Lost luggage claims surge

Found yourself a bit short on holiday?

Air chaos

If you’ve been trying to fly around this summer, you’ve likely run into some of the travel chaos that’s been making life tough for everyone. For many, that’s been flight delays – even cancellations. If you’ve really drawn the short straw, you might be one of the many that have outright lost their luggage.

Lost luggage claims have hit record levels across the world, with one Spanish insurer, Mapfre SA, reporting a 30% jump in lost baggage claims. From London Heathrow to Amsterdam Schiphol, backlogs of thousands of bags have meant people have gone on holiday without their items or have given up on making connecting flights. Ouch.

No bag left behind

Things have even gotten so bad at Heathrow, Delta have sent an entire plane to rescue more than 1,000 pieces of luggage stranded there. So, what’s causing the chaos?

It’s a mixture of different things, but the two key factors are a shortage of trained staff and massive volumes of new travelers. So-called ‘revenge travel’ is a new phenomenon for everyone looking to get back to their first post-pandemic summer holidays. Unfortunately for them, they’re running slap bang into the middle of flight chaos.

Thinking of getting away yourself? This summer might be a bit of a write-off. Or maybe you should consider tracking your luggage with AirTags, which is seemingly the only way for people to keep in touch with their own belongings.