Practice shows that in 99% of cases, the lost luggage is returned to its owner, but it causes some trouble along the way nonetheless. Why, despite such advances in well developed technology, there are still a lot of cases of lost luggages occurring regularly?
What should you do if such a situation happens during your trip?Among the positive changes that took place in 2015, we can highlight that only 1 of 23 million suitcases was lost or not delivered. Often, the main reason of luggage loss is a huge number of passengers at the airport.
The updated report SITA shows that up to 50% less suitcases exchange takes place, compared to 2007. Now, 6 of 1000 passengers lose their suitcases, and it’s not a pleasant thing to experience, that is for sure.
So, why is your luggage getting lost?
In many cases, luggage losses occur during connecting flights or in a case of a problem with a ticket or security service.
These problems make up for about 19% of the lost luggage cases. 16% are related to problems with delays at the airport. And only 4% are due to wrong transportation, loading or absence of certain signs on the suitcase.
How to reduce the probability of your luggage being lost?
Initially, you need to make sure that the time between flights is plenty to play with. If you decide to go on a connecting flight, you need to have enough time to recover your bag or suitcase from the luggage belt. If you have a plain black suitcase, you should diversify it with something colored, to be able to recognize it immediately on the luggage belt and save your time. It can be some bright ribbon, tied on your suitcase handle. You also need to leave a note with your name and your contact phone number on your suitcase, just in case (many suitcases have luggage tags for this).
What to do first if your luggage was lost?
Initially, you need to report the incident at the office, which is located at the arrivals hall. Usually, they need no more than one day to find the lost suitcase, but if the search goes on, you should leave your contact details. If the airport does not return your suitcase, you have a right to demand total compensation equals to the cost of your lost suitcase and all things in it. If the airport refuses to consider your complaint, you can file a complaint against the airline to the European Consumer Centre.
Have you ever experienced such an unwanted incident? How did you feel about the situation and what did you do?