Airlines lose over 25 million bags a year

Travel agents, Flight Centre, announced recently that over 25 million items of luggage go missing at major airports every year. Their advice? Make sure you have the right travel insurance.

After analysing the latest figures in the 2010 Air Transport Industry Baggage Report, it shows a staggering one in 100 passengers globally at a major airport will experience the realisation that their luggage hasn’t made it to their destination.

Flight Centre found that of 25 million mishandled bags, more than half went missing between transfers, around 16 per cent weren’t loaded onto flights and 13 per cent went astray as a result of passenger bag switching, poor ticketing and failed security.

Colin Bowman from Flight Centre reminds us that most people don’t factor in the cost of replacing all their clothes in their travel budget. He says

Most assume it won’t happen to them, but these figures give a strong indication people should ensure they’re covered, for example a traveller may fly with two airlines on one trip, so it’s really not worth taking the risk

Mr Bowman said some airlines don’t offer compensation for lost, stolen or damaged luggage, and even if they do it could take weeks for a reimbursement to come through.

How many bags are lost? The report states;

– 25 million items of luggage misplaced globally each year, or one bag per 100 passengers

When do bags go missing?

– Transfer baggage mishandling (52 per cent)

– Failure to load (16 per cent)

– Passenger bag switch/security/ticketing error (13 per cent)

– Loading/offloading (7 per cent)

– Airport/customs/weather/space-weight restriction (6 per cent)

– Arrival station mishandling (3 per cent)

– Tagging errors (3 per cent)

One per 100 passengers is equivilent to several per plane load.

The best advice I ever received from a seasoned traveller many years ago was this:

Always carry clean underwear in your carry-on luggage

Seems they may actually be on to something.