CHICAGO — During air travel, baggage collection and bag drop-off are the two biggest sources of negative experiences within airlines’ control, according to IATA’s 2023 World Passenger Survey. 

The survey, based on more than 8,000 responses by air travelers over this past spring and summer, found that 14% of respondents were dissatisfied with baggage collection and 9% were dissatisfied with the baggage drop-off process. 

The other top sources of frustration were the border control/immigration process and the security process. 

Last year saw an especially poor performance by airlines in terms of baggage handling, according to the annual Baggage IT Insights report produced by airport technology company SITA. The global rate for mishandled baggage jumped to 7.6 bags per thousand passengers, up 75% from the much quieter 2021 flying year.

Speaking at IATA’s World Passenger Symposium on Wednesday, IATA senior vice president of operations, safety and security Nick Careen said that the mishandled-baggage rate likely will be lower in 2023 since industry operations have become more stable. 

Still, he and other conference speakers said airlines need to do better, in part by placing more focus on technology.

The World Passenger Survey showed that 67% of flyers would be interested in home pickup and delivery of checked baggage.

“They are getting home delivery now in some cases, just a couple days late,” Careen cracked. 

The survey also showed that the ability to track baggage in real time would increase the confidence of 59% of respondents. 

Some airlines do offer bag tracking via their apps, but Careen said he does not know of any carriers that have adopted electronic bag tags, which can be implanted with tracking technology, as a standard procedure. 

In the U.S., Alaska Airlines has done the most in this regard. The Seattle-based carrier began offering electronic tags to elite status Mileage Plan member last December and planned to make the tags available for purchase to all customers sometime this year. 

The tags populate with flight information as part of a digital at-home check-in process. Alaska expected the tags to reduce the time customers spend in airport lobbies by 40%.

Absent significant airline adoption of electronic tags, conference speakers noted that consumers have taken matters into their own hands by purchasing tracking devices. 

“We need to catch up with the consumer,” TAP Air Portugal CEO Luis Rodrigues said.

Airline technology investments, though, aren’t the only way to address baggage challenges. 

Avianca CEO Adrian Neuhauser said Avianca has brought its mishandled baggage percentage down by hiring more supervisors. Now, two people check labels before a bag is loaded onto an Avianca plane instead of one. And the overall bag count for each flight is double-checked. 

Careen said new airports should be built with more precise baggage-handling systems, so that delivery to the correct gate is more seamless.

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