Low-cost airline Flybe is considering attaching radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to onboard safety equipment such as life jackets to speed up the turnaround times of its planes.

The budget carrier has conducted limited trials of the technology on the ground, involving staff using handheld readers to confirm the presence of life jackets and other equipment.

The results proved that the technology worked and achieved sufficient read rates. The company is now creating a businesses case for using RFID on its planes.

Noel Edwards, Flybe project manager, says the technology could improve staff efficiency by replacing manual checks, while cutting costs by speeding up the turnaround of planes.

‘We have to manually check that life jackets, safety manuals and other items are still on board before planes can turnaround. If RFID can speed up this process, we can reapportion staff time to activities such as improving the appearance of the cabin,’ he said.

Some airlines have reported thefts of several life vests on a single flight, which can compromise safety and prove costly.

‘If vests go missing, we have to find replacements, which can mean spending more time on the ground,’ said Edwards. ‘This is expensive because we pay airports for the time on the ground.’

The airline has tested RFID to track high-value tools for plane repairs, but Edwards says the technology is not accurate enough and active tags are not allowed to transmit inside planes.

Forrester analyst Ellen Daley says some airlines have seen success with RFID pilots in the supply chain, and the next generation is to track assets on board planes.

‘There is the potential to realise time savings by reducing the labour required to check safety equipment, which could help airlines get back in the air quicker,’ she said. ‘But there are also potential cost savings in efficien cy gains.’

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Further reading

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UK number two in RFID market

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