According to the SITA 2023 Baggage IT Insights report, the global mishandling rate for checked luggage climbed back to 7.6 bags per 1,000 passengers after the post-pandemic staffing crisis at airports. That is millions of bags a year going to the wrong city, sitting in the wrong carousel, or simply disappearing.
Airlines have a standard process for lost luggage claims. You fill out a Property Irregularity Report at the airport. You wait. You get a reference number. You wait some more. If your bag does not turn up within 21 days, it is legally considered lost and you can file a compensation claim.
Here is where it falls apart for most travelers: the compensation process requires you to itemize what was in the bag and provide proof of value for anything worth more than a few hundred dollars. Most people cannot do that. They packed in a hurry, they kept no receipts, and they have no photos of the contents.
Airlines know this. The average settlement per lost bag is dramatically lower than the actual value of the contents, simply because travelers cannot prove what they had.
The fix is not complicated. Before your next trip, take 60 seconds per valuable item. Snap the receipt if you have it. Add a serial number. Attach a QR tag to your bag itself. If someone finds it, they can scan it and contact you directly, without needing to go through an airline that has a financial incentive to delay.
A digital Item Passport does two things: it proves what you had and what it was worth, and it creates a recovery path that does not depend on the airline's lost-and-found system working correctly.
The bags that get returned fastest are almost always the ones with clear owner information attached. That used to mean a paper tag with your address on it. There is a better way now.