26 million bags were mishandled around the world last year

The rate of lost, damaged or delayed luggage nearly doubled last year as air travel rebounded and the sector faced staff shortages following the Covid-19 pandemic, a recent study found. The report by SITA, an IT provider for the air transport industry, said 7.6 bags per 1,000 passengers were mishandled in 2022, up from 4.35 per 1,000 passengers the previous year. The surge follows more than a decade of reduction in the rate of mishandled luggage, according to SITA. In total, 26m bags were mishandled last year, compared to 9.9m in 2021, as the number of travellers neared pre-Covid-19 levels, the study showed. “After a decade where the mishandling rate more than halved between 2007 and 2021, it is disheartening to see this rate climbing again,” said SITA CE David Lavorel. “As an industry, we need to work hard to ensure passengers are once again confident to check in their bags,” he said.<br/>