How often is lost luggage recovered?

The good news about lost luggage is that airlines worldwide eventually recover 97% of mishandled bags. Of all mishandled bags, 81% were simply delayed, 16% were damaged or pilfered and 3% were declared lost or stolen and never found.



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Usually, they appear somewhere within a day or two and go on to be reunited with their owners. With most airlines, passengers qualify for compensation after their bags are lost for more than 24 hours to cover necessary expenses. However, in around 5% of cases, the bags never come back.

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Most eventually turned up—one recent study by industry group SITA found only about 5 percent of lost bags disappear permanently—but with so much luggage temporarily vanishing, airlines knew they had a problem.

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Mishandled baggage rate almost doubled globally in 2022 as airlines scrambled after Covid. It was the year of “the summer of lost luggage”, in which travellers across the world told stories of disappearing bags as the aviation industry struggled to keep up with rebounding demand.

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The International Air Transport Association (Iata) said there were 4.5 billion air passengers in 2019 and estimates this year will see 4.4 billion. In the first half of 2023, the number of mishandled pieces of luggage was 5.7 million, down from 5.8 million in the first half of 2019.

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According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, you are entitled to compensation for reasonable incidental expenses you incur because of your delayed baggage, up to the maximum liability limits, set by statute. For U.S. domestic flights, this is $3,800 per passenger.

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Allegiant Air Allegiant is also the U.S. airline least likely to mishandle your luggage, according to the 2021 Air Travel Consumer Report. Over the 12-month period studied, Allegiant handled 446,862 bags and just 877 were mishandled. The airline only mishandled 1.96 bags out of 1,000.

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While airline policies on delayed versus lost baggage can vary, in most cases, bags that don't arrive with you at your destination are considered delayed until the airline officially declares them lost, which typically occurs between five and 14 days after arrival.

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Airlines allow 21 days to track a bag until it is considered 'irretrievably lost'. At this point, passengers can claim compensation for their bags, and the bag, technically at least, becomes the property of the airline.

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How To Claim Delayed Baggage Compensation - A Guide
  1. Contact a Baggage Claim Desk. ...
  2. File your delayed baggage claim immediately. ...
  3. Request an overnight kit. ...
  4. Ask for an allowance for reasonable expenses. ...
  5. Check the status, wait and be patient. ...
  6. Claim your rights formally.


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The leading cause of lost luggage is the mishandling of the bags between flights or from the sorting office to your airplane. Depending on the airport you fly out of, the actual sorting of luggage is done by a robot or workers.

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Consider filing a lawsuit against the airline in small claims court. Small claims courts handle a wide variety of property-related lawsuits which include lawsuits for lost luggage by an airline. Small claims court is also an affordable and user-friendly way for you to sue an airline for lost or delayed luggage.

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Low Odds. Odds are slim your airline will lose your luggage. According to the Air Travel Consumer Report issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, you face less than a 1 percent chance that a major airline will misplace your bags; in 2022, there were only about 7 reports of mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers.

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Absolutely! Every airline is responsible for their passengers' lost belongings and will make every attempt to reunite the luggage with its owner. But some bags can end up sitting for months with nobody claiming them, and they're eventually sold to the public instead of sitting in a storage facility forever.

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5 Ways to Avoid Losing Your Luggage in 2023
  1. USE A LUGGAGE TRACKER LIKE GEGO GPS: ...
  2. PACK ESSENTIAL ITEMS IN YOUR CARRY-ON BAG: ...
  3. USE A LUGGAGE IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM O STRAP: ...
  4. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR LUGGAGE AT ALL TIMES: ...
  5. GET TRAVEL INSURANCE:


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Lufthansa created all sorts of unnecessary confusion after it initially banned AirTags out of concern that they are powered by a lithium battery and could emit radio signals and potentially interfere with aircraft navigation.

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The FAA allows AirTags on U.S. flights. Most airlines in other countries do as well, but you would have to check with the airline to confirm. That being said, most international travelers do not really check with the airline, and the airlines are aware of this.

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