
Most travelers likely say a prayer to their version of the God of Lost Baggage when sending a checked bag off on the airport conveyor belt.
Not all their prayers are answered.
However, the odds of having a checked bag arrive at your destination airport when you do are improving slightly.
Global air passenger numbers soared in 2024 to a record-breaking 5.3 billion, the highest in aviation history, with airlines mishandling 33.4 million bags.
But according to a new report from aviation technology company, SITA, in 2024 the rate of mishandled baggage declined.
SITA reports that the mishandled bag rate dropped to 6.3 bags per 1,000 passengers in 2024, down from 6.9 in 2023.
Of the 33.4 million mishandled bags, issues with over 66% (22 million) were “resolved” (we hope that means reunited with their owners) within 48 hours, SITA reported.
And out of those 22 million bags, 25% were resolved within 12 hours, 38% within 24 hours, and another 38% within 48 hours.
Mishandled bags are big headache for passengers, of course. But they’re also costly for airlines.
Baggage mishandling cost the industry an estimated $5 billion in 2024, according to SITA.
So both airlines and air travelers are increasingly turning to technology to address mishanded baggage problems.
Airports and airlines are now handling greater baggage volumes with more precision, said SITA, embracing real-time tracking, AI-powered analytics, and self-service solutions.
In 2024, 42% of passengers had access to real-time baggage updates, up from 38% the year before.
And in 2024, passengers could begin sharing the location of their AppleTags with many airlines to help with baggage recovery.

Trouble spots for delayed and mishandled bags
Delayed bags remain the most common issue, accounting for 74% of mishandled baggage, down from 80% in the previous year, according to SITA.
Lost or stolen bags made up 8%, while damaged or pilfered bags increased to 18%, up from 15% in 2023.
When it comes to trouble spots in the baggage process, SITA’s report found that transfer mishandling was the biggest contributor at 41%, although fhat is improvement from 46% the previous year.
Tagging or ticketing errors, security issues, and similar factors rose slightly to 17% (up 3 percentage points), while loading failures remained steady at 16%. While operational issues such as customs delays, weather, or capacity constraints also increased – to 10%, up from 8%.
The stats come from the SITA Baggage IT Insights 2025, which take into account the views and data of 280 airlines and IATA passenger traffic.
