SITA says baggage mishandling falls as travel hits 5bn

Mishandled baggage rates fell in 2025 as global passenger numbers reached 5 billion, according to SITA.

The air transport technology provider said the mishandling rate dropped 23% to 4.9 bags per 1,000 passengers, while the total number of mishandled bags fell 19% to 24 million. Both measures were below pre-pandemic levels, its latest baggage report showed.

The figures suggest operational improvement for airlines and airports after years of disruption, but they also highlight the remaining cost burden. SITA estimated the annual cost of mishandled baggage at USD $6.3 billion in 2025 and put the average cost per mishandled bag at USD $260, replacing a long-used estimate of USD $150.

That cost is significant in an industry where margins remain tight. Net profit across aviation averaged USD $8 per passenger, meaning a single mishandled bag can erase the profit from more than 30 seats sold, SITA said.

Cost pressure

The updated cost estimate suggests baggage disruption has a larger financial effect on airlines than older industry benchmarks indicated. Delayed bags account for about 70% of the total cost, with most of that linked to recovery, rerouting and delivery, while lost or damaged bags carry higher compensation costs.

Transfers remained the biggest source of mishandling in 2025, accounting for 39% of cases, down from 41% a year earlier. The data suggests handovers between flights remain the weakest point in the baggage chain even as overall performance improves.

Mishandling has fallen by nearly three-quarters since 2007. In SITA's view, the improvement in 2025 reflected better links between systems rather than any single technology.

Those links include real-time data sharing, artificial intelligence-led routing, biometric bag drop and connected devices used by passengers. Wider use of these tools is helping operators track and recover bags more quickly, the company said.

Nicole Hogg, Portfolio Director, Baggage, SITA, described the shift in customer expectations and airport operations.

"Baggage is shifting from a logistical problem to a digital service. Passengers expect to know where their bag is at every moment, and they're increasingly willing to help us track it. The next phase is about bringing the technology we already have to every transfer, every handler and every airport, offering greater visibility and connecting every step of the journey. That's how the industry earns the trust passengers now expect," Hogg said.

Tracking tools

SITA pointed to examples where newer tracking and automation tools have reduced losses and shortened recovery times. Apple's Find My integration with its WorldTracer system cut permanently lost luggage by 90% in its first year and reduced delayed-bag recovery times by 26%, it said.

The company also said it had integrated Google's Find Hub share item location feature into WorldTracer. In another example, Thai Airways used SITA's Auto Reflight system to cut a task that previously took three minutes to one second per bag across nine airports.

For airports, the baggage findings form part of a broader capacity problem. Passenger traffic is rising faster than much of the infrastructure built to process bags, and many hubs have limited room for physical expansion.

David Lavorel, Chief Executive Officer, SITA, said the answer lies in making better use of data across airport operations.

"Airports are operating closer to their physical limits every year, and the answer isn't always more concrete. Data, AI and predictive operations let us get more out of the airport we already have, at check-in, security, the gate, on the apron and in baggage halls. Baggage shows the formula works. Solutions such as Total Airport Management take the same approach across the whole lifecycle, so airports can absorb growth without expanding their footprint," Lavorel said.

Investment plans

The report also offers a view of where airline spending may go next. Three in four airlines plan to invest in artificial intelligence over the next two years, while half plan to provide passengers with real-time baggage updates.

Industry adoption of baggage tracking under IATA Resolution 753 has passed the 50% mark, according to SITA. Full compliance is targeted for 2027, indicating that a large part of the sector is still in transition.

The broader challenge is that stronger passenger demand can still produce large absolute numbers of disrupted bags even when rates improve. With 5 billion passengers travelling globally in 2025, a lower mishandling rate still left 24 million bags affected across the system.

That gap between relative progress and absolute disruption helps explain why baggage remains both a customer service issue and a material cost line for airlines. It also suggests that, despite the gains reported in 2025, transfer points and recovery processes will remain under scrutiny as air travel volumes continue to rise.