by @levelsio and part of Airline List
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Why? Vueling lost my gf's suitcase...
Luggage lost numbers here are estimations based on people talking about losing their luggage on social media and websites. Actual numbers may vary, and exact figures are only available through official airline reports published retroactively.
Last updated: 10 days ago from 15,973 live sources
# | Airline |
Probability of losing/delaying your luggage (est.) |
Change (last 7d) |
Luggage score (out of 5) |
Complaints (last 30 days) |
Lost bags (last 30 days est.) |
|
1 | ๐ฎ๐ณ Air India | 1 in 23 | 4.26% | โฒ 1 | 0.25 | 192 | 93,018 |
2 | ๐ช๐ธ Iberia | 1 in 55 | 1.83% | โฒ 2 | 0.25 | 47 | 22,737 |
3 | ๐ฎ๐ณ IndiGo | 1 in 62 | 1.62% | โฒ 3 | 0.25 | 99 | 47,824 |
4 | ๐ฆ๐ท Aerolineas Argentinas | 1 in 68 | 1.47% | โฒ 4 | 0.25 | 27 | 13,086 |
5 | ๐ฌ๐ง Virgin Atlantic | 1 in 89 | 1.12% | โฒ 5 | 0.25 | 17 | 8,251 |
6 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South African | 1 in 93 | 1.08% | โฒ 6 | 0.25 | 22 | 10,619 |
7 | ๐ฎ๐ณ SpiceJet | 1 in 102 | 0.98% | โฒ 7 | 0.25 | 19 | 9,157 |
8 | ๐ณ๐ฑ KLM | 1 in 110 | 0.91% | โฒ 8 | 0.25 | 34 | 16,360 |
9 | ๐ฆ๐ช Etihad Airways | 1 in 141 | 0.71% | โฒ 9 | 0.50 | 25 | 12,114 |
10 | ๐ฌ๐ง British Airways | 1 in 147 | 0.68% | โฒ 10 | 0.68 | 58 | 28,088 |
11 | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya Airways | 1 in 159 | 0.63% | โฒ 11 | 1.02 | 8 | 3,865 |
12 | ๐บ๐ธ Frontier Airlines | 1 in 183 | 0.55% | โฒ 12 | 1.53 | 14 | 6,732 |
13 | ๐ต๐ญ Cebu Pacific | 1 in 195 | 0.51% | โฒ 13 | 1.76 | 8 | 3,856 |
14 | ๐ฎ๐ช Aer Lingus | 1 in 197 | 0.51% | โฒ 14 | 1.79 | 9 | 4,357 |
15 | ๐ฆ๐ช Emirates | 1 in 222 | 0.45% | โฒ 15 | 2.14 | 35 | 16,904 |
16 | ๐บ๐ธ Spirit Airlines | 1 in 228 | 0.44% | โฒ 16 | 2.23 | 17 | 8,207 |
17 | ๐ฑ๐ฐ SriLankan Airlines | 1 in 233 | 0.43% | โฒ 17 | 2.28 | 3 | 1,450 |
18 | ๐จ๐ด Avianca | 1 in 240 | 0.42% | โฒ 18 | 2.36 | 23 | 11,092 |
19 | ๐ช๐น Ethiopian Airlines | 1 in 245 | 0.41% | โฒ 19 | 2.41 | 9 | 4,329 |
20 | ๐ช๐ธ Air Europa | 1 in 292 | 0.34% | โฒ 20 | 2.83 | 5 | 2,422 |
21 | ๐ง๐ช Brussels Airlines | 1 in 303 | 0.33% | โฒ 21 | 2.91 | 4 | 1,930 |
22 | ๐ช๐ธ Vueling | 1 in 303 | 0.33% | โฒ 22 | 2.91 | 12 | 5,782 |
23 | ๐ฎ๐ช Ryanair | 1 in 313 | 0.32% | โฒ 23 | 2.98 | 42 | 20,272 |
24 | ๐จ๐ญ Swiss | 1 in 328 | 0.31% | โฒ 24 | 3.07 | 6 | 2,907 |
25 | ๐บ๐ธ American Airlines | 1 in 329 | 0.30% | โฒ 25 | 3.07 | 92 | 44,396 |
26 | ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan International Airlines | 1 in 348 | 0.29% | โฒ 26 | 3.18 | 3 | 1,455 |
27 | ๐น๐ท Turkish Airlines | 1 in 362 | 0.28% | โฒ 27 | 3.25 | 29 | 13,977 |
28 | ๐ฌ๐ง easyJet | 1 in 370 | 0.27% | โฒ 28 | 3.29 | 20 | 9,681 |
29 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Aeromexico | 1 in 375 | 0.27% | โฒ 29 | 3.31 | 6 | 2,911 |
30 | ๐ฎ๐น ITA Airways | 1 in 386 | 0.26% | โฒ 30 | 3.36 | 9 | 4,337 |
31 | ๐จ๐ฆ Air Canada | 1 in 395 | 0.25% | โฒ 31 | 3.40 | 15 | 7,231 |
32 | ๐ต๐น TAP Portugal | 1 in 402 | 0.25% | โฒ 32 | 3.42 | 5 | 2,407 |
33 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore Airlines | 1 in 408 | 0.25% | โฒ 33 | 3.45 | 9 | 4,371 |
34 | ๐ญ๐บ Wizz Air | 1 in 421 | 0.24% | โฒ 34 | 3.50 | 5 | 2,409 |
35 | ๐ซ๐ท Air France | 1 in 425 | 0.24% | โฒ 35 | 3.51 | 17 | 8,176 |
36 | ๐จ๐ฆ WestJet Airlines | 1 in 429 | 0.23% | โฒ 36 | 3.52 | 9 | 4,366 |
37 | ๐ช๐ฌ EgyptAir | 1 in 430 | 0.23% | โฒ 37 | 3.53 | 4 | 1,931 |
38 | ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar Airways | 1 in 436 | 0.23% | โฒ 38 | 3.55 | 16 | 7,752 |
39 | ๐ฒ๐ฆ Royal Air Maroc | 1 in 437 | 0.23% | โฒ 39 | 3.55 | 4 | 1,934 |
40 | ๐บ๐ธ United Airlines | 1 in 465 | 0.21% | โฒ 40 | 3.64 | 51 | 24,596 |
41 | ๐ฉ๐ช Lufthansa | 1 in 466 | 0.21% | โฒ 41 | 3.64 | 18 | 8,729 |
42 | ๐น๐ญ Thai Airways | 1 in 512 | 0.20% | โฒ 42 | 3.76 | 5 | 2,429 |
43 | ๐ฌ๐ท Aegean Airlines | 1 in 517 | 0.19% | โฒ 43 | 3.78 | 3 | 1,456 |
44 | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia Airlines | 1 in 529 | 0.19% | โฒ 44 | 3.80 | 5 | 2,408 |
45 | ๐บ๐ธ Delta Air Lines | 1 in 542 | 0.18% | โฒ 45 | 3.83 | 50 | 24,083 |
46 | ๐จ๐ฑ LATAM Chile | 1 in 557 | 0.18% | โฒ 46 | 3.86 | 7 | 3,391 |
47 | ๐บ๐ธ JetBlue | 1 in 567 | 0.18% | โฒ 47 | 3.88 | 14 | 6,771 |
48 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudia | 1 in 652 | 0.15% | โฒ 48 | 4.03 | 9 | 4,359 |
49 | ๐ฆ๐ช flydubai | 1 in 660 | 0.15% | โฒ 49 | 4.04 | 3 | 1,444 |
50 | ๐บ๐ธ Hawaiian Airlines | 1 in 697 | 0.14% | โฒ 50 | 4.09 | 3 | 1,456 |
51 | ๐ฆ๐บ Virgin Australia | 1 in 807 | 0.12% | โฒ 51 | 4.21 | 4 | 1,924 |
52 | ๐ฆ๐บ Qantas | 1 in 811 | 0.12% | โฒ 52 | 4.22 | 5 | 2,407 |
53 | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finnair | 1 in 839 | 0.12% | โฒ 53 | 4.24 | 3 | 1,447 |
54 | ๐ฌ๐ง Jet2 | 1 in 897 | 0.11% | โฒ 54 | 4.29 | 3 | 1,456 |
55 | ๐น๐ณ Tunisair | 1 in 924 | 0.11% | โฒ 55 | 4.31 | 1 | 482 |
56 | ๐ท๐ธ Air Serbia | 1 in 953 | 0.10% | โฒ 56 | 4.34 | 1 | 484 |
57 | ๐ณ๐ฟ Air New Zealand | 1 in 965 | 0.10% | โฒ 57 | 4.34 | 2 | 972 |
58 | ๐บ๐ธ Southwest Airlines | 1 in 1,010 | 0.10% | โฒ 58 | 4.37 | 22 | 10,608 |
59 | ๐ฒ๐พ Batik Air Malaysia | 1 in 1,048 | 0.10% | โฒ 59 | 4.40 | 1 | 484 |
60 | ๐ฆ๐ช Air Arabia | 1 in 1,076 | 0.09% | โฒ 60 | 4.41 | 2 | 971 |
61 | ๐จ๐ฆ Air Transat | 1 in 1,145 | 0.09% | โฒ 61 | 4.45 | 1 | 483 |
62 | ๐ฉ๐ช Eurowings | 1 in 1,158 | 0.09% | โฒ 62 | 4.45 | 3 | 1,446 |
63 | ๐ง๐ท LATAM Brazil | 1 in 1,174 | 0.09% | โฒ 63 | 4.46 | 4 | 1,923 |
64 | ๐น๐ท Pegasus Airlines | 1 in 1,194 | 0.08% | โฒ 64 | 4.47 | 2 | 965 |
65 | ๐ง๐ท GOL Airlines | 1 in 1,254 | 0.08% | โฒ 65 | 4.49 | 3 | 1,446 |
66 | ๐ธ๐ช SAS Scandinavia | 1 in 1,282 | 0.08% | โฒ 66 | 4.51 | 3 | 1,450 |
67 | ๐ฆ๐บ Jetstar | 1 in 1,336 | 0.07% | โฒ 67 | 4.53 | 2 | 966 |
68 | ๐ฒ๐พ Air Asia | 1 in 1,345 | 0.07% | โฒ 68 | 4.53 | 4 | 1,930 |
69 | ๐ป๐ณ Vietnam Airlines | 1 in 1,366 | 0.07% | โฒ 69 | 4.54 | 2 | 967 |
70 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Scoot | 1 in 1,391 | 0.07% | โฒ 70 | 4.54 | 3 | 1,447 |
71 | ๐บ๐ธ Alaska Airlines | 1 in 1,696 | 0.06% | โฒ 71 | 4.63 | 6 | 2,899 |
72 | ๐ญ๐ฐ Cathay Pacific | 1 in 2,034 | 0.05% | โฒ 72 | 4.69 | 2 | 967 |
73 | ๐ต๐ญ Philippine Airlines | 1 in 2,138 | 0.05% | โฒ 73 | 4.70 | 1 | 481 |
74 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Garuda Indonesia | 1 in 2,270 | 0.04% | โฒ 74 | 4.72 | 2 | 968 |
75 | ๐ต๐ฆ COPA Airlines | 1 in 2,895 | 0.03% | โฒ 75 | 4.78 | 1 | 483 |
76 | ๐บ๐ธ Allegiant Air | 1 in 3,046 | 0.03% | โฒ 76 | 4.79 | 1 | 484 |
77 | ๐ด๐ฒ Oman Air | 1 in 3,484 | 0.03% | โฒ 77 | 4.82 | 1 | 485 |
78 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan Airlines (JAL) | 1 in 5,204 | 0.02% | โฒ 78 | 4.88 | 1 | 484 |
79 | ๐ง๐ท Azul | 1 in 6,183 | 0.02% | โฒ 79 | 4.90 | 1 | 485 |
80 | ๐จ๐ณ Air China | 1 in 12,442 | 0.01% | โฒ 80 | 4.95 | 1 | 484 |
+= | Median | 1 in 466 | 0.21% |
These airlines receive the dubious honor of losing the most luggage:
๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ Air India |
||
๐ฅ ๐ช๐ธ Iberia |
๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ณ IndiGo |
These airlines receive the award of losing the least luggage:
๐ ๐จ๐ณ Air China |
||
๐ฅ ๐ง๐ท Azul |
๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ต Japan Airlines (JAL) |
# | Airport | City |
Probability of losing your luggage |
Change (last 7d) |
Luggage score (out of 5) |
Complaints (last 30 days) |
Lost bags (last 30 days est.) |
|
1 | ๐ฎ๐ณ Gandhi | Delhi | 1 in 72 | 1.39% | โฒ 1 | 0.25 | 16 | 73,873 |
2 | ๐ฌ๐ง Gatwick | London | 1 in 165 | 0.61% | โฒ 2 | 1.16 | 5 | 23,078 |
3 | ๐ซ๐ท Charles de Gaulle | Paris | 1 in 209 | 0.48% | โฒ 3 | 1.98 | 6 | 27,693 |
4 | ๐ฎ๐ณ Shivaji | Mumbai | 1 in 213 | 0.47% | โฒ 4 | 2.03 | 4 | 18,469 |
5 | ๐ฌ๐ง Heathrow | London | 1 in 235 | 0.43% | โฒ 5 | 2.31 | 6 | 27,704 |
6 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Juรกrez | Mexico City | 1 in 270 | 0.37% | โฒ 6 | 2.65 | 3 | 13,846 |
7 | ๐บ๐ธ John F. Kennedy | New York City | 1 in 358 | 0.28% | โฒ 7 | 3.23 | 3 | 13,850 |
8 | ๐บ๐ธ Liberty | Newark, NJ | 1 in 393 | 0.25% | โฒ 8 | 3.39 | 2 | 9,231 |
9 | ๐บ๐ธ Charlotte Douglas | Charlotte, NC | 1 in 415 | 0.24% | โฒ 9 | 3.47 | 2 | 9,233 |
10 | ๐ฌ๐ง Luton | London | 1 in 488 | 0.20% | โฒ 10 | 3.70 | 1 | 4,617 |
11 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Changi | Singapore | 1 in 563 | 0.18% | โฒ 11 | 3.87 | 2 | 9,231 |
12 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Soekarno-Hatta | Jakarta | 1 in 570 | 0.18% | โฒ 12 | 3.89 | 2 | 9,234 |
13 | ๐ฎ๐น Fiumicino | Rome | 1 in 741 | 0.13% | โฒ 13 | 4.15 | 1 | 4,616 |
14 | ๐จ๐ณ Hongqiao | Shanghai | 1 in 758 | 0.13% | โฒ 14 | 4.16 | 1 | 4,617 |
15 | ๐ฆ๐บ Kingsford-Smith | Sydney | 1 in 785 | 0.13% | โฒ 15 | 4.19 | 1 | 4,617 |
16 | ๐จ๐ฆ Pearson | Toronto | 1 in 851 | 0.12% | โฒ 16 | 4.26 | 1 | 4,616 |
17 | ๐บ๐ธ SFO | San Francisco | 1 in 1,010 | 0.10% | โฒ 17 | 4.37 | 1 | 4,617 |
18 | ๐บ๐ธ Denver | Denver, CO | 1 in 1,110 | 0.09% | โฒ 18 | 4.43 | 1 | 4,616 |
19 | ๐ฉ๐ช Frankfurt | Frankfurt | 1 in 1,167 | 0.09% | โฒ 19 | 4.46 | 1 | 4,616 |
20 | ๐บ๐ธ Dallas/Fort Worth | Dallas | 1 in 1,214 | 0.08% | โฒ 20 | 4.48 | 1 | 4,616 |
21 | ๐ณ๐ฑ Schiphol | Amsterdam | 1 in 1,239 | 0.08% | โฒ 21 | 4.49 | 1 | 4,617 |
22 | ๐บ๐ธ LAX | Los Angeles | 1 in 1,530 | 0.07% | โฒ 22 | 4.59 | 1 | 4,616 |
23 | ๐ฆ๐ช Dubai | Dubai | 1 in 1,596 | 0.06% | โฒ 23 | 4.60 | 1 | 4,617 |
24 | ๐บ๐ธ HartsfieldโJackson | Atlanta | 1 in 1,879 | 0.05% | โฒ 24 | 4.66 | 1 | 4,617 |
+= | Median | 1 in 644 | 0.16% |
# | Region |
Probability of losing your luggage |
Luggage score (out of 5) |
Complaints (last 30 days) |
Lost bags (last 30 days est.) |
|
1 | Africa | 1 in 245 | 0.41% | 1.12 | 44 | 21,229 |
2 | Europe | 1 in 378 | 0.26% | 2.49 | 355 | 171,526 |
3 | Middle East | 1 in 523 | 0.19% | 3.18 | 95 | 45,960 |
4 | North America | 1 in 542 | 0.18% | 3.25 | 295 | 142,313 |
5 | Asia | 1 in 703 | 0.14% | 3.65 | 360 | 174,182 |
6 | Latin America | 1 in 756 | 0.13% | 3.74 | 72 | 34,817 |
7 | Oceania | 1 in 881 | 0.11% | 3.92 | 13 | 6,269 |
# | Country |
Probability of losing your luggage |
Luggage score (out of 5) |
Complaints (last 30 days) |
Lost bags (last 30 days est.) |
|
1 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | 1 in 62 | 1.62% | 0.25 | 310 | 149,999 |
2 | ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina | 1 in 68 | 1.47% | 0.25 | 27 | 13,086 |
3 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | 1 in 93 | 1.08% | 0.25 | 22 | 10,619 |
4 | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | 1 in 110 | 0.91% | 0.25 | 34 | 16,360 |
5 | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | 1 in 159 | 0.63% | 0.25 | 8 | 3,865 |
6 | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | 1 in 210 | 0.48% | 0.48 | 98 | 47,476 |
7 | ๐ฑ๐ฐ Sri Lanka | 1 in 233 | 0.43% | 0.92 | 3 | 1,450 |
8 | ๐จ๐ด Colombia | 1 in 240 | 0.42% | 1.04 | 23 | 11,092 |
9 | ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | 1 in 242 | 0.41% | 1.08 | 51 | 24,629 |
10 | ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | 1 in 245 | 0.41% | 1.12 | 9 | 4,329 |
11 | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | 1 in 292 | 0.34% | 1.74 | 64 | 30,941 |
12 | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | 1 in 303 | 0.33% | 1.86 | 4 | 1,930 |
13 | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | 1 in 328 | 0.31% | 2.10 | 6 | 2,907 |
14 | ๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates | 1 in 332 | 0.30% | 2.14 | 65 | 31,433 |
15 | ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan | 1 in 348 | 0.29% | 2.27 | 3 | 1,455 |
16 | ๐ต๐ญ Philippines | 1 in 358 | 0.28% | 2.35 | 9 | 4,337 |
17 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | 1 in 375 | 0.27% | 2.46 | 6 | 2,911 |
18 | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | 1 in 386 | 0.26% | 2.54 | 9 | 4,337 |
19 | ๐ต๐น Portugal | 1 in 402 | 0.25% | 2.64 | 5 | 2,407 |
20 | ๐ญ๐บ Hungary | 1 in 421 | 0.24% | 2.74 | 5 | 2,409 |
21 | ๐ซ๐ท France | 1 in 425 | 0.24% | 2.76 | 17 | 8,176 |
22 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 1 in 429 | 0.23% | 2.79 | 25 | 12,080 |
23 | ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | 1 in 430 | 0.23% | 2.79 | 4 | 1,931 |
24 | ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar | 1 in 436 | 0.23% | 2.82 | 16 | 7,752 |
25 | ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco | 1 in 437 | 0.23% | 2.83 | 4 | 1,934 |
26 | ๐น๐ญ Thailand | 1 in 512 | 0.20% | 3.15 | 5 | 2,429 |
27 | ๐ฌ๐ท Greece | 1 in 517 | 0.19% | 3.16 | 3 | 1,456 |
28 | ๐บ๐ธ United States | 1 in 554 | 0.18% | 3.29 | 270 | 130,233 |
29 | ๐น๐ท Turkey | 1 in 555 | 0.18% | 3.29 | 31 | 14,942 |
30 | ๐จ๐ฑ Chile | 1 in 557 | 0.18% | 3.30 | 7 | 3,391 |
31 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | 1 in 631 | 0.16% | 3.49 | 12 | 5,818 |
32 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | 1 in 652 | 0.15% | 3.54 | 9 | 4,359 |
33 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | 1 in 665 | 0.15% | 3.57 | 21 | 10,175 |
34 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 1 in 811 | 0.12% | 3.83 | 11 | 5,297 |
35 | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | 1 in 839 | 0.12% | 3.87 | 3 | 1,447 |
36 | ๐น๐ณ Tunisia | 1 in 924 | 0.11% | 3.97 | 1 | 482 |
37 | ๐ท๐ธ Serbia | 1 in 953 | 0.10% | 4.00 | 1 | 484 |
38 | ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | 1 in 965 | 0.10% | 4.02 | 2 | 972 |
39 | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | 1 in 1,048 | 0.10% | 4.09 | 10 | 4,822 |
40 | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | 1 in 1,254 | 0.08% | 4.24 | 8 | 3,854 |
41 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | 1 in 1,282 | 0.08% | 4.26 | 3 | 1,450 |
42 | ๐ป๐ณ Vietnam | 1 in 1,366 | 0.07% | 4.30 | 2 | 967 |
43 | ๐ญ๐ฐ Hong Kong | 1 in 2,034 | 0.05% | 4.53 | 2 | 967 |
44 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | 1 in 2,270 | 0.04% | 4.58 | 2 | 968 |
45 | ๐ต๐ฆ Panama | 1 in 2,895 | 0.03% | 4.67 | 1 | 483 |
46 | ๐ด๐ฒ Oman | 1 in 3,484 | 0.03% | 4.73 | 1 | 485 |
47 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | 1 in 5,204 | 0.02% | 4.82 | 1 | 484 |
48 | ๐จ๐ณ China | 1 in 12,442 | 0.01% | 4.92 | 1 | 484 |
Why make this? Vueling lost my gf's suitcase in June 2024 and it then went on a trip to random spots around the world without coming back to us while getting gaslit by useless Vueling staff! We called and DM'd customer support, even messaged the CEO on LinkedIn, all without resolve. In the end we got it back because American Airlines found it. Not even Vueling.
I then realized nobody collects data on how much luggage specific airlines are losing every day (and getting them back to their customers) to avoid the worst ones. This helps me (and hopefully you too) to book with airlines that put effort in to not lose luggage or get it back fast to their customers! And rewards great airlines for not losing our luggage.
How it works? My robot scrapers scour the internet 24/7 for people talking about their lost luggage and which airlines (and airports) they flew, in 100+ different languages. By cross referencing that with actual lost luggage data it estimates very closely how much luggage is constantly being lost. And yes, it takes into account airline size differences by flights and fleet size, and airport size differences by passengers. All major airlines and airports are tracked 24/7.
Next features? As I collect more data over the next few weeks, I can add charts and growth % to see which airlines grow or decrease in lost luggage. If you have more ideas, tweet me!
Limitations? Airlines don't publish live lost luggage data (probably for a reason). Using social media as a data source has limitations but seems to be a good proxy indicator when combined with historical lost luggage data. Probabilities and lost bags are live estimations.
Why do airlines lose luggage? Airports and airlines, especially in US and Europe, are trying to maximize the amount of flights they can operate (and money they can make) while minimzing the cost (giving you cheap flights!). Part of that is underpaying the people handling your luggage. Because they don't want to pay more, there's a shortage of people who want to do those jobs, and the quality of the people remaining to do those jobs is low. At the same time the load on airlines and airports has never been so high. That's why luggage handlers will cut corners and might wrongly tag you luggage, load it onto the wrong plane, or even damage it. Usually your luggage is delayed for a few days and will get back. But increasingly I hear getting back your luggage is getting very hard (like it was in my experience with Vueling). The staff to actually find your delayed luggage, get it to the right airport, and then deliver it to your home or hotel is usually also overworked and underpaid and thus dysfunctional.
Do airlines sell your lost luggage to strangers? Yes they do. Lost luggage that is unclaimed is auctioned off to strangers. But "unclaimed" is a subjective term here. If the airline does not have the staff to actually get your luggage back to you, they'll consider it as "unclaimed" after 21 days. Typically its held up to 60 days though but there's no legal requirement for airlines to hold your luggage over 21 days! That means your clothes, your electronics, your personal items you have emotional ties to, even your laptop, will be sold off to strangers and there's nothing you can do about it!
How to avoid losing my luggage? Book flights with airlines that don't lose luggage a lot (the green ones on this page). Avoid airlines that do (the red ones on this page).
Like this? Follow me on X @ @levelsio for more hacky side projects!
Press inquiries? Send me a message on X @ @levelsio. Yes you can use any data from this site as long as you mention it and link back!