Lines and Lyngsoe have built the aviation industry’s largest RFID asset tracking systems, enabling high-performance, data-driven operations.
Solving Complexity and Improving Safety
Deploying RFID at scale in an airport environment introduces significant technical complexity. Factors such as belt speed, bag spacing, and tag readability create a challenging operational environment.
Lyngsoe played a critical role in solving these challenges—particularly through the development of RFID-enabled belt loader solutions that ensure accurate aircraft loading and operational safety.
As Woodruff explains:
“Lyngsoe was able to solve this challenge and provide the solution we needed to ensure aircraft are loaded safely and correctly, so flights depart as expected and passengers are protected.”
In addition, Lyngsoe brings deep expertise in RFID and sensor technologies, enabling reliable tracking events and supporting a consistent, high-quality operational performance.
By eliminating the need for handheld scanners and enabling hands-free operations, Delta Air Lines has improved both efficiency and workforce ergonomics. This has resulted in a 16% reduction in employee injuries, improving overall workforce health and safety.
Looking ahead, the collaboration continues to evolve, focusing on automation, predictive operations, and enhanced visibility. As Delta Air Lines continues to scale its RFID platform, the focus remains on leveraging data to drive operational excellence—ensuring higher efficiency, improved reliability, and sustained competitive advantage across its logistics operations.
Ensuring Reliability 24/7
At Delta Air Lines’s scale, system reliability and IT security are essential to maintaining a high-performing logistics operation.
As Woodruff explains:
“Reliability is paramount for Delta Air Lines. With more than 1,000 RFID read points across 90 stations, any downtime results in lost tracking events and reduced confidence in operational decisions.”
To support this, Delta Air Lines relies on Lyngsoe’ service capabilities, including continuous monitoring and rapid issue resolution.
“We also benefit from the Lyngsoe Service Desk, available 24/7, ensuring minimal downtime and rapid recovery when issues occur. This allows us to maintain the reliability we require.”
In parallel, the partnership supports Delta’s transition to cloud-based infrastructure, ensuring scalability, stability, and compliance with strict IT security requirements.
From Reactive to Proactive Operations
As the RFID platform has scaled across Delta Air Lines’s domestic network, the operation has transitioned to a fully proactive, data-driven operating model.
With 24/7 monitoring, real-time dashboards, and proactive alerts, potential issues are identified and resolved before they impact operations—ensuring consistent, high-performance tracking across the entire network.
Operational Results and Impact
Looking back on more than a decade of collaboration, Delta Air Lines has achieved significant operational improvements through RFID and its partnership with Lyngsoe.
Key results include:
- 16% improvement in mishandled baggage rate
- Increase in tracking events per bag from 4 to 16
- Over 2 billion RFID scan events annually
- 99.9% scan accuracy across the network
This enhanced visibility enables:
- Better operational decision-making
- Improved reliability and on-time performance
- Higher customer satisfaction
Scaling Visibility Across a High-Volume Logistics Network
Handling over 2 billion RFID scan events annually leaves no room for error. Reliable systems, strong IT security, and trusted partners are essential to prevent misplaced assets and protect the customer experience.
The transition from barcode to RFID enabled Delta to significantly increase tracking events per bag—from 4 to 16—strengthening operational insight across the entire flow.
As Woodruff highlights:
“From a tracking perspective, moving from 97% toward 100% resulted in an additional 4 million tracking events annually.”
This level of visibility enables more informed, data-driven decisions—improving flow efficiency, reducing delays, and enhancing overall supply chain performance. It allows Delta to determine whether to hold flights, understand where bags are in real time, and communicate accurate information to customers.
Solving Complexity and Improving Safety
Deploying RFID at scale in an airport environment introduces significant technical complexity. Factors such as belt speed, bag spacing, and tag readability create a challenging operational environment.
Lyngsoe played a critical role in solving these challenges—particularly through the development of RFID-enabled belt loader solutions that ensure accurate aircraft loading and operational safety.
As Woodruff explains:
“Lyngsoe was able to solve this challenge and provide the solution we needed to ensure aircraft are loaded safely and correctly, so flights depart as expected and passengers are protected.”
In addition, Lyngsoe brings deep expertise in RFID and sensor technologies, enabling reliable tracking events and supporting a consistent, high-quality operational performance.
By eliminating the need for handheld scanners and enabling hands-free operations, Delta Air Lines has improved both efficiency and workforce ergonomics.
This has resulted in a 16% reduction in employee injuries, improving overall workforce health and safety.
The RFID Journey
Delta Air Lines has been on this journey since 2014. They started with the belt loader solution, which includes 1,600 belt loaders that enable hands-free loading and unloading. Then transitioned into fixed RFID infrastructure to eliminate the need for manual barcode scanning and replace those tracking events with passive RFID technology.
During the initial deployment, they installed 550 read points, primarily utilizing Zebra hardware, which has been an excellent addition to their technology portfolio. Since then, they grown with Lyngsoe Systems to over 1,000 fixed read points, mostly domestically, but we are now beginning to expand internationally.
Are you looking to improve visibility, efficiency, and reliability?
Talk to Lyngsoe today to discover how RFID and real-time tracking can transform your supply chain.