Budapest Airport eliminates baggage theft with a world-first innovation

Thanks to a unique innovation at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport, baggage theft will be virtually eliminated by 2024.

Baggage theft

Although the staff of the Airport Police Directorate (RRI) have fought with all possible legal means against baggage theft, the number of opportunities for the perpetrators, the ever-more-sophisticated methods, and the high level of collusion and internal conspiracy mean that hardly a week goes by without a passenger report being filed.

But airport detectives had nothing to fear: in addition to criminal raids at unpredictable times and places, they used covert means, sometimes a decoy suitcase with chemical cash, hidden cameras to try to deter the unscrupulous thieves. Let us be honest: with varying degrees of success. In 2022, there were 119 reports of theft from luggage; by 2023, the situation had improved somewhat, but the problem was not solved: last year, there were 78 reports.

The solution: body cameras

The RRI staff did not give up looking for a solution, and thanks to a legislative amendment, following a data protection impact assessment, they have proposed that all stevedores should now wear a body camera while working. The test period started in February and the system went live in the summer, police.hu said.

The results

As a result, in 2024, RRI had to prosecute only seven cases of baggage theft, five of which were excluded as having been committed in Hungary. In the remaining two cases, body camera footage was used to identify two perpetrators, who were interviewed as suspects by investigators, resulting in a 100% detection rate for this crime.

The use of body cameras by stevedores is unique in the world, and the measures introduced have made Budapest Airport one of the safest airports in Europe, as well as asset protection.

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