How Open Source Databases can Streamline Baggage Management

Losing your baggage while travelling to another country can upset everything you have planned for your trip. This is where a range of open source databases can be of help. Let's find out how.

- Venkateswaran N.

Venkat boarded a flight at JFK airport, New York for a three-week visit to India. After a long and tiring journey, he arrived in Chennai. After clearing immigration, he walked to the baggage claim area, waited and waited, and soon realised that his baggage had not arrived in the same flight.

Venkat approached the airline’s customer service desk to report the situation. The airline representatives, although sympathetic, could provide no immediate solutions. The luggage did not arrive even on subsequent flights of the airline over the next two days. Days turned into weeks, and Venkat’s luggage remained missing. He returned to New York without his lost baggage and took the airlines to court for an inconsistent response about the whereabouts of his baggage.

Why did this happen? How could it have been avoided?

The impact of inadequate data 

Airlines can face significant challenges when they lack access to adequate data or fail to effectively utilise the data they have. Here are a few ways in which this can happen.

Database problems: While inadequate data alone may not be the sole cause for the closure of an airline, it can contribute to operational challenges and financial difficulties that may eventually lead to closure.