Travelers must trust airlines to handle their luggage, but many of America’s top companies have managed to lose people’s personal belongings during their travels.
This is evident from data released in February by the US Department of TransportationSouthwest Airlines came in at number one, while American Airlines ranked second among the companies that lose the most luggage.
Mishandled bags also include bags that are lost, delayed, damaged or stolen. The data also revealed the number of wheelchairs and scooters mishandled by some of the best-known airlines.
In 2023 alone, of the more than 470 million suitcases planned, 2,697,057 were mishandled by airlines, according to data.
Of the 817,176 wheelchairs and scooters on the plane, 11,289 were mishandled, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation report.
In 2023 alone, of the more than 470 million suitcases on planes, 2,697,057 were mishandled by airlines. (photo: an employee loading luggage onto a plane at Zurich Kloten Airport)
Southwest Airlines ranked number one with 587,339 mishandled bags out of more than 129 million loaded in 2023
Southwest Airlines ranked number one with 587,339 mishandled bags out of more than 129 million loaded in 2023.
American Airlines came in second with 582,499 mishandled bags out of more than 71 million. About 82 percent of bags per 100 passengers flown in were mishandled.
United Airlines ranks third for the highest number of mishandled bags, with 412,601 bags out of the more than 55 million pieces boarded a plane.
In fourth place came Delta Airlines, where 394,386 suitcases were mishandled out of more than 80 million suitcases flown in. This means that 49 percent of suitcases per 100 people boarding the plane were lost, stolen, damaged or delayed.
Regional airline SkyWest came in fifth with a reported 139,299 mishandled bags out of more than 26 million that ended up on planes.
Alaska Airlines, the fifth-largest airline in North America, came in sixth with 131,551 mishandled bags out of more than 22 million placed on planes last year.
About 82 percent of bags per 100 passengers were mishandled on American Airlines planes
JetBlue came in seventh place with 79,957 mishandled bags out of more than 15 million bags flown in.
One of the well-known budget-friendly airlines, Spirit, ranked eighth with 68,006 reported mishandled bags out of nearly 13 million bags flown.
PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, came in eighth place with 63,756 mishandled bags out of a total of more than 10 million.
The airline operates a fleet of Bombardier regional jets with a team of more than 4,600 team members operating 500 daily flights to 100 destinations for American Airlines, the airline said. website.
Envoy Airlines, American Airlines’ largest regional carrier, came in 10th with 58,680 mishandled bags out of a total of more than 8 million bags flown.
“Airports are among the busiest and most complex pieces of infrastructure with thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people passing through every day,” a MyBaggage.com spokesperson told us. FOX Weather.
United Airlines ranks third for the highest number of mishandled bags, with 412,601 bags affected out of the more than 55 million bags boarded a plane
In fourth place came Delta Airlines, where 394,386 suitcases were mishandled out of more than 80 million suitcases flown in. (Image: Delta passengers wait for luggage at Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey)
Southwest Airlines came in first place not only for the most mishandled luggage in 2023, but also for mishandling scooters and wheelchairs.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation data, Southwest mishandled 3,460 mobility devices between January and December 2023, while American Airlines mishandled 2,015.
In 2022, approximately 26 million pieces of luggage were lost, delayed or damaged worldwide – a record high in a decade.
Nearly eight in 1,000 bags were lost between the airport baggage drops and the arrival carousel.
The number of luggage that was delayed, lost or damaged increased to 7.6 pieces of luggage per 1,000 passengers in 2022, according to research by baggage handling expert Sita.
This was the highest since 2012, when the figure was 26.3 million – almost nine per 1,000 passengers. In 2019, before Covid, that was almost six per 1,000 passengers.
Ryanair was the worst offender in terms of lost or damaged luggage, according to Civil Aviation Authority figures for the 2018-2022 period. British Airways came second, followed by easyJet, Wizz Air and Norwegian.
Airlines must track every item along the journey with a barcode, but millions of items continue to disappear. Many airports and airlines have reduced their workforces during the pandemic and are struggling to recruit staff quickly enough to meet the post-Covid travel boom.
Airlines have 21 days to find and return missing luggage. At that time, travelers are entitled to compensation.
Recently, Japan’s Kansai International Airport was crowned the airport that hasn’t lost a single piece of luggage in 30 years.
The airport has a specific system in place to ensure that every piece of luggage reaches its owner undamaged, with staff working in teams of two or three to limit the number of hands the suitcases pass through and taking extra care to ensure the items are safe . t damaged.