For travelers, one of the most frustrating occurrences has to be when you are standing at the baggage claim post-flight, waiting for what seems like an eternity, potentially adding another hour to your journey. There are repeat offenders (Havana Airport, anyone?), but lately, otherwise smooth operators such as Amsterdam Schiphol have been visited by the post-pandemic luggage carousel chaos.
What is even worse is when, after all that waiting, your bag is still nowhere to be seen as the 'last bag on belt' flashes on the screen. This means chasing down toothbrushes and perhaps new clothes, but only after you have navigated the handler's help desk, likely along with a group of people just as tired and exacerbated as yourself. They may be even more disgruntled than you, such as the man who hacked IndiGo after his bag went missing.
According to IT and telecommunication service company SITA, instances of delayed and lost luggage increased over the past year. As the airline industry began to recover from COVID-19, the global mishandled baggage rate spiked by 24% to 4.35 bags per thousand passengers in 2021.
Why the drastic jump?
One of the main reasons for this is the return of international and long-haul flying. Transfer bags account for most of the mishandled cases, and for self-explanatory reasons, these were in short supply during 2020.
The mishandling rate at the global level on international routes is 8.7. However, for domestic routes, it is only 1.85. In other words, at a worldwide level, the likelihood of mishandling a bag is about 4.7 times higher on international routes compared to domestic ones.
Furthermore, the downsizing of airlines, airports, and ground handlers during the pandemic left all three understaffed as the recovery began to pick up in earnest and faster than anticipated.
Doing more with less
SITA believes that if operators remain short-handed, the mishandling rate may continue to creep up and become much higher than before the crisis. David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, stated,
“The industry now needs to do more with less. As we emerge from the pandemic, our customers' focus remains on safely managing the end-to-end transport of passengers' baggage, but now they must also reduce the total cost and training required. There is significant pressure to increase operational efficiency, which is accelerating digitalization.”
Delayed bags accounted for 71% of all mishandled bags in 2021, which was a two points increase from the year before. At the same time, the number of lost and stolen bags increased slightly to 6%. Meanwhile, those damaged and pilfered decreased to 23%.
Have you ever had a bag disappear or get delayed en route to your destination? How long did it take you to get it back? Leave a comment below and share your experience.