Lost luggage can quickly turn a dream holiday into a nightmare. While in the past this was a rare occurrence, today travellers are increasingly faced with the inconvenience of lost luggage. This has been proven by a survey by Airadvisor, the air passenger rights specialist.
The company looked at 53 airports around the world and identified those where the risk of baggage loss is high, as well as the most secure airports in terms of baggage handling.
The most dangerous airports for lost luggage
By studying data such as the number of passengers and the length of the journey from the plane to baggage claim, and even factoring in Google searches for “lost luggage” and reviews from sites like Yelp and Google, Airadvisor found that in most cases the biggest, busiest and, admittedly, chaotic airports tend to be those where incidents of lost luggage are much higher.
London Heathrow, for example, is notorious for frequent problems with baggage, followed by Charles de Gaulle in Paris and Dubai International. The top five are completed by Istanbul and Frankfurt airports, in fourth and fifth place respectively.
The safest airports for baggage
On the contrary, the survey has identified the 10 safest airports for travellers’ baggage. Darwin International Airport in Australia came in first place, with Cardiff Airport in Wales, Tijuana Airport in Mexico and Belfast Airport in Northern Ireland following.
Interestingly, Nice Côte d’Azur airport – one of the most popular destinations on the French Riviera – is in seventh place, reminding us that even a busy terminal can safely handle high volumes of baggage.
The 10 airports with the highest risk of baggage loss
1.London Heathrow Airport
2.Charles de Gaulle International Airport
3.Dubai International Airport
4.Istanbul Airport
5.Frankfurt am Main International Airport
6.Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
7.Singapore Changi Airport
8.Barcelona-El Prat Airport
9.Sabiha Gokcen International Airport
10.Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport
The 10 airports with the lowest risk of baggage loss
1.Darwin International Airport
2.Cardiff Airport
3.Tijuana International Airport
4.Belfast Airport
5.Adelaide International Airport
6.Perth International Airport
7.Nice-Côte d’Azur Airport
8.Guadalajara International Airport
9.Glasgow International Airport
10.Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
