Airport transfers top reason for lost or damaged baggage

Posted by freemexy on August 27th, 2019

Transfers from one aircraft to another at airports remains the biggest reason why passengers’ bags get lost, stolen, damaged, pilfered or delayed, a top official said in Abu Dhabi yesterday.airport hotel transfer

Abu Dhabi International Airport, which handles an average of 54,200 bags every day, mishandles two per 1,000 bags per day, way below the global average of 5.69, said Mohammad Nasser Al Otaiba, general manager of operations, while addressing a media briefing at the airport.

“The mishandled luggage rate at the airport last year was registered at 5.3 per 1,000 bags. But this year, we have reduced it by 50 per cent. Still, we strive to make sure all passengers receive their bags on time,” said Otaiba.

“In 2019, the average rate of bags mishandled at the Abu Dhabi Airport didn’t increase in the first quarter, and it registered two per 1,000 bags,” he added.Of the 54,200 checked-in bags handled each day at the Abu Dhabi airport, 12,900 are at arrivals and 13,300 at departures, while and transferable bags constitute 28,000.

Last year, Abu Dhabi installed automated tag readers across the arrival belts at Terminal 1 and 3, tracking an average of 54,398 bags a day.Ahmad Juma Al Shamsi, acting cief operations officer at the airport, said: “Timely delivery of baggage is key to ensuring a seamless passenger experience. We have led the way with the introduction of tracking baggages on arrival and we have already seen significant improvements.”

Other reasons for mishandling include ticketing errors, bag switches, security, loading errors, arrival mishandling, customs, weather, space and weight restrictions, failure to load and tagging errors.

Peter Drummond, director of baggage at SITA, said, “Transfer is by far the most difficult stage to track a bag as there are multiple airlines and airports involved. However, data from this year’s report shows that tracking at key points in the journey, such as transfers, will go a long way to eliminating mishandling and will allow airlines and their passengers to keep tabs on where their bags are at every step of the way.”