RFID bag tag tests underway in Windy City

A pilot program in Chicago would allow some flyers to check in their luggage with RFID tags that would speed travelers' passage through the security process. United Airlines is testing the system at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

To blithe but harried travelers it must sound like a nice time-saver: Drop off your RFID-tagged bag on a reader-enabled counter, where an airline employee compares the ID information broadcast by the tag to the passenger's ID. The passenger goes onward to the gate; the bag gets another scan and goes onward to its usual screening process.

The trial is slated to last six weeks. It's unclear what security and privacy protections will be offered to those using the technology, but it doesn't appear that the solution used by travelers already nervous about the radio chip in their passport -- a wallet that doubles as a Faraday cage -- is feasible for a tag that is out of your personal control for any length of time.