The Big Issue: Lost luggage

The Baggage Hold

There's a frisson of fear some of us feel watching our luggage disappear down the conveyor belt at the check-in desk – will we see it again? Take heart – the loss rate for checked baggage continues to fall thanks to ever-improving tracking technology. According to the 2018 Baggage Report from SITA, which provides IT solutions to the transport industry, the rate of mishandled bags was 5.57 for every 1000 passengers in 2017. That figure is almost 3 per cent less than the previous year, and down 70 per cent compared to 2007. Most of those mishandled bags are not irretrievably lost but delayed. The overwhelming majority are reunited with their rightful owners, usually within a day or two. Nearly half of all cases of delayed bags occurred between connecting flights, particularly those with tight time frames. Where is your airline luggage is most likely to go missing? Europe. According to the SITA, for every thousand passengers flying in Europe, 6.94 bags were lost in 2017, well above the global average. Hopefully technology will come to the rescue. International Air Transport Association Resolution 753, which came into force in June 2018, implements cross-industry tracking for every baggage journey. Airline members are now required to track baggage at four key points, at the passenger handover at the check-in desk, at the aircraft loading point, at delivery to the transfer area and when the baggage is returned to the passenger, all done via sensors that read the barcodes on luggage labels.