It is by no means enjoyable when your baggage arrives at a totally totally different vacation spot than you do. Sadly, that occurs to 1000’s of vacationers every day.
Almost 250,000 checked luggage had been mishandled (that means misplaced or delayed) within the U.S. throughout August 2023, in keeping with a latest report from the U.S. Division of Transportation. That equals a median of 6.1 checked luggage per 1,000 — and people are simply the statistics for U.S.-based airways. When you consider what number of worldwide airways there are and the potential for mishandled luggage with them, the quantity skyrockets.
One main explanation for misplaced or delayed baggage is because of incorrect tagging. Once you hand your baggage off on the check-in counter, do you check out the bag tag earlier than it disappears onto the conveyor belt? If not, this is why you need to begin doing so.
How does a bag get tagged to the mistaken vacation spot?
The best reply is that the check-in agent could have by chance enter the mistaken vacation spot code. You could be going to Dallas Fort Price Worldwide Airport (DFW), but when the agent by chance sorts in DTW, your bag will arrive at Detroit Wayne County Worldwide Airport as a substitute. Or possibly you are going to San Juan, Puerto Rico, the place the airport code is SJU, however the agent misroutes your baggage to SJO, an airport in Costa Rica.
One other chance is that another person’s bag tag with a unique vacation spot was affixed to your baggage. Possibly the check-in agent printed out an additional tag from the earlier buyer and, as a substitute of throwing it out, inadvertently used that one in your baggage. They could’ve put the identical mistaken declare tag in your boarding go.
In case your baggage has a tag together with your contact info, it is extremely seemingly you will finally be reunited together with your luggage (although it might not occur as rapidly as you would like). Remember to have your contact particulars in a number of locations — a tag on the surface and one thing inside of every suitcase is suggested. If there isn’t any ID tag, your luggage will seemingly sit round with all the opposite unclaimed baggage.
Associated: My bag wasn’t tagged accurately — reader mistake story
The right way to keep away from your bag being tagged incorrectly
Affirm the vacation spot on the tag
Ask the check-in agent when you can see the bag tag both earlier than it is positioned in your baggage or earlier than your baggage is distributed down the conveyor belt. For those who’re checking a number of luggage, make sure you have a look at the tag for each bag.
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Test the connection, too
Not solely must you test for the vacation spot, however you also needs to test the connection if you’re not flying nonstop.
That is particularly necessary as a result of luggage are usually not all the time routed on to the ultimate vacation spot. Typically, chances are you’ll be accountable for choosing up your bag from the primary leg of your journey and rechecking it; the easiest way to verify that is to see what’s on the bag tag.
For instance, whenever you return to the U.S. from a global journey, you usually have to gather your baggage and recheck it on your connecting flight. Remember to test the bag tag at that time, additionally.
For those who’re flying totally different airways on a single itinerary (even with the identical airline alliance), your bag could not all the time get checked by means of to your ultimate vacation spot, regardless of what a well-meaning airline employee could let you know. All the time verify it for your self by checking the bag tag.
Visually verify tags have been added to every bag you test in
Do not simply test the place it is tagged. You also needs to wait on the counter till you see that the right bag tag has been added to all your baggage.
Tag your personal luggage
Lastly, at any time when attainable, use self-tagging at a kiosk that means that you can print your personal bag tags and place them on the luggage you want to test. Although human error is much less seemingly right here than on the counter, you need to nonetheless double-check your bag tags even when self-tagging at a kiosk and ensure the vacation spot is appropriate.
The right way to hold monitor of your baggage after you allow the counter
For those who depart the counter with out checking the bag tags, you continue to have a couple of choices to ease your thoughts. You may also use these strategies even when you’ve checked the tags and easily need to ensure your baggage makes it onto the airplane.
More and more, U.S. airways have arrange baggage monitoring options on their web sites and cellular apps. Southwest Airways is the newest to take action, becoming a member of American Airways, Delta Air Strains and United Airways in providing a baggage monitoring device.
You may also use a Bluetooth tracker, corresponding to Apple AirTags, to maintain tabs in your baggage. This fashion, you may monitor that your baggage has been loaded onto your airplane and arrived at your vacation spot.
If issues go haywire and your luggage do not arrive whenever you do — particularly throughout the busy summer season or vacation journey seasons — know the steps you need to take if you find yourself with misplaced or delayed baggage and the way bank cards can come to the rescue.
Backside line
Checking a bag comes with some dangers of mishandling alongside the way in which. After all, if you wish to eradicate that danger altogether, you will journey with carry-on luggage solely. If that is not attainable otherwise you simply choose to test a bag, there are steps you may take to keep away from your baggage getting checked to the mistaken vacation spot. Begin by merely analyzing the bag tags and declare tags earlier than you allow the check-in counter.
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