'61.3 pc fall in baggage mishandling by airlines in 7 yrs'

There has been a decline of over 61 per cent in baggage mishandling by airlines around the world in the last seven years, despite a significant rise in the number of passengers over the same period, according to a report.
The improvement in baggage handling has been attributed to increased investment in technology, which has resulted in an estimated saving of USD 18 billion, it said.
The rate of mishandled bags in 2014 stood at 7.3 bags per thousand passengers, down from a peak of 18.88 bags per thousand passengers in 2007, global airlines IT solution services provider SITA said in its report today.

"This improvement in baggage handling over the past seven years is largely a result of strong technology investment and innovation in baggage systems automation and processes," SITA's Chief Executive Francesco Violante said.
This decline comes despite a significant rise in number of passengers over the same time period, peaking at 3.3 billion passengers in 2014, the SITA 2015 Baggage Report said.
Observing that rising number of passengers will continue to place pressure on baggage infrastructure and processes, Violante said, "the industry cannot afford to become complacent."

With IATA forecasting continued passenger growth of around 7 per cent in 2015, all industry partners will need to continue to invest, collaborate and focus on baggage management, he added.

Airlines and airports are continuing to invest in new technology to optimise passenger and baggage processing, including self bag tagging, self bag drop, systems automation and bag ticketing, the report said.
Baggage tracking is set to improve further in coming years as a result of an IATA resolution on baggage tracking, which would be effective from 2018.
The resolution requires IATA members to "maintain an accurate inventory of baggage by monitoring the acquisition and delivery of baggage, the report said.
According to SITA, global passenger count between 2013 and 2014 rose 5.5 per cent while the aircraft load factors by 79.7 per cent between 2013 and 2014.

This increased pressure on existing systems nudged the rate of bag mishandling up in 2014 to 7.3 bags per thousand passengers, from its all-time low of 6.96 the previous year, it said.
More than 80 per cent of the mishandled bags in 2014 were delayed, with transfers between connecting flights the leading cause of late delivery, the report said, adding, in 2014, mishandled transfer bags accounted for 49 per cent of all delayed bags or 11.81 million bags.
However, the majority of bags were returned to passengers within one to two days, it added.