Lost luggage is the phenomenon in which a public carrier, airline, ship, or train does not send a passenger’s luggage to the correct destination to arrive with the passenger. In the United States, an average of 1 of 150 people have their checked baggage misdirected or left behind each year.Why Airlines Keep Losing Your Luggage (http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/lostluggage_1.html)
Lost or misdirected luggage becomes more common the more elaborate a flight plan is. International flights, or flights with connections are far more likely to see luggage get lost. There are many causes of lost luggage. If a passenger arrives late for a flight luggage will sometimes not have enough time to be loaded on the plane. If tags are accidentally torn off airport workers may not know where to send the luggage. Human error is also common as tags are misread or luggage is placed in the wrong location. Security delays and, for international flights, customs delays can also cause bags to arrive on a later flight than their owner.
Most lost luggage is quickly sent by the airline to the correct destination. For the inconvenience airlines will often reimburse passengers for toiletries, clothing, and other essentials if the arrival airport is away from the passenger’s home area. In most cases, upon the arrival of delayed luggage, a courier service will deliver it from the arrival airport to the passenger at his or her home or hotel. Delivery charges are paid by the airline except in rare cases.
On some occasions luggage is completely lost and cannot be recovered. The airline will then normally compensate the owner. The passengers must then list the contents of their baggage and file a claim. Most airlines maintain stores where they sell the contents of lost or abandoned luggage. The reason if a bag is never recovered is usually that it is stolen or mistaken by another passenger or stolen by an airport employee.
To deal with lost luggage travelers are advised to carry all essentials in a carry-on bag, including a change of clothes and anything they would be greatly troubled to lose because of monetary or emotional value.
Bags can also be damaged during travel, but most damage (such as broken wheels and handles) is not covered under the airlines’ contract of carriage. Some airlines, however, will still repair such damage as a good-faith gesture to the customer, or offer a discount voucher for a future flight. Rynn’s in Dallas, Texas (www.netbags.com) is the primary baggage repair facility for most US airlines. Damaged bag repairs cost airlines around $25, on average.
The majority of unclaimed baggage, whether by being lost or misdirected, or simply forgotten by travelers, is handled by the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama, which has contracts with most major airlines. The luggage sent to UBC is eventually resold for a profit.