The FTE Baggage Innovation Working Group (BIWG) has gone from strength to strength in 2025, uniting an incredible community of over 130 active members reimagining the future of baggage. Exciting plans are in place for 2026 – among the schedule of in-person meetings are events hosted by Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and Heathrow Airport, plus Proof of Concepts including the pioneering BOOST initiative, networking, tours and much more. In addition, the brand-new FTE Smart Ramp & Baggage Innovation Summit creates another dedicated platform for sharing progress, accelerating innovation, and defining the future of ramp and baggage transformation together.
View the full FTE BIWG 2026 schedule >>
2025 was a dynamic year for the BIWG, with members engaging in numerous meetings, technical tours, and collaborative sessions globally. Notable highlights included an immersive gathering at Meta’s Singapore office, where members explored extended reality (XR) applications through keynotes, case studies, and demos. In Dublin, a tour of the Amazon Fulfilment Centre was paired with a session at AWS’ EMEA HQ, focused on the Airports AI Alliance and emerging GenAI technologies for airports and baggage handling. Behind-the-scenes visits also marked the year, with members touring Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to explore over a decade of robotics innovation in baggage handling. A joint meeting in Madrid with the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub, hosted by Iberia and Aena, gave rare access to Iberia’s MRO facilities. Operational excellence was a key theme, with Orlando International Airport showcasing its new ICS, Remote Screening Facility, and Terminal C. Members also visited Oceaneering’s production campus for demonstrations of autonomous vehicles and robotics. Meanwhile, the BOOST programme – born from the BIWG – advanced multiple Proof of Concepts across Schiphol, Avinor, Brussels, Heathrow, and Incheon, and published a White Paper on shared priorities for safer, more automated baggage operations.
2026 schedule of activities – a full schedule of virtual and in-person meetings in Orlando, London, Dublin, Dallas & Singapore, and much more
The BIWG enters 2026 with several Proof of Concepts already underway, including the deployment of BagsID imaging technology and ongoing BOOST PoCs across multiple airports. New PoCs focused on bag classification and next-generation loading technologies are also in development.
The Group’s work over the next year will continue to focus on areas such as baggage tracking and tagging; robotics and automation; AI and agentic AI; and the integration of new products and tools into daily airport operations. Confirmed 2026 in-person meetings include:
- 9 February 2026 – Orlando (hosted by Greater Orlando Airport Authority)
- 16 March 2026 – London (hosted by Heathrow Airport)
- 9 June 2026 – Dublin (co-located with the new FTE Smart Ramp & Baggage Innovation Summit)
- 8 September 2026 – Dallas (co-located with FTE Global)
- 17 November 2026 – Singapore (co-located with APEX FTE Expo Asia)
“2026 will include five in-person meetings: Orlando in February hosted by MCO, a Heathrow-hosted meeting in London in March, Dublin in June, Dallas in September, and Singapore in November. These augment our regular schedule of virtual meetings,” explains Darin Juby, Head of Transformation, Future Travel Experience. “Proof of Concepts will come from both the established BOOST programme that continues on collaboratively embracing new technology such as robotics and automation, as well as potential new PoCs from our BIWG members including airlines, airports and suppliers.”
View the full FTE BIWG 2026 schedule >>
MCO-hosted BIWG meeting on 9 February 2026, plus networking evening, tours and 3rd Annual BIWG Golf Day
Following the success of this year’s FTE Communities Live Days event in Orlando, BIWG members will once again convene for an unmissable meeting hosted by Orlando International Airport on Monday 9 February 2026.
“We are inviting some guest speakers from the industry to speak in the morning followed by the BIWG meeting in the afternoon at Orlando International Airport,” says Juby. “Tours will be offered, as well as an evening networking event on the Monday evening. Tuesday will include a networking golf event as we hold the 3rd Annual BIWG Golf Day. An additional tour might be offered on the Wednesday morning, so stay tuned for further details!”
Orlando International Airport will share its baggage vision of the future and discuss plans to replace aging systems, while maintaining growing operations, with a state-of-the-art system and processes envisioned to support an expanding and unique market.
“The in-person meeting will bring together many of the industry’s global leaders and innovators,” says Scott Goodwin, Assistant Vice President, Airport Operations, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “Orlando has a unique baggage market with leisure travellers presenting diverse baggage needs and behaviours. Learn about growing trends and solutions being looked at, as well as lessons learned from initiatives actively and previously implemented supporting baggage efficiencies and operations. The BIWG is a community of forward-thinkers committed to redefining baggage operations. In a rapidly evolving aviation landscape, no single organisation can innovate alone. The BIWG provides the platform to learn from each other and collectively drive meaningful change and results.”
Heathrow-hosted meeting themed ‘Relentless Productivity’ – 16 March 2026
Heathrow will host an unmissable joint in-person meeting of two of FTE’s innovation communities – the FTE Baggage Innovation Working Group and the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub – on 16 March 2026.
“The theme of the meeting will be ‘Relentless Productivity’,” Juby explains. “This ties into Heathrow having to embrace technology and innovation to be as efficient and consistent as possible due to handling a huge volume of aircraft, passengers and bags within a very limited footprint across all hours of the operational day.”
Further details on activities around the meeting, including baggage innovation tours, will be announced soon.
FTE Smart Ramp & Baggage Innovation Summit
In addition to the plethora of BIWG activities planned for 2026, the brand-new FTE Smart Ramp & Baggage Innovation Summit takes place in Dublin on 9-11 June 2026 alongside the co-located APEX FTE EMEA and Ancillary & Retailing events. The FTE Smart Ramp & Baggage Innovation Summit creates a dedicated platform for sharing progress, accelerating innovation, and defining the future of ramp and baggage transformation together. It unites airlines, airports, ground handlers, manufacturers, and solution providers to collaborate on one shared goal: creating safer, smarter, and more efficient ramp & baggage operations through innovation, automation, and cross industry partnership. The event will feature a major segment on the pioneering BOOST programme, which spun out of the BIWG and aims to eliminate physical strain and improve working conditions for baggage workers by rapidly adopting advanced technologies, with Proof of Concepts across Schiphol, Avinor, Brussels Airport, Heathrow and Incheon.
