Could These Free Smart Luggage Carts Be the Future of Travel at Airports Around the World?

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My wife forwarded me an Instagram video (embedded below) about free smart trolleys or luggage carts in some international airports and asked me if I’d seen them before. I hadn’t but after a little digging, it looks like they’re starting to expand so it probably won’t be long before I (or you!) see one. RELATED: How to Get Luggage Carts For Free

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The traveler who is demonstrating the smart trolley is in Hyderabad Airport in India. I was there in 2012 when my wife and I stayed at the opulent Taj Falaknuma Palace but I don’t remember the airport being so nice. They definitely didn’t have these smart trolleys back then because they only launched last year.

As you can see, these carts are interesting for a number of reasons. Number one, the luggage carts are free, which you don’t find in most U.S. airports. They also give travelers up-to-date gate information so if your gate changes or, like in many international airports where they don’t post until about 20 minutes before boarding time, you don’t have to mill around the departures board waiting for the gate assignment. The carts also give travelers an interactive map of where you are and maps and information about the shops, restrooms and gates nearby.

According to, Morten Pankoke, the CEO of Intelligent Track Systems (ITS), these smart trolleys first launched in the Hamburg International Airport 11 months ago.

Of course, nothing is free and Pankoke is quoted in the Moodie Davitt Report explaining the reason why the Danish company is literally rolling these carts out: “Our free trolleys are able to lift retail sales thanks to their ability to guide passengers around airside shopping areas and direct them to special offers or items of interest.”

Currently, you can find the smart trolleys in Hamburg, Vienna, Munich and Hyderabad airports. It looks like they also did a pilot project in San Diego, which I’m sorry I missed.

Have you ever used one of these smart trolleys? What was your experience?