Air passengers lost 25 million bags in 2009
27/03/2010 17:19
With the high percentage of luggage mishandling by major airline companies, air passengers are advised to be extra careful with their checked-in luggage and to make sure that they are properly tagged for easy identification
Air passengers lost 26 million bags at different airports across the globe in 2009 due to mishandling, theft, tagging problems or ticketing error, according to SITA, a data tracking group.
The most of the missing luggage was traced and returned within 48 hours. But 3.4 percent of the total -- 850,000 items -- either remained unclaimed or were stolen, added SITA, which makes luggage handling systems. Bangkok Post reports:
Just over half of these bags, 52 percent, were misplaced during aircraft transfers, while another 16 percent did not arrive at the destination on time as they were not loaded on planes, luggage tracking data showed.
The most of the missing luggage was traced and returned within 48 hours. But 3.4 percent of the total -- 850,000 items -- either remained unclaimed or were stolen, added SITA, which makes luggage handling systems, the report added.
In 2007, British Airways reportedly topped the list of airline companies with high number of luggage losses among other European airlines. American Airlines, one of the largest US air carrier reportedly misplaced an average 7.4% of the luggage it has handled in 2007.
All other airlines like US Airways and Delta Air have continued to struggle with luggage mishandling, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics revealed.
With the high number of luggage mishandling by the airline companies, passengers are urged to be extra careful with their checked-in luggage, making sure that they are properly tagged for easy identification.
(original article appeared @ Digital Journal )