Airports of the future hold the promise of doing away with long waits to get bags after a flight and long lines at check-in, through the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. The concept of one-touch check-in would utilize smart phone and PC tablet technology to allow travelers to simply swipe their devices across an NFC reader in order to check into a flight. Another high-tech innovation on the horizon is permanent baggage tags using RFID technology.

This would mean that if your bag goes missing or if there are a lot of flight delays and cancellations, airlines and airports would be able to use RFID to track your bags through the airport or on board aircraft. The tags would also contain a lot of information about you, including your contact details and frequent flyer status.