Six in every 1,000 passengers had their luggage lost by airlines last year
Mishandled bags cost the air travel industry a whopping £1.63 billion last year alone
AIRLINE passengers have less than a one per cent chance of having their luggage lost in-transit, a new study has shown.
The report on the baggage management of the world's airlines found that just six out of every 1,000 bags handled were lost in 2016 as a direct result of mishandling.
said last year's lost luggage rate was the best ever recorded, down 12.25 per cent from 2015.
While it may have seen a significant decline, mishandled bags still cost the air travel industry a whopping £1.63 billion last year alone.
The report also highlighted the main reasons travellers find their bag has been delayed.
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The majority of these instances are down to luggage being incorrectly transferred from one aircraft to the correct connecting flight, which accounted for 47 percent of cases.
Just over 15 per cent of delays came down to an error in ticketing or security checks, while 16 per cent were due to bags not being loaded onto the passenger's flight.
Passengers travelling in Europe were most at risk of being forced to holiday without their luggage, with eight in every 1,000 bags giving their owners the slip.
There was a slight increase on the average number of lost bags on European flights compared to the previous year, but overall time, the number of incidents is significantly declining.
REASONS FOR DELAYED BAGS IN 2016
- Transfer mishandling - 47%
- Failure to load - 16%
- Ticketing error/Bag switch/Security - 15%
- Weather/Space-weight restriction/Customs - 10%
- Loading error - 4%
- Arrival mishandling - 4%
- Tagging error - 4%
The report stated: "In Europe, data reveals that the mishandling rate in 2016 was higher than the global average, at 8.06 mishandled bags per thousand passengers.
"Baggage performance in Europe has declined in 2015, when the mishandling rate was 7.82 bags per thousand passengers, [and] the longer-term trend is one of robust improvement.
"Europe has achieved a 51 per cent reduction in its mishandling rate since 2007, when it stood at 16.60 bags per thousand passengers."
In comparison, just three in every 1,000 bags went missing in the USA, while the number was as low as two in 1,000 in the Asia-Pacific region.