Damage to luggage accounts for 40% of baggage-related incidents
Damage to luggage accounts for 40% of baggage-related incidents, followed by delayed delivery (35%), theft (15%) and permanent loss (10%). This is reflected in a report by the Business Analytics department of Intermundial Seguros for 2013.
Damage to suitcases or bags (40%) are mainly due to bumps, dents and broken handles and wheels. Most of these mishaps occur mainly on flights, during baggage handling on airport conveyor belts or while being loaded into aircraft holds.
The cases of delay in baggage delivery (35%) occur mostly during flights, and are due, according to the international consulting firm, to malpractice in transferring between connecting flights, especially at the world's major international airports, which are heavily congested and have a large amount of transit traffic.
Intermundial says that during 2013 the total number of mishandled baggage amounted to 21.8 million, amounting to 6.96 mishandled bags per thousand passengers.
And is that, almost half of the delays in the delivery of luggage (45%) are related to a change of planeó 16% of luggage were not loaded on the planeó n and another 15% did not arrive due to problems with customs, bad weather or restrictions on space or weight. The rest of the delays in delivery are linked to poor management of the suitcases on arrival at destination or mislabeling.
As for the theft of suitcases, they account for 15% of baggage incidents, something that can cause numerous problems for travelers, especially if they are abroad.
“The contracting of an adequate travel insurance can minimize the inconveniences caused by baggage incidents. Thus, in case of delay in delivery, the company will take care of the search, location and shipment of the checked baggage and, in addition, will reimburse the expenses incurred during the wait. And if there is damage to luggage, travelers will be reimbursed for the costs incurred, explains Intermundial Seguros.
On the other hand, “in case of document theft, taking out travel insurance allows for an advance of funds through a bank transfer and covers the costs of processing the stolen documents. And if the theft is of the luggage, the insurance assumes part or all of the value of the same. In case of damage or theft of computer equipment, mobile devices and cameras, the stipulated value is reimbursed. Finally, in case of total loss of luggage, the passenger is compensated according to its value.