COMPUTER CHIPS COULD PREVENT LOSS OF BAGGAGE

(www.morningsentinel.mainetoday.com)

No one who travels by air was surprised at the announcement this week that the airline industry set a record last year for losing more luggage than ever.

An estimated 30 million bags were lost in 2005 and 200,000 of them were never found.

Most of the misconnected suitcases were returned to their owners in little more than a day.

It also should be no surprise that the problem is getting worse, not better, according to SITA, Inc., an international company that tracks this problem.

The answer, SITA says, is baggage tags that include a tiny computer chip to help airlines keep track of bags. They are being used in a few areas, and they work, SITA reports.

Anyone who has had the experience of arriving at a destination without his or her luggage will embrace the proposal.

In the meantime, we suggest extra frequent flier miles for your suitcase if it goes to Hawaii while you land in Omaha.