Fees for any vacation undoubtedly entail the collection of luggage consisting of personal items you need away from home. Today we will look at a few recommendations on how not to lose your suitcase along the way, as well as its contents.

To begin with, a little statistics from the airlines leading such statistics. On average, for various reasons, about 10 million passengers are left without their luggage during the flight per year. To imagine how global this is, imagine that every minute about 40 air passengers are left without their suitcase.

In 2009, airlines lost about 25 million passengers' suitcases and bags. However, most of them still returned to their owners, but 850 thousand disappeared forever. According to the transnational corporation SITA in its annual report, carriers have lost 2.5 billion US dollars on the return of luggage to tourists.

One way or another, the results of 2009 are 24% more favorable than in the previous year. According to experts, there are several reasons: firstly, the number of tourists on flights has decreased. Secondly, due to the increase in the cost of carrying luggage, most tourists chose to refuse it, or at least reduce the number of suitcases carried. Thirdly, the transformation of the check-in and baggage handling systems was favored.

Most of the suitcases and bags are lost when transferring to another plane (52%), the second place is occupied by the oversights of airport employees who forgot to put the suitcase on the plane (16%). The third place is given to misprints in air tickets or the absent-mindedness of passengers who took luggage that was not their own (13%). 7% of bags are lost due to the fact that they were sent to another airport, 6% of luggage is lost by customs, and 3% disappear due to the fact that airport workers stick the wrong labels on them.

In most cases, things are returned to the owners within a few days after the disappearance. After two days, the probability of finding luggage is greatly reduced. In 2009, lost suitcases cost carriers $2.5 billion.

There are eight simple tips that will significantly reduce the possibility of losing your favorite suitcase and things:

1. 1. Take a direct flight. Of course, a flight with a transfer is sometimes cheaper, but if the time between flights is short, the likelihood that the suitcases will be lost increases several times.
2. 2. Arrive at the airport well in advance. If the suitcases accidentally arrive on the wrong plane beforehand, the movers will have the opportunity to detect and eliminate the oversight. For Russia, this recommendation is of great importance also because of the long queues for checking luggage at the entrance to airports.
3. 3. Do not carry expensive items in suitcases. Their loss or damage can only be compensated by special insurance.
4. 4. Get a special tag on which write down the airport of departure and arrival, as well as your details. So if the suitcase is lost, airport employees will be able to recognize it and return it faster.
5. 5. It is very difficult to resist thieving neighbors on the flight, but with those who take a similar bag by an absurd accident, it is very simple - mark the suitcase with a noticeable sign, a bright belt, a colorful sticker or an unusual tag with information is perfect.
6. 6. Do not forget to write a list of things that are being carried in a suitcase. Insurance companies, as well as representatives of airlines, require proof of what was actually in the luggage. The simplest solution is to take a picture of the contents of the luggage before departure.
7. 7. It is preferable to keep an elementary set of essentials with you in hand luggage. Of course, most foreign airlines issue a spare set to passengers whose suitcase is lost, but on Russian airlines in this respect is not yet to be relied upon.
8. 8. Take out insurance for your luggage in case of loss, this can be done in advance or at the airport - in most foreign terminals, tourists get insurance at the baggage wrapping points.

The second after aerophobia among travelers is the fear of losing luggage. Where to run for the missing suitcase? Will personal items remain intact? How long will special services look for the loss? To minimize the risk, you should not only rely on the accurate work of the airport staff, but also take all measures yourself to ensure that your travel bag remains with you.

So, how not to lose luggage at the airport?

1. Remove "old" tags

If you often have to fly on planes, then “old” tags that have long lost their relevance can stick to your suitcase. It is because of them that periodically there is confusion in the system. Therefore, before departure, carefully inspect your luggage and free it from unnecessary barcode labels.

2. Fill in the "passport details" of the luggage

Modern suitcases are equipped with a special name tag, where the owner of the luggage indicates his personal data in advance. There is no need to be careful and to be afraid of something. Fill in the required fields in Latin letters, indicate the last name and first name, you can give contact information about the phone number and e-mail. Even under the most unfavorable conditions, your bag with personal data will be found an order of magnitude faster than the "nameless" one.

3. Decorate your luggage

Your suitcase should have a personality. Attach something unique to your suitcase that is easy to remember and notice. It can be a ribbon or a keychain. And the brighter, the better.

4. It's not the size, it's the shape that matters

Experienced airport staff also advise taking rectangular suitcases and travel bags on a trip. Also, do not "round" the luggage during rewinding with tape. Such bags are easier to roll off the lines and get lost in the baggage labyrinths.

5. Don't be late

No wonder the rules say that you must arrive at the airport three hours before the departure of the plane. Of course, you can run into the hall at the last minute, check in, throw your bag into your luggage and, with a calm heart, enter the board of the liner. But if your bag seems suspicious, then it will be examined more carefully and in detail. And that takes extra time. The plane with the late arrival passenger will be already in the air, and the suitcase will remain at the airport for inspection. Who is guilty? The tourist is to blame.

Don't forget about these five "guards" against luggage loss, and your suitcases will stay with you forever. Pleasant flight!

How not to lose your suitcase at the airport

Admit it, have you already planned everyone for the New Year holidays? Maybe even a suitcase has already begun to fill? It's a good thing, just consider a few points so as not to end up at your destination without a vacation wardrobe.

Choose a square suitcase

The more square it is, the less risk that it will roll away somewhere - and this happens. Therefore, a round bag of the “kolobok” type is not the best choice.

Attach a tag

Not just because they are sold in packs in any shop at the airport. The simplest measure, but the tag on the luggage will really help to find you if an evil fate separates you from the suitcase. Enter your name, email address and current phone number there.

Take off old stickers

At the airport, small stickers with barcodes are stuck on luggage. They indicate the destination. A suitcase covered on all sides with such stickers is not a sign of an experienced traveler, but of a natural bullshit. Airport employees can mistakenly scan the barcode from one of the old stickers and your bag will fly not to Krakow, but to Colombo, where no one will find it for sure.

Glue new

All suitcases are the same - well, or almost the same. If yours does not differ in originality and boldness of design ideas, distinguish it from the crowd of the same - stick some large and bright sticker if it is plastic, or tie a wide ribbon to the handle if the suitcase is made of textiles. This is not so much for you, but for other passengers scattered and wrapped in jet lag, who already have all the suitcases on the tape on the same face.

Take a picture of it

This picture will come in handy if you suddenly do not find your suitcase on the tape - you can contact the airport worker with it. It is easier to identify a suitcase by a portrait than by a description, which is interrupted by mournful sobs every now and then. Maybe the luggage flew in safely, but it had already been removed from the tape and put in a corner.

Do not be late

Most of the lost bags arrived at the airport too late. If you check in at the last moment, the security service may take too long to check your suitcase and you will have time to board the plane, but your suitcase will not.

Text: Olga Lysenko

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Useful information for travelers from tochka.net

© Depositphotos

Keeping a few important rules, tourists can keep their luggage intact while traveling.

1. Do not unnecessarily carry expensive items that are difficult or impossible to recover in your baggage. Any valuables: it is better to keep documents, cash and jewelry with you and not to check in luggage.
2. Before packing your suitcase, check all the fasteners and locks of your bag to see if they have broken on a previous trip. Even if the fasteners and locks of the bag are in good condition, a heavily stuffed suitcase can break during transportation from the terminal to the aircraft.
3. Be sure to make a list of the things packed in each bag.
4. A personal tag inserted in a special transparent window of the suitcase (if any) can help identify your luggage. Or make a bright inscription on your suitcase.

© Depositphotos

1. Before checking in your luggage, be sure to pack it in a transparent film. This can be done both at the airport and at home using cling film or tape. Everyone decides for himself whether he needs packaging in a film or not. We would like to bring to your attention some convincing feedback from passengers regarding the advisability of using the film.
2. Take your time when checking in your baggage and make sure the airline tag attached to your suitcase accurately identifies your last destination of travel. This will save your luggage from early unloading or stopping halfway through transit flights and flight connections.
3. Make sure you receive your receipt stubs with the UPC barcode after checking in your baggage. Today since electronic tickets it's easy to forget about them.
4. Write your name, phone number, city and country on your suitcases. If your luggage is lost, this can speed up the search process.

Main Rule- did not find your luggage upon arrival - do not leave the airport until you complete the documents! Fill in all information about baggage in special questionnaires. Be attentive to details. Write down the phone number where you can contact for information about the search results.

To be honest, I don’t understand how you can not recognize your luggage, and I am always surprised when people at the airport look at the tags on their suitcases on the tape, looking for their last name. Moreover, sometimes in general on different suitcases, both in color and in shape. Do you remember if you have a green rag or a black plastic one?
It would seem nonsense, but no... It turns out that for many travelers this is a problem and people experience real difficulties in identifying the suitcase that they took with them on vacation.
An ingeniously simple solution to this problem is offered by one of the London online stores of goods for people with imagination - luggage covers with a "Head-Case" face.
It looks, of course, funny, but the main thing is that you definitely won’t get lost in the crowd with such a suitcase, and you won’t confuse it with any other on the luggage belt.

All travelers have to do is send the manufacturer good photo own face. Although ... instead, you can use a photo of your mother, colleague or some celebrity. The Firebox store will print the image on the suitcase cover and send it to the customer.

The custom covers are made from spandex and are available in three sizes. Their price ranges from $26 to $39.

The initiators of the idea are sure that nothing says “This is my suitcase!” better than your huge face on it as it moves down the conveyor belt.

According to materials: