The number of bags lost by airlines worldwide rose by a record 25 percent to 42 million last year as rising airport congestion and increased security disrupted baggage systems, a study has found.
One in 50 bags went missing and one in 2,000 passengers lost a bag permanently, according to SITA, an information technology company which tracks passenger baggage worldwide for the air transport industry.
The study found that airlines had failed to invest adequately in a more robust baggage tagging system, which would make it easier to locate missing bags.
Radio frequency identification tags, which are slightly more expensive than standard barcode tags but much more reliable, have been available for years but have yet to be rolled out across the industry.
Source: The Times, http://travel.timesonline.co.uk