What happens to luggage that is never claimed?

(NewsNation) — Have you ever wondered what happens to unclaimed luggage? After 90 days, if no one claims the luggage, it's sold to an unclaimed baggage center where the items inside are resold. If the passenger's bag is truly lost, airlines pay out a claim to the passenger.



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If your baggage has gone missing, the airline has 21 days to find it and deliver it to you. If you get your baggage back within 21 days, you can still claim compensation for delayed baggage. If you don't, you can file a lost baggage claim.

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Bags that are lost forever At this point, passengers can claim compensation for their bags, and the bag, technically at least, becomes the property of the airline. Of course, the airline doesn't really want a bag full of your dirty laundry and holiday souvenirs, so these unclaimed and untraceable bags are passed along.

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Typically, airlines will pass the items over to the lost and found department at the arrival airport. The item will be kept for a 90-day holding period, after which it will be donated to charity or a place for sale – in some cases, the item will be destroyed if unclaimed after the holding period.

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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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You will probably get your luggage back; when you do, be sure to give it a thorough check for damage, and missing items. If items are found damaged or missing, the airline should repair them or replace them.

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Unclaimed baggage left at the airport is ultimately auctioned or sold at a lost luggage store like the mega-center in Scottsboro, Alabama. Only there's one catch, sometimes it isn't abandoned or unclaimed luggage that ends up there – it may be your lost luggage.

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But what about the other 3%? While this may seem like a small percentage, millions of bags flow through airports yearly, so 3% of millions of bags creates mountains of lost luggage. Instead of throwing everything in the dump, airlines actually sell or donate these bags, and yes, you can buy the lost treasures inside.

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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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Under DOT regulations (for domestic travel) and international treaties (for international travel), airlines are required to compensate passengers if their bags are damaged, delayed, or lost.

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If no one is found by then who owns the lost property or if the luggage could not be delivered, it is released for the suitcase auction.

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Unclaimed Baggage makes clear that the business is legit. They're not selling stolen goods. “[A]irlines use sophisticated tracking technology to reunite over 99.5% of bags with their owners right away,” Unclaimed Baggage states on its “About” page. “If a bag is truly lost, airlines pay out a claim to the passenger.

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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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Before concluding your bags are truly lost, try these three steps:
  1. Be patient. ...
  2. Look elsewhere. ...
  3. Stay calm. ...
  4. Locate the baggage desk for the airline that operated your final flight. ...
  5. Inform the agent about your missing bag. ...
  6. File a missing baggage report. ...
  7. Ask what the airline will cover. ...
  8. Make them come to you.


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What airlines lose the most luggage Europe? And if you've flown in Europe, we probably don't even need to tell you who it was. That's right: Ryanair. It led the pack of damaged luggage claims by a considerable margin, nearly tripling those made against second-place Emirates.

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Allegiant Air Finally, Allegiant Air is the carrier least likely to lose, damage, delay, or pilfer its customers' luggage. In October 2021, it only mishandled 877 bags or 1.96 per 1,000 enplaned, which was very close to the previous year's statistic of only 1.20 per 1,000 checked bags.

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During the first three months of 2023, over 721,000 bags checked on domestic flights were mishandled out of 113 million checked bags in total—an average of 0.64 bags per 100 checked bags, per the U.S. Department of Transportation. That's up from 2019, when 0.59 bags were mishandled per 100 checked bags.

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Ask for compensation In general, most luggage will end up being found, so they get classified as “delayed” and not “lost.” But in that immediate time when you're without your belongings, there should be some level of compensation, depending on the exact nature of your situation.

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