BAGGAGE "MISHANDLING" RATES DROP BY 70% SINCE 2007 – NEW REPORT

Airlines and airports continue to get better with baggage, with the number of mishandled bags dropping 70% since 2007, according to a new report.

The latest Baggage Report issued by SITA details how baggage management is changing globally and predicts that airline passengers can expect to see major differences over the next two years. 

Services like real-time notifications and fast self-service bag drop will be more commonplace and 2018 is the year that the IATA Resolution 753 comes into effect which will see the industry increase baggage tracking.

Barbara Dalibard, CEO, SITA, said: “Over the last decade, we have seen significant improvements in bag management as airlines have taken advantage of technology.



"Now with IATA’s drive for 100% bag tracking, technology adoption will rise further. End-to-end tracking produces data which reveals where improvements can be made in operational processes. 

"While we won’t see a sudden change in 2018, it is a real turning point for the industry as airlines begin to unlock the value of the tracking data for the 4.65 billion bags they carry.”

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The growth in passenger numbers globally puts considerable pressure on the industry’s baggage systems and processes. 

With the rise to more than four billion passengers in 2017, SITA says that the airlines did well to reduce the rate of mishandled bags. 

In fact, at 5.57 per thousand passengers it was the lowest level ever recorded. 



However, despite the improvement, mishandled bags cost the industry an estimated USD 2.3 billion in 2017, so there is considerable scope for cost savings from airline investments in end-to-end bag tracking.

SITA’s Baggage Report includes examples of how airlines, including Aeroflot, Alitalia, Bahamasair, Delta and Qatar, are using innovative and proven technologies to improve bag management and tracking. 

One case study outlines how the airline Bahamasair went from scanning bag tag labels on a “bingo” card to full Resolution 753 tracking in Miami and Nassau airports inside seven days.