Lost luggage rate soars at airports

Europe worst for mishandled baggage, report says

In total, 26 million bags were mishandled last year, compared to 9.9 million in 2021. AFP

The problem of lost, damaged or delayed luggage increased last year as the air travel sector struggled to deal with the surge in flights after the pandemic, a study found on Tuesday.

The report said 26 million bags – or 7.6 per 1,000 passengers – were mishandled in 2022, up from 4.35 per 1,000 the previous year.

Last year was marked by a return to air travel by passengers eager to fly again after the Covid lockdowns.

But problems were seen in airport queues and baggage claim areas as hiring by airports and airlines sometimes lagged behind demand, said SITA, an IT provider for the industry.

Europe had the highest rate of mishandled luggage, the report said.

“After a decade where the mishandling rate more than halved between 2007 and 2021, it is disheartening to see this rate climbing again,” said SITA chief executive David Lavorel.

“As an industry, we need to work hard to ensure passengers are once again confident to check in their bags.”

In total, 26 million bags were mishandled last year, compared to 9.9 million in 2021, SITA said.

The region with the highest rate of mishandled bags in 2022 was Europe, with 15.7 per 1,000 passengers, a threefold increase from the previous year.

This compared to 6.35 per 1,000 passengers in North America and three per 1,000 in Asia.

Part of the problem was that airports and airlines had fewer staff to handle the surge after laying off thousands when the pandemic brought the sector to its knees.

For the study, SITA relied on data from its luggage tracking software, used by 500 customers at 2,800 airports around the world.