2024 was a record-breaking year for air travel, with global passenger numbers reaching 5.3 billion, the highest in aviation history.
As the volume of passengers soared, so did the number of bags handled.
Yet the rate of mishandled baggage continued to decline, according to the newly released SITA Baggage IT Insights 2025. This is a clear sign of industry progress, though challenges remain.
The mishandling rate dropped to 6.3 bags per 1000 passengers in 2024, down from 6.9 the previous year, a 67% improvement since 2007.
This drop is even more significant considering the surge in global traffic, which grew by 8.2% in 2024 alone.
While the total number of mishandled bags dropped slightly to 33.4 million despite record passenger volumes, the proportion of bags mishandled continued to decline, demonstrating the growing impact of technology and automation.
Of the 33.4 million mishandled bags, over 66% (22 million) were resolved and closed in SITA WorldTracer within 48 hours, underscoring the industry’s ability to quickly reunite passengers with their luggage.
Specifically, out of the 22 million, 25% were resolved within 12 hours, 38% within 24 hours, and another 38% within 48 hours.
But while these results show clear improvement, baggage mishandling still costs the industry an estimated US$5 billion in 2024, and passengers are increasingly expecting more from the industry.
The costs, from courier returns and customer service to claims handling and lost productivity, highlight the urgency of continued investment in real-time, automated, and data-driven baggage systems.
Airports and airlines are now handling greater baggage volumes with more precision. Real-time tracking, AI-powered analytics, and self-service solutions are no longer experimental; they are becoming standard, and they are clearly having an effect.
This shows the real impact of investing in smart, data-driven baggage systems.
In 2024, 42% of passengers had access to real-time baggage updates, up from 38% the year before.
Nearly half of travellers say mobile tracking would boost their confidence in checking in a bag, and 38% value the addition of digital ID tags.
One of the standout innovations in 2024 was the integration of Apple’s Share Item Location feature with SITA WorldTracer.
Passengers can share the location of their Apple AirTag with airlines, allowing quicker baggage recovery. British Airways, Lufthansa, Qantas, Cathay, and Virgin Atlantic are among the adopters.
Delayed bags remain the most common issue, accounting for 74% of mishandled baggage, down from 80% in the previous year. Lost or stolen bags made up 8%, while damaged or pilfered bags increased to 18%, up from 15% in 2023.
Transfer mishandling was the biggest contributor at 41%, showing an improvement from 46% the previous year.
Tagging or ticketing errors, security issues, and similar factors rose slightly to 17% (up 3 percentage points), while loading failures remained steady at 16%. Operational issues such as customs delays, weather, or capacity constraints increased to 10%, up from 8%.
In 2024, SITA acquired Materna IPS, a leader in passenger handling, to create the world’s most powerful passenger portfolio for airports and digital travel. SITA then acquired ASISTIM to offer a fully-fledged airline flight operations control centre managed service.
The company also launched SmartSea to give the maritime industry access to the same advanced technology that is transforming air travel. The launch comes as part of SITA’s growth into cruise and rail, as well as urban air mobility, such as vertiports.
SITA is a multinational information technology company providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry. –SITA
