The aviation baggage industry is entering a new era of digital transformation. While paper baggage tags have remained largely unchanged for decades, the growing demand for real-time visibility, operational efficiency and better passenger experiences is driving the shift toward electronic bag tags.

At the 2026 ePaper Innovation Conference, BAGTAG shared its vision for “Connecting the bag, one ePaper display at a time”, highlighting how ePaper technology can serve as a critical building block for the digitalization of baggage operations.

From Paper Tags to Connected Baggage

Traditional paper baggage tags are limited to printed information. They cannot be updated, tracked or remotely addressed, meaning that rerouted baggage often requires a new tag and manual intervention. This creates additional workload while providing passengers and airport operations with limited visibility.

Electronic bag tags offer a more efficient alternative. By digitizing the existing baggage tag while maintaining the same core information and barcode compatibility, they can be introduced without requiring fundamental changes to existing airport infrastructure.

According to BAGTAG, ePaper is particularly well suited to this application. Its high contrast provides excellent readability for barcode scanners, while its low power consumption, wide operating temperature range and ability to remain legible even after power or physical failure make it highly suitable for the demanding aviation environment.

Building an Open and Scalable Platform

Beyond the device itself, BAGTAG is working to address one of the key challenges facing the industry: interoperability.

The BAGTAG EBT Platform acts as a layer between airlines and electronic bag tag hardware, enabling airlines to integrate once with the platform while supporting devices from multiple manufacturers. This approach can reduce the need for multiple individual integrations and create a more scalable ecosystem for electronic bag tags.

BAGTAG has also highlighted several key learnings from its deployment journey: distribution and user adoption are critical, awareness and trust must be built across airline staff, critical mass is essential for a viable business case, and interoperability is fundamental to the industry's long-term growth.

BAGTAG pioneered the electronic bag tag and leads the market today. Its open platform already runs five kind of devices from different manufacturers, across 20 airlines and more than 430 airports.

From Electronic Tags to Truly Connected Bags

The next generation of electronic bag tags is moving beyond simply replacing paper.

BAGTAG envisions a truly connected bag, combining electronic display technology with passenger tracking, color indicators, audible alerts and remotely changeable information. These capabilities could support automated rerouting, improve baggage handling and provide passengers with greater reassurance throughout their journey.

As the aviation industry moves toward greater end-to-end baggage visibility and digital operations, ePaper is becoming an important technology foundation for this transformation.

The future of baggage is not simply paperless. It is connected, visible and intelligent — with ePaper playing a critical role in making that future possible.