Written by: fareyferrai
Well, this is what most of the passengers think when they lost their luggage, in which they have all their stuffs. You may be on your honeymoon, holiday, family visit, business trip or receiving medical treatments. In all these trips, the things you pack in your luggage might vary from each other. Your luggage may be the whole purpose of your trip. Imagine, you are traveling on your honeymoon. You have booked an expensive hotel and made your payments in advance. You packed all your clothing, cosmetics, jeweleries etc in your bag. But finally, when you arrive your destination, you get this heartbreaking message that your luggage is not arrived. At this moment, there will be nothing else in your mind, but thinking and feeling that your honeymoon trip is ruined. And questions in your mind will be, What should i do now? What happened to my bag? Where is my bag? When will i get my bag?. Well all these questions, there really might not be an answers for all these questions. However, if you really understand something more about what actually happens and why it happens , you might feel little better about your lost luggage. In this article, i will try to get you some information about why Airlines happen to delay or miss your luggage and what reasons it really causes to happen this.
What is lost luggage?
In your terms, you call it " my luggage is lost'. But in terms of Airlines, they call it " your luggage is delayed". They really will never want to imagine that it is lost. And it really is not, except some rare cases.
Lost luggage really is when you don't get your luggage at your arrival to your destination. What does it takes into this? Well, there might be many reasons for this.
What makes it happen?
One of the main reasons for missing your luggage is short- connection when you are on a transit flight. Say like, you started your journey from London Hethrow Airport and your final destination is Male ( Maldives ). You choose Emirates as your Airline. Now, Emirates do not have direct flights from London to Male. Now, the choice you have is flying London to Dubai and then to Male. This means, you have to take two flights to reach your final destination i.e Male. The first thing you need to check is how long you have to wait in Dubai to board to your next flight. This is very important. Surely, you will not like to wait so long in transit. But it is not too good to wait too short either. The other reasons for missing your luggage includes:
- Bag not checked (labelled) to your final destination.
- Bag loaded to wrong Aircraft by mistake during loading.
- Bag loaded to wrong container ( if flight is going more than one destination )
- Bag has got old tag not removed either by you or check-in agent at check-in desk.
- Bag received tag-less to transit port.
- Wrong data entered into Airline check-in system by Arline agent.
- Bag checked to wrong destination by Airline agent.
- Bag is too large size when changing from big aircraft to small one.
- Making check-in at last minute.
- Bag switch ( another passenger taking your bag by mistake because you both have similar bags )
- Forgot to check-in your bag.
What you can do to avoid some of these problem?
Short connect from one flight to another during transit: This is the most common reason for missing your luggage. When you make booking of your flights, check the transit waiting time between two flights. Do not make it too short connection and also not too long too.
Bag not checked (labelled) to your final destination: You can always check your baggage claim tag which will be given by check-in agent at the check-in desk when you do the check-in for your flight. Check if it is labelled with correct flight, date and destination. If you are in transit, you should make sure your bag is checked through to your final destination. Make sure you check these before you leave check-in desk.
Bag loaded to wrong Aircraft by mistake during loading: This is not very common but still it happens. You might not understand why it happens, but in the busy airport, there things happen everyday. We all believe that mistakes can happen. So lets assume it like this. This happens when loaders or baggage containers loading the container or a bag into wrong aircraft by mistake. This happens due to failure to proper communication between loading personnels, wrong labeling of baggage container etc. There is really nothing you can do to help to avoid this.
Bag loaded to wrong container ( if flight is going more than one destination ): If you are on a flight which goes more than one destination, there will be bags labelled to two different destinations. Loaders will load these bags into different containers. But what if they load yours into wrong destination. You will miss your luggage at your destination. There is really nothing you can do to help to avoid this.
Bag has got old tag not removed either by you or check-in agent at check-in desk: This happens when you have old tag from previous journey, not removed from bag. Sometimes you forget to remove this tag when you finish your journey. Same way, check-in agent at the desk also forgets to remove same when they do the check-in for your flight. All the airlines usually will inform check-in agents to remove old tags from bags when they do the new check-in. The real problem comes when your bag reaches to the transit airport, where loading people get confused with your old baggage tag with your new one. So you can do it yourself, once you finish your journey and reach to your hotel or home, just remove the tag on bag so that next time when you go to airport, even if the check-in agents fails to do this, you will be in safe side.
Bag received tag-less to transit port: If tag on your bag is removed by any accident during transfer of your bag at airport, loading people will not understand what to do with your bag.
Wrong data entered into Airline check-in system by Arline agent: This happens when there are check-in system failures. It also happens when there are two different Airlines involved in your journey. When these two Airlines use different check-in systems, sometimes the proper information is not transfered from one system to another.
Bag checked to wrong destination by Airline agent: Same like i mentioned on before, if your bag is mistakenly checked-in to wrong destination by check-in agent, your bag will not show up at you. You can always check your baggage claim given at check-in desk and make sure your bag is checked-in to right destination.
Bag is too large size when changing from big aircraft to smaller one: Sometimes, if you have large size bag like surfboards, sporting equipments, music equipments etc and if you have long journey involving more than one flights, there may be different types or size of Aircrafts. If you are changing from big aircraft to smaller one, the Airline may not be able load your large sized bags. These incidents are normally notified to passengers by the Airlines during their transit check-in.
Making check-in at last minute: It is very important you make check-in when you have enough time. Always try to avoid last minute check-in. Last minute check-in leads not only baggage shortage, but also many incidents like forget your handbag or mobile phone at airport. Because in these situations you will also be in a hurry and you may not be able to take care of everything. Now, when you do the last minute check-in, your flight will be in state of closing the check-in and sometimes will be already boarding. Big Airports sometimes fails to load your luggage because they do not get enough time to carry your bags to the aircraft.
Bag switch ( another passenger taking your bag by mistake because you both have similar bags ): This is very common in most of the Airports. This happens when you collect your bags at baggage carousel, there may be many bags of same type, same color. Most of the passengers are tired after their journey and they really dont examine their luggage very much. It is very important that you check your luggage with the baggage claim given to you at check-in. To avoid this, you can always label your bag with your name, phone number, address etc. Some kind of identical name tag or sticker, ribbon etc attached on your bag will help you to identify your bag easily and will avoid confusing your bag with someone else.
Forgot to check-in your bag: It is your responsibility to make sure to check-in your bags. Airlines will not be responsible for any unchecked bags. Airlines will only responsible for your bag if you have baggage claim sticker with you. Always make sure to check-in your luggage.
Little little things you can do to trace your lost bag easily.
Normally when you lost your bag, Baggage Services Office (lost and found office) agents will give you a report called PIR (Property Irregularity Report). In this report, you will have all your travel information, baggage tag number, baggage color and type and your contact numbers. There will also be a File Reference Number, which is the tracing reference number for your lost bag. Almost all the Airports in the world, they use a baggage tracing system called World Tracer. This system is connected with a network to all the airports. So when your lost bag information is entered into this system, it will automatically search and trace your bag. Even if this is the case, there are even some little little things you can do by yourself to help Lost and found agents to trace your bag. These things will really help them. First, keep in mind what you pack in your bag. Keep in mind the exact color and type of your bag. Note the brand mark of your bag. Label your bag with your name, address, phone number etc. Attaching distinctive sticker, ribbon, strap etc will also be helpful to locate your bag. Also make sure you lock your bag to avoid the theft.
If you can take care of all these things that i mentioned in this article, it will really help the Airlines, and surely, yourself too, in being away from getting into trouble. And when your bag is lost, it will help agents to locate your bag easily. I hope that i have given some information about the lost luggage in this article.
P.S - Hope this will help you on your next journey.
Bag has got old tag not removed either by you or check-in agent at check-in desk: This happens when you have old tag from previous journey, not removed from bag. Sometimes you forget to remove this tag when you finish your journey. Same way, check-in agent at the desk also forgets to remove same when they do the check-in for your flight. All the airlines usually will inform check-in agents to remove old tags from bags when they do the new check-in. The real problem comes when your bag reaches to the transit airport, where loading people get confused with your old baggage tag with your new one. So you can do it yourself, once you finish your journey and reach to your hotel or home, just remove the tag on bag so that next time when you go to airport, even if the check-in agents fails to do this, you will be in safe side.
Bag received tag-less to transit port: If tag on your bag is removed by any accident during transfer of your bag at airport, loading people will not understand what to do with your bag.
Wrong data entered into Airline check-in system by Arline agent: This happens when there are check-in system failures. It also happens when there are two different Airlines involved in your journey. When these two Airlines use different check-in systems, sometimes the proper information is not transfered from one system to another.
Bag checked to wrong destination by Airline agent: Same like i mentioned on before, if your bag is mistakenly checked-in to wrong destination by check-in agent, your bag will not show up at you. You can always check your baggage claim given at check-in desk and make sure your bag is checked-in to right destination.
Bag is too large size when changing from big aircraft to smaller one: Sometimes, if you have large size bag like surfboards, sporting equipments, music equipments etc and if you have long journey involving more than one flights, there may be different types or size of Aircrafts. If you are changing from big aircraft to smaller one, the Airline may not be able load your large sized bags. These incidents are normally notified to passengers by the Airlines during their transit check-in.
Making check-in at last minute: It is very important you make check-in when you have enough time. Always try to avoid last minute check-in. Last minute check-in leads not only baggage shortage, but also many incidents like forget your handbag or mobile phone at airport. Because in these situations you will also be in a hurry and you may not be able to take care of everything. Now, when you do the last minute check-in, your flight will be in state of closing the check-in and sometimes will be already boarding. Big Airports sometimes fails to load your luggage because they do not get enough time to carry your bags to the aircraft.
Bag switch ( another passenger taking your bag by mistake because you both have similar bags ): This is very common in most of the Airports. This happens when you collect your bags at baggage carousel, there may be many bags of same type, same color. Most of the passengers are tired after their journey and they really dont examine their luggage very much. It is very important that you check your luggage with the baggage claim given to you at check-in. To avoid this, you can always label your bag with your name, phone number, address etc. Some kind of identical name tag or sticker, ribbon etc attached on your bag will help you to identify your bag easily and will avoid confusing your bag with someone else.
Forgot to check-in your bag: It is your responsibility to make sure to check-in your bags. Airlines will not be responsible for any unchecked bags. Airlines will only responsible for your bag if you have baggage claim sticker with you. Always make sure to check-in your luggage.
Little little things you can do to trace your lost bag easily.
Normally when you lost your bag, Baggage Services Office (lost and found office) agents will give you a report called PIR (Property Irregularity Report). In this report, you will have all your travel information, baggage tag number, baggage color and type and your contact numbers. There will also be a File Reference Number, which is the tracing reference number for your lost bag. Almost all the Airports in the world, they use a baggage tracing system called World Tracer. This system is connected with a network to all the airports. So when your lost bag information is entered into this system, it will automatically search and trace your bag. Even if this is the case, there are even some little little things you can do by yourself to help Lost and found agents to trace your bag. These things will really help them. First, keep in mind what you pack in your bag. Keep in mind the exact color and type of your bag. Note the brand mark of your bag. Label your bag with your name, address, phone number etc. Attaching distinctive sticker, ribbon, strap etc will also be helpful to locate your bag. Also make sure you lock your bag to avoid the theft.If you can take care of all these things that i mentioned in this article, it will really help the Airlines, and surely, yourself too, in being away from getting into trouble. And when your bag is lost, it will help agents to locate your bag easily. I hope that i have given some information about the lost luggage in this article.
P.S - Hope this will help you on your next journey.
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