6 tips to stop you losing your luggage at the airport

Flight cancellations, passport renewal delays and now baggage handling disasters have led to thousands of bags being abandoned on the tarmac or in arrivals halls. It’s all made summer holidays a pretty perilous pursuit this year. But with a bit of clever planning, you can at least mitigate most of the things that would make your luggage take a leave of absence.

Globally, an eye watering 28 million bags go missing annually according to statistics from 2019, with 5% of those never being returned to their owners. But figures for the UK are much less horrifying, with Civil Aviation research from 2015-2019 finding only 2,068 British bags disappeared without trace.

However, this year’s perfect storm of staff shortages and flight delays have already led to thousands of bags being left on the tarmac for hours, or piled up in arrivals halls to the dismay of weary travellers.

The reason most baggage goes missing is mislabelled or damaged routing labels. Human error plays a big part too, either on the part of airline staff, or jetlagged travellers who fail to collect their luggage from the carousel in arrivals.

But not all airports are equally likely to let suitcases stray. Heathrow, for example, mishandles five times more bags than any other airport. To add to its woes, technical difficulties at Terminal 2 recently led to a sea of luggage swamping the airport. 

With a bit of planning you can mitigate the chances of your belongings going astray. Here’s how…

If you’re going long haul it may not be possible to swerve Gatwick or Heathrow, but if you can opt for a regional airport, you’re more likely to bring your souvenirs home. The lost luggage stats for the two big London hubs top all the other airports combined even allowing for the number of passengers that pass through them.

Even if it means wearing two jumpers, a coat and your bulkiest footwear, if you can travel simply with cabin baggage – do it. Staying in control of your goods is the only way to avoid a lost luggage situation, and there are plenty of covetable and clever options (hello, expandables!). Just be sure to read your airline’s fine print for definitive dimensions.

Simple trackers like an Apple Airtag can make life a little easier if someone has mistakenly collected your bag from the carousel. It uses Bluetooth signals detected by nearby devices to show you its location on the Find My app. 

Of course, black and grey are chic and timeless options – but in a time of potential travel chaos, you need a hi-vis option that you can spot from a grainy Twitter photo of a car boot-esque baggage hall and instantly exclaim: ‘That’s mine!’

Don’t be tempted to leave barcodes and destinations stickers on your case. They can lead to frazzled baggage handlers loading your suitcase onto the wrong plane. Similarly make sure your contact details are inside and outside of your bag so it can be easily returned if it’s lost its way.

If yours is one of a trillion dark and identikit cases headed to the baggage handlers, make sure you can easily identify it. Fashion stylists swear by a couple of neon ribbons simply tied to the handles, but there are also cute keyrings and bold luggage tags which will help leave no doubt as to which one is yours. Happy holidays!