article_detail

 

Spain has made the lists of countries worldwide that misplaces the most suitcases; 1 in every 125 suitcases that pass through a Spanish airport is lost, damaged or delayed, which represents an incident rate of 0.8%.

 

These mishaps rank Spain ninth on the list of the worst countries for baggage mistreatment in the world. According to data from the technology company AirHelp, nearly 60,000 suitcases have been lost in the country in the last month.

 

According to AirHelp's baggage report, a total of 36.1 million suitcases were damaged worldwide last year, affecting more than 5.2 billion passengers. This shows an increase of almost 10 million incidents from 2022. In comparison, in 2022 there were only 26 million incidents of baggage mistreatment.

 

Some Spanish airlines have become renowned for their poor quality of baggage handling. Iberia is the airline with the second highest rate of problems with checked luggage. According to the data studied, 3.3% of the suitcases checked in by Iberia are lost or damaged, which represents 1 in every 30 pieces of luggage.

 

The report, however, reminded people of their rights when involved in such a problem. AirHelp reminds passengers of the compensation they are entitled to in the event of problems with their luggage. In the case of damage, the claim amount can be up to 1,385 euros.

 

Furthermore, if a suitcase does not arrive after 21 days it is considered lost and money can also be claimed back. AirHelp recommends photographing your baggage before you travel, obtaining an official Passenger Irregularity Report (PIR) at the airport as soon as there is an incident, and keeping receipts for replacement purchases.

 

On the bright side however, Spain's Barcelona-El Prat Airport did appear in the ranking for the best performing airports in terms of their treatment of baggage and their standard of handling peoples goods. In the case of this airport, only 0.12% of checked bags are lost at the Catalan airport.