There are few things more frustrating when traveling than missing luggage. Some airports are more likely than others, research reveals.
Lost luggage is a vexing issue for many air travelers – alongside flight cancellations and delays. According to the current baggage report from the passenger rights portal AirHelp In 2023, 36.1 million pieces of luggage were lost, damaged or delayed by 5.2 billion passengers worldwide. This corresponds to 6.92 pieces of luggage per 1,000 passengers. Airline passengers in Europe are particularly affected, where around 10.6 million pieces of luggage were lost in 2023. In the previous year there were even 15.7 million. In comparison, North America recorded losses of 5.8 million and Asia 3.0 million. This emerges from data from the IT company SITA, which is provided by AirHelp-Experts analyzed.
The report also shows that the problem has worsened since the pandemic. In the pre-Corona years, the probability of luggage loss was lower in all three regions – the value was consistently below 6 pieces of lost luggage per 1,000 passengers.
Which airports are most likely to lose luggage?
Mexico City's Juárez Airport tops the inglorious list of airports with the highest probability of baggage loss – with a rate of 2.1 percent. That's an estimated 78,500 pieces of luggage per month. The data comes from Luggage losera platform for lost luggage. London is represented twice: London City and Gatwick take second and third place with odds of 1.62 and 1.58 percent respectively. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport in Mumbai (1.52 percent) and Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India (1.13 percent) round out the top five.
A German airport also made it onto the negative ranking: According to the report, 0.6 percent of luggage at Frankfurt Airport is lost. This puts it in the top 10, namely the 8th worst airport when it comes to lost luggage.
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Airlines with the most baggage losses
The choice of airline can also apparently increase or decrease the risk of lost luggage, according to the report AirHelp Revealed. Argentine airline Aerolineas Argentinas was responsible for the most lost luggage in 2023 – a whopping 11.45 percent, which accounted for one in nine pieces of luggage. The Spanish airline Iberia follows far behind with 3.3 percent and British Airways with 2.63 percent. Air India and Aer Lingus come in 4th and 5th with 2.50 percent and 2.36 percent. The worst German airline is in 17th place in the ranking: Lufthansa loses 0.6 percent of its luggage.
Why is luggage lost?
According to the, the main cause of luggage loss is AirHelp-Report incorrect transfer transfers, which accounted for 46 percent of delayed bags in 2023 – a peak in the past five years. Other reasons include that luggage was not even loaded (16 percent) or arrived late due to errors in ticketing and at the baggage counter (14 percent). Airport operations, customs, weather, space or weight restrictions and errors during loading also contribute eight percent to the delays.
