Amount of lost airline luggage hits a 10-year high after 26 million bags were delayed, damaged or missing last year

• Nearly eight bags in every 1,000 went missing between bag drops and arrivals 

The amount of airline luggage lost has hit its highest levels in a decade.

Nearly eight bags in every 1,000 went missing between airport bag drops and the carousel at arrivals. 

It adds up to some 26million pieces of luggage globally that were lost, delayed or damaged in 2022.

Yesterday Vanessa Gold, co-chairman of West Ham, revealed her own tale of woe on X. She said: ‘So day five of our lost luggage into a seven day holiday… BA can fly people round the world but can’t work out how to track your luggage.’

Airlines must track every piece during its journey with a barcode, but millions of items continue to disappear. Many airports and airlines made staff cuts in the pandemic and have struggled to recruit quickly enough to cope with post-Covid travel surge.

The amount of airline luggage lost has hit its highest levels in a decade. Nearly eight bags in every 1,000 went missing between airport bag drops and the carousel at arrivals (pictured is mountains of luggage at Heathrow in July 2022) 

The number of bags that were delayed, lost or damaged jumped to 7.6 pieces of luggage per 1,000 passengers in 2022, according to research by baggage handling experts Sita.

This was the highest rate since 2012 when the figure was 26.3million – nearly nine pieces per 1,000 passengers. In 2019, before Covid, it was nearly six pieces per 1,000 passengers.

Ryanair was the worst offender for lost or damaged luggage, according to figures covering 2018-22 held by the Civil Aviation Authority. British Airways was second, followed by easyJet, Wizz Air and Norwegian.

Airlines have 21 days to find and return missing luggage, at which point travellers are entitled to claim compensation.

Nearly eight bags in every 1,000 went missing between airport bag drops and the carousel at arrivals

Sita suggested last year’s rise was largely due to issues during flight transfers, which accounted for 42 per cent of lost, damaged or delayed baggage. 

It added that 99 per cent of people whose luggage is lost will get it back, although it can take a long time.

Nicole Hogg, Sita’s head of baggage, said: ‘People are really anxious about travelling with baggage.’

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