Tech drove down mishandled bag rates by 23% in 2025, but mishandling still costs the industry $6.3 billion a year

SITA's 2026 Baggage IT Insights Report shows mishandling has fallen below pre-pandemic levels for the first time, even as passenger volumes hit record highs. GNW

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At a glance

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GENEVA, June 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In 2025, the industry made its strongest progress outside the pandemic, even as passenger numbers rise. Mishandled baggage rates dropped 23%, a sign that digital transformation efforts are taking hold, according to the 2026 SITA Baggage IT Insights Report, the 20th annual edition of the industry benchmark.

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But the bigger story is not just improvement. It’s the gap that remains. Mishandling still costs the industry $6.3 billion annually. Each bag carries an average cost of $260. With net profit averaging just $8 per passenger, one mishandled bag wipes out the profit from more than 30 seats sold, and five erase the profit of an entire flight.

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Passenger volumes are rising faster than the infrastructure designed to handle them. In 2025 alone, 5 billion passengers traveled globally, yet 24 million bags were still mishandled. Across the longer term, mishandling has fallen by close to three-quarters since 2007.

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What changed in 2025 was not one technology, but a shift in how systems connect: real-time data sharing, AI routing, biometric bag drop, and connected passenger devices.

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“Baggage is shifting from a logistical problem to a digital service,” said Nicole Hogg, Portfolio Director Baggage, SITA. “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.”

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Real-world results show the formula at work. Apple’s Find My integration with SITA WorldTracer® cut permanently lost luggage by 90% in its first year and shortened delayed-bag recovery by 26%. SITA also recently integrated Google’s Find Hub share item location feature into WorldTracer®. Thai Airways, using SITA’s Auto Reflight, compressed a three-minute task to a single second per bag across nine airports.

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David Lavorel, CEO at SITA, said:
“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.”