How do you deal with lost luggage without compromising your stay?
Written on : 08 July 2020 By : Léa Frémiot
Who hasn't experienced that little bit of stress of not seeing their luggage arrive when it's time to pick it up at the airport of your destination? Unfortunately, every year, 5% of luggage makes a mistake, despite the travellers. Check out some information on the subject right away, our advice, but also how to deal with the situation if it happened to you without having the impression that your trip is turning into a nightmare.
In 2017, 4.27 billion pieces of luggage were transported worldwide, all airlines combined, and unlike other modes of transport such as rail, air travel has a few additional disadvantages, including luggage-related problems. Whether it is delays, damage caused during transfers, losses or a person who mistakenly exchanges his suitcase with yours, these events are frequent in airports, but less and less recurrent! Indeed, the good news is that in 2007 baggage errors were twice as high as today, although the number of annual flights was also lower. These constant improvements on the part of the airlines are due in particular to the advanced technologies for locating baggage through a centralised system common to all airports, which allows a bag to be searched for in all airports around the world thanks to the unique barcodes present on the bag in question and when it is checked into the system at the time of boarding. This system thus allows a very quick location and recovery of missing goods.
It is also important to note that thanks to the ongoing efforts of airlines to reduce baggage errors, baggage is found in 95% of cases and within 72 hours of the incident report.
Here are a few tips to minimize the risk of losing your suitcase, or in the worst-case scenario, not to find yourself for a few days without anything:
After making sure that you make the most of the space in your luggage, if you are leaving in a group or at least in pairs, we advise you to mix your belongings in the suitcases to make sure that nobody is left with nothing in case of delay or loss of luggage.
Always put a label with your name and contact details on the suitcase. This way, if someone took yours by mistake, it would be easier for them to find out and contact you, in which case it would not be brought back to the airport immediately.
We strongly advise you to opt for a strong suitcase and above all one that closes! Whether it is with a code system or a padlock, it is essential that your suitcase closes in case it gets lost. If you have the possibility to wrap it with plastic film, this can also be an additional protection.
As a precautionary measure, it may be a good idea to check in your luggage early, as soon as check-in opens on flights with connections, as luggage that is dropped off at the last moment then has less time to be transferred during your stopover.
Finally, if your luggage is still missing when you arrive, don't worry, although it can be quite stressful when you hadn't imagined this scenario for your long-awaited stay. Remember that as we mentioned above, 95% of luggage is found and within 72 hours. Here are the steps to follow:
Go to an airport employee who will direct you to your company's baggage handling office. If you are travelling with a low-cost airline, it will usually be the parent company that will process your request (Iberia if you travelled with Vueling for example).
After you have given all your information to the office, you will be given a tracking number (often called P.I.R.) consisting of 5 letters and 5 digits that correspond to the airport, the company and your file number. This number will allow you to follow the process of searching, locating and delivering your baggage through the World Tracer system.
Then comes the next step, which is surely one of the least enjoyable, returning to your accommodation and waiting for news of your luggage. Be aware that your airline company can cover the basic expenses (clothing and hygiene products) that you will incur before retrieving your luggage, up to a certain maximum amount. In this case, remember to keep all your proof of purchase that you will be asked to provide for reimbursement.
Finally, be aware that the airline company has up to 21 days to search for your luggage before declaring it permanently lost. In which case you can turn to your own insurance, but also to the insurance company which, according to the Montreal Convention, can compensate you up to 1295€ on presentation of proof of purchase.
We are sure that these worries will be quickly forgotten when we receive your luggage and that they will in no way make you lose the taste for travel.
