Nashville Airport Wants Remote Bag Check-In At Music City Center

Remote check-in is offered at some of the country’s largest convention destinations to alleviate congestion at the airport. Credit: BAGS

The opening of Music City Center this month is expected to increase traffic at Nashville International. So airport officials are looking for ways to keep the influx of convention-goers flowing, like remote check-in for bags.

This is something already done in big convention cities such as Orlando and Las Vegas. Visitors can check their luggage at the convention hotel or the convention center itself. Their bags are kept secure and handled by TSA agents. The owner doesn’t see them again until they arrive at baggage claim back home.

“It would really help so we don’t have all those people showing up at the airport at one time on big bus loads – which sometimes happens – and backs up security lines,” says Nashville Airport Authority CEO Rob Wigington. “It also helps people have more free time to do some other things in the city.”

Instead of being burdened by their bags, feeling compelled to just head to the airport, Wigington says remote check-in might help stagger arrivals as big conventions conclude.

Nashville’s biggest conferences are still a year away or more, but the average size of events booked at the Music City Center is nearly three times the size of those in the old city-owned convention space, according to a press release issued earlier this year.

Some airlines have organized their own remote check-in operations, but Orlando-based Bags – which stands for Baggage Airline Guest Services – is beginning to dominate the burgeoning market. In recent years the company has added service in places like Phoenix and Atlanta.

Earlier this year, Bags began a concierge at the new Fashion Outlets of Chicago that allows shoppers to print a boarding pass and check their luggage and shopping bags on site, then take a shuttle to the airport.

The grand opening of Music City Center is May 19^th and 20^th.