U.K. airport is starting to affix radio chips to luggage as part of a six-month trial aimed at reducing the number of lost bags The United Kingdom’s busiest airport is starting to affix radio chips to the luggage of passengers as part of an experiment aimed at reducing lost bags.The six-month trial will involve tagging around 50,000 bags a month with RFID for passengers traveling or transferring on Emirates Airline between Dubai and Heathrow, said BAA, the company that runs the airport.Bar code tags are currently used, but the bar codes can be misread by scanners, especially if the tags are wet or creased. Those problems increase costs for BAA and the airlines, as well aggravating passengers with slower baggage handling. The RFID tags, which will be attached by staff at nine specially equipped Emirates check-in desks, will be encoded with the passenger’s name and route. Higher-capacity chips could contain more data but won’t be used for this trial, BAA said. Bar codes will still be used with the RFID tags.The RFID chips can be read by scanning equipment from a short distance away as the luggage passes through Heathrow’s baggage system. Once at their destination, some passengers will receive a text message on their mobile phone informing of the baggage reclaim belt, BAA said. Technology Industry