Why airline luggage mishandling is soaring

A major aviation report has revealed a staggering rise in lost, stolen, damaged or delayed luggage — with flights between Europe and Australia among the worst.

Massive spikes in lost luggage have been recorded, with 26 million bags going missing in the past year.

A report from aviation data company SITA revealed 2023 has seen a staggering 75 per cent increase in baggage mishandling — with Europe-Australia flights experiencing “significant disruptions” due to a “sudden influx of travellers”.

Staff shortages, a return to long-haul flights post-pandemic and a lack of resources were also cited as reasons for the nosedive in baggage handling quality.

Mishandled luggage refers to bags that have been lost, stolen, damaged or delayed.

Data from the ABS also revealed more than three million Australians fled the winter in June and July – about 1.2 million more people than the same period in 2022.

University student Mia Avery backpacked through Europe during June and July, but has not seen her bag since she left Naples on an easyJet flight on July 8 - and trying to have it sent home has not been easy.

Mia Avery’s luggage has been stuck in Naples since July 8. Picture: Rebecca Michael.

“Apart from losing the obvious, like my clothes, it was really stressful because I had my epipens in my bag,” Ms Avery said.

“I know where my bag is because I have an AirTag in it, so it’s really frustrating seeing my bag on my phone and not being able to do anything about it.

“The customer service has been hopeless and they still aren’t taking me seriously - I don’t know if I’ll ever get my bag back at this point.”

In a statement, easyJet said their incidents of lost luggage were “extremely low”.

“On the rare and unfortunate occasion a bag is delayed, we work with our airport teams to reunite customers with their bags as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.

“We advise customers to submit a claim quickly and easily online for their missing items to be reimbursed and receive compensation.”

However, Ms Avery was unable to claim her compensation due to the website’s faulty links.

Europe experienced a significantly worse handling rate than the rest of the world, the SITA research found, with 15.7 bags mishandled per 1000 passengers – more than double that of North America and the Asia-Pacific region.

To mitigate lost bags around Australia, Jetstar introduced earlier baggage drop times in May 2023.

Europe-Australia flights are experiencing “significant disruptions”. Picture: David Crosling

Travellers are now required to check their bags at least 40 minutes before a domestic flight and 60 minutes before an international one to bring the budget airline’s check-in times up to standard.

Jetstar chief operating officer Matt Franzi said the airline is committed to being the best it can be.

“Our teams have been working hard to improve punctuality and reliability and having more time to load bags and board customers will help us get our flights away on time more consistently,” Mr Franzi said.

“We’re hiring more staff, upgrading our systems and changing the way we manage spare parts — combined, these initiatives will make a real difference to improving our overall performance.”