Air transport technology provider SITA has published its latest Baggage IT Insights report, showing a fall in the rate of mishandled baggage last year.
The firm said that the number of bags mishandled by the industry fell from 7.6 per 1,000 passengers in 2022, to 6.9 per 1,000 passengers in 2023.
SITA said that the figure had been achieved despite passenger numbers rising above 2019 levels for the first time in five years, growing to 5.2 billion.
Long-term figures show that mishandling rates have now fallen by 63 per cent between 2007 and 2023, despure passenger traffic rising by 111 per cent over the period.
Asia-Pacific remained the region with the lowest mishandled baggage rates in 2023 at just 3 per 1,000 passengers, compared to 5.8 for North America, and 10.6 for Europe.
The report follows recent data published by the International Air Transport Association around the implementation of baggage tracking by airlines and airports.
IATA surveyed 155 airlines and 94 airports, and found that 44 per cent of airports have fully implemented Resolution 753 – which requires the tracking of baggage at acceptance, loading, transfer and arrival – with a further 41 per cent in the process of doing so.
IATA: Industry making progress to reduce baggage mishandling
The SITA Baggage IT Insights report 2024 also shows that two-thirds of airlines now offer unassisted bag drop, while 85 per cent of airports offer self-service bag drop.
The report also said that nearly a third (32 per cent) of passengers rely on baggage collection information being sent straight to their mobile.
Commenting on the news David Lavorel, SITA CEO, said:
“The improved mishandled baggage rate in 2023 is great news for passengers and for aviation. It’s especially impressive as global passenger traffic grew strongly in 2023 and is set to double by 2040.
“We clearly see from the SITA Baggage IT Insights results that baggage automation is the way forward, with more collaboration, more communication with passengers, and investments in new technologies such as AI and computer vision to make the journey smoother.
“From my own travel experiences, I can say this will be really welcome. Technologies like these are essential because they help us gather, integrate, and share data effectively. This means we can uncover important insights that make decision-making easier and more automated.”
