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Airports around the country are dealing with massive security lines, causing people to wait for hours and even miss flights on multiple occasions. Airlines have invested millions of dollars in hopes of speeding up the process for passengers, and while that may take some time, other process improvements may help reduce waits at another part of the airport.

Several airlines in the Star Alliance offer automated check-in options.

Several airlines in the alliance — and others like Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines — have various degrees of automation already in place. United and SAS have airport kiosks at select airports that allow passengers to print and attach a bag tag before dropping it at the baggage drop area. Lufthansa has a new feature called HomeTag through which passengers can print out a bag tag with their home printer and attach before departing for the airport. Air New Zealand is on the cutting edge of automated check-in processes, with its biometric bag drop stations at its Auckland hub. However, not all carriers in the alliance have implemented the same technology, leading to an inconsistent experience (that should improve soon).

Don’t forget that if you’re planning on checking a bag on your next trip, consider signing up for a credit card that waives checked baggage fees. Further, several cards offer an annual airline credit that can be used to wipe away any fees you rack up from checking bags.

Source: thepointsguy.com