Preventing lost luggage on holiday

It’s well and truly holiday season and well, but then you get off your flight and are staring
at an empty baggage carousel. Losing your luggage is at best an inconvenience and at
worst a total nightmare.

What to do if your luggage is lost or delayed (check your tracker first) then head straight
to the airline baggage services desk – you will need this information for any claims later
on.

If you get your luggage back straight away then not so much drama, however it can in
some cases take days or weeks to locate your lost luggage.

This will necessitate the replacement of all items that were pack clothing toiletries and
other holiday essentials.

Even with taking every precaution there is still a chance that your luggage can get lost.
This was seen in the 2022 season once covid restrictions on international travel had
eased up.

Travel Insurance that includes a “provision for lost or delayed luggage”. If you can’t
afford travel insurance, then you can’t afford to travel.

Here are my top tips

Add an identification tag to your luggage – add your name and mobile number and email
address. This will help the airline contact you if your luggage is lost or delayed.

Need to replace your well-worn luggage – don’t buy black these make it harder to find
and designer brands are more of a target to would be thieves.
Always pack valuables in your hand luggage (phone, laptop, medications and
documents)

Lithium batteries need to be in hand luggage in the plane for safety reasons.

Adding a tracker. my most important tip is to track your bags with trackers. As an apple
user I use AirTags. There are other brands on the market including the original tracker
Tile.

Are luggage trackers such as Apple AirTags allowed in your bags?

yes they are as per this article in australian media from four months ago

Take photos of your luggage this is for providing description and if necessary, the
processing of claims with the Airline and Insurance provider

Check in early this is to ensure that you luggage arrives on the plane on time. Providing
baggage handlers with plenty of time to load your luggage onto the aircraft.

Choose direct flights where feasible to prevent the risk of luggage being misplaced or
delayed during transit.

If traveling with others maybe have an outfit or two in the other persons suitcase so that
at least there is something that you can wear once you land.