28% of UK passengers experienced luggage issues, and the average lost value was £308.
A new study by Forbes Advisor, the financial guidance and price comparison platform, determined that Ryanair, the Irish-based low-cost airline, has received close to 1,000 luggage-related complaints between 2018 and the third quarter of 2022.
Source: CAA data collected by Forbes Advisor
Note: airlines in red denote airlines that went out of business between 2018 and Q3 2022.
While most of the airlines in the top positions in the table are low-cost airlines, some major airlines make it in the top 10 too. British Airways, the largest UK airline, was found to be the second worst when it came to luggage complaints with 844 in the past five years. Three low-cost airlines, EasyJet, Wizz Air, and Norwegian, round out the top five.
A recent survey by Forbes Advisor also asked the flying UK public about their own experience when dealing with hold luggage, and found that nearly three in 10 (28%) British passengers have had some or all their luggage delayed, damaged, or lost in the past five years.
Additionally, of those who lodged a complaint with the airline, nearly a quarter (26%) claimed the airline did not adequately resolve their issue. About one in five (19%) said they were not compensated by the airline at all.
The survey also asked the monetary value of what had been lost in hold luggage, showing that the average flying Brit lost £308 in damaged or lost luggage in the past five years.
For travelers who are worried about their luggage getting lost at an airport while traveling, Forbes Advisor has a list of tips for passengers to keep in mind while flying:
- Remove old airline tags from previous trips where your luggage was on hold. Tags from previous flights can cause confusion when routing luggage.
- Valuables and any device that stores personal information like laptops and tablets should be in your hand luggage to ensure they are close by and secure.
- Before traveling, take a photo of the contents of your luggage. This can be helpful when filing a claim or providing a description to airline representatives in case your bag gets lost.
- When checking in your luggage, make sure the airline worker attaches the correct routing tags to your bags. Check the destination airport code matches your destination.
- Shop around for a travel insurance policy that includes coverage for lost, delayed, or damaged luggage. Review the terms and conditions of the policy to understand what is covered.
Kevin Pratt, Travel Insurance expert at Forbes Advisor said:
“Regardless of the airline you travel with, you should be able to expect your luggage to arrive with you, safe and sound, at your destination. While the number of complaints is relatively small relative to the thousands of flights these firms operate, we should remember that each one will have been a source of significant inconvenience to the traveler concerned – enough for them to escalate their complaint all the way to the Civil Aviation Authority.
“We should also bear in mind that the bulk of holiday flights were effectively grounded during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
“It’s easy to imagine the annoyance and frustration of your bags being lost or their contents damaged. That’s why it’s worth making sure everything is properly labelled and tagged before they disappear along the conveyor belt at check-in.
“And it’s also important, where possible, to keep valuables in your hand luggage, especially if items contain personal information that could be exploited if it fell into the wrong hands.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
