Delta Air Lines deploys artificial intelligence to manage 100,000 daily bags at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

As the Memorial Day travel surge kicks off the busiest season for United States airlines, Delta Air Lines is using an artificial intelligence system to coordinate baggage movement across the world’s busiest airport by passenger volume. The system functions like a ridesharing algorithm, helping tug drivers prioritize and route luggage more efficiently through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Behind-the-scenes operations at Atlanta hub

Ramp agent Mike Davis, who works for Delta on the tarmac between the terminal and taxiway, described the workflow from behind the wheel of a baggage tug. Before a plane arrives, Davis heads to the gate, waits for the jet, and scans bar codes on luggage tags with a handheld computer resembling a rugged iPad. “Now I take it, I scan it, it gives me a green scan sign saying it’s A-okay,” Davis said. He then navigates around dozens of other tugs, trucks, and aircraft, moving constantly between terminals and gates.

On a busy day, Delta handles more than 100,000 bags in Atlanta alone, with three-quarters of those passing through en route to other destinations. An average of nine airline employees touch each bag at some point during its journey.

AI dispatching system improves consistency

Delta built its own artificial intelligence system to replace the previous dispatching method, according to Paul Buckley, Delta’s director of operations at Atlanta. “In our old dispatching system, we gave the drivers the bags that they were to handle. And then they, in many cases, would choose the order. And some were better than others. Now we have consistency, because we know exactly what order we’re delivering them in,” Buckley said.

The system tells drivers which gate to go to and the order in which bags need to be delivered. “I don’t have to focus on crunching numbers and trying to figure out my own route. It does all that for me,” Davis said. “It tells me which gate. All I got to do is just to get there.” However, Davis noted the artificial intelligence is not perfect and has occasionally assigned him very tight connections.

Context

Other major airlines have also adopted artificial intelligence for ground operations. United Airlines has deployed machine learning to predict baggage handling bottlenecks at Newark Liberty International Airport, while American Airlines uses AI-driven scheduling for ramp workers at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.