The number of bags mishandled by airlines fell by more than 12% last year over 2015, according to figures released today (Thursday).
And the rate of mishandled bags at 5.73 per 1,000 passengers was the lowest ever recorded, according to aviation IT firm SITA.
The reduction comes as global airlines passenger levels hit an all-time high of 3.77 billion in 2016.
But the global bill for recovering and reuniting passengers with their bags was about $2.1 billion in 2016 despite the drop in lost luggage.
A critical pinch-point in the bag handling process is when passengers and their luggage need to move from one aircraft to another, or from one carrier to another.
Bags have a higher risk of being mishandled at this time, particularly if connections are tight. Almost half (47%) of delayed bags were in the process of being transferred last year.
The rate of mishandled baggage has fallen 70% in the past decade due to investment in technologies and process improvements by the world’s airlines and airports, SITA claims.
This is expected to improve further over the next 18 months as Iata member airlines have adopted a resolution requiring every piece of checked baggage to be tracked along its journey by June 2018.
The resolution means that every bag must be tracked and recorded at four mandatory points – at check-in, aircraft loading, at transfer between carriers and on arrival as the bag is delivered back to the passenger.
When this is in place airlines will be able to share the information with their passengers and code share partners allowing them to track their bag, just like a parcel.
Introducing mandatory tracking at this point of the process will provide real-time data that can be used to avoid delays.
Having this information means passengers will stay informed and all parties involved in their journey can take action if flights are disrupted and their bags are delayed.
AITA air travel solutions president, Ilya Gutlin, said: “It is frustrating for passengers and airlines when bags go missing but the days of not knowing where your bag is will soon to be a thing of the past.
“We are on the brink of a new era in airline baggage management because the world’s airlines are committing to track baggage throughout its journey.
“This requires data capture, management and sharing across airlines, airports and ground handlers giving a better view of where each piece of luggage is at every stage.
“We are providing several tracking innovations that will allow the air transport community to scale up their tracking capabilities without massive capital investments.”
Gutlin added: “We are using technology to transform baggage management which will improve both the passenger experience and help to reduce the cost to the airlines.
“To be successful we need to co-operate and collaborate across the industry and challenge ourselves to find new ways of working and sharing data to upgrade the experience for air travelers and to improve operations.”