Original photo by onurdongel/ iStock
According to numbers released by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. airlines posted a mishandled baggage rate (concerning items that were lost, damaged, delayed, or stolen) of .52 bags per 100 checked in 2025. With approximately 471 million bags submitted at airline counters, that translates to over 2.4 million bags that failed to reach their owners as scheduled. That’s down from a rate of .55 bags per 100 in 2024 — resulting in more than 2.7 million bags mishandled — but it’s still pretty high.
Oops, incorrect!
It's a factPer DOT guidelines, U.S. airlines are liable for up to $4,700 per passenger for baggage lost on domestic flights. However, the rules of the Montreal Convention, which applies to international flights, set a limit of approximately $2,175 per passenger for missing baggage.
However, the news from airports isn't all bad. According to data compiled by the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA), around 70% of mishandled bags are merely delayed, meaning they’re eventually reunited with their owners. And technological advancements — such as “real-time data sharing, AI routing, biometric bag drop, and connected passenger devices,” as listed by SITA — are already making headway. SITA claims that its integration with Apple’s “Find My” service “cut permanently lost luggage by 90% in its first year.” The hope is that the numbers will continue to improve as more airlines adopt advanced technology.
Regardless, the possibility of delayed or lost possessions remains a small but not-insignificant threat to every air voyager who turns over their bags. To offset the likelihood, experts suggest using carry-on options when possible, and to select direct flights to diminish the chance of human error during baggage transfers. Adding an Apple AirTag to your luggage can help, too, in the event that your bag is misplaced.
Numbers Don't Lie
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The first major U.S. airline to charge a fee for all checked bags was ______.
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The first major U.S. airline to charge a fee for all checked bags was American Airlines.
Some airports use AI to match missing items to travelers.
Bags aren’t the only things that can vanish over the course of flying from point A to point B. Travelers often drop personal items in planes, shuttles, and restaurants. Such items typically end up at an airport’s lost and found, where technological advancements at least make the process of pairing a missing keepsake to its owner a little easier. Some airports use AI-powered software that enables a quick match between descriptions noted by a discovering party and those entered via online claims. Many other airports use software that incorporates data and image recognition technology, or at least provides a platform for claimants to search through inventory photos. One digital holdout is (or was) Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, which, as recently as 2023, logged missing items in an old-fashioned three-ring binder.
Tim Ott has written for sites including Biography.com, History.com, and MLB.com, and is known to delude himself into thinking he can craft a marketable screenplay.
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