Damaged Labels
If the label on your bag gets damaged, whether its ripped, torn off or effected by wet conditions outside, it may become unreadable or easily mistaken for a different destination . If your luggage happens to have a damaged label you’re suddenly left to trust the employees in charge of baggage to take the time to find the correct destination for the items. With 26 million bags going awol each year, it suggests many are sent off with little attention to their labels.
Mistaken Labels
We all have those days where our minds wonder or we’re too tired to give our full attention, but in the airline industry can people really afford to have an off day? Common reasons for luggage going missing is due to attendants typing in the wrong destination when printing luggage tags. You may be off on a skiing trip to Austria and hours later find out your luggage is on its way to Australia. The best way to avoid this hiccup is to personally check the labels once they’re attached to your bags and before they are sent for loading. This way you can rest assured that your bags will be on the correct flight.
Weather
As well as weather conditions potentially damaging labels and causing bags to be loaded onto the wrong flights, the weather can also cause problems on a much larger scale. Heavy snow or thunder storms could potentially cause hundreds of delayed flights depending on the severity. If this was to happen it would cause a back log of passengers and bags to collect. Problems could then come from passengers taking luggage from the wrong carousels, people may not collect their luggage as it has been bought out earlier than passengers who have been waiting longer and they may not realise it is their flight, or there may be so much luggage to look through it is impossible for everyone to spot theirs, and in the process items become classed as unclaimed luggage.
In Direct Routes
If you’re travelling on an in direct flight, the risk of losing your luggage increases. Your bags need to be transferred from one flight to another and it is up to the airline to ensure this is done successfully. Again, problems such as damaged tags, and baggage being loaded on to the wrong flight are potential reasons your luggage could go missing.
How To Avoid Lost Luggage
So, now we know why our luggage gets lost, but how can we protect our belongings against this? Taking the following precautions will help avoid losing your baggage in the first place, but if it does get misplaced you’ll also have a better chance of getting it back.
• Make sure your bag stands out, personalise it with recognisable colours or patterns
• Fix an identification tag to the outside of each bag with your name and contact details
• Label everything inside you bag, this way if for some reason you luggage is also damaged and items fall out, you can still retrieve them
• Value you valuables, if there’s something you can’t bare the thought of losing and is irreplaceable, keep it on you in your hand luggage
• Make a list of everything in your bag, if your luggage does get lost and you get it back, you can check nothings gone missing from inside your cases
• Take a photo of your suitcase, this way you can show the airline what bag they need to find, which is much easier than trying to describe it
Many people will never experience misplaced luggage and those who do will likely get it back. Being prepared in the event of lost luggage gives you a higher chance of retrieving it. Before you travel read up on the airlines policy for missing luggage and compensation for items that never get returned. High value or irreplaceable products should always be carried in your hand luggage, just in case.
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