Found check-in baggage damaged? You’re not alone as 35 percent passengers experienced mishap: Survey

Not being able to find your check-in luggage at the belt or finding it in a damaged state can be no less than a nightmare. A survey of air passengers stated that 1 in 4 fliers either lost their baggage or found it delayed during the last three years. Meanwhile, 35 percent found their checked-in baggage damaged one or more times. The survey has been conducted by the community platform LocalCircles to understand the collective experience of people, from a delayed or damaged baggage standpoint. From 2020-2022 nearly 14 percent of passengers had issues with timely delivery of check-in baggage. 

When fliers were asked the question: "How many times in the last three years (2020-22) have you had a situation where the airline you or your family traveled on had an issue with delivering your bag on a timely basis (instead of having delayed baggage or lost baggage)?" it was found that 14 percent of 10,944 respondents had gone through this experience at least once, while 11 percent had faced this anxiety-filled experience twice. The remaining 75 percent had always gotten it on time.

Delays due to technical snags in conveyors or baggage logistics equipment, mishandling, failure to send luggage by the correct flight, and security issues are among the many reasons cited when passengers are put to hardship at airports by airlines in India.

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Some fliers have also alleged airline staff occasionally engage in removing baggage tags leading to their luggage getting held up in the airport lost and found sections. According to government aviation data, missing and mishandled baggage continues to be among the top three complaints of fliers in India.

To the next question: "How many times in the last three years have you had a situation where the airline you or your family traveled on damaged checked-in bag(s)?" One in 3 fliers shared that they faced this experience one or more times. Of the 35 percent out of 10,981 respondents, 20 percent shared that they or their family member faced this experience twice, while 5 percent faced it twice, another 5 percent thrice, and yet another 5 percent experienced it more than four times in the 3 years.

When fliers were asked: "When you or your family member had a delayed, lost, or damaged baggage issue with the airline(s) in the last three years, how would you rate their customer service and responsiveness?" 62 percent out of 11,112 respondents were dissatisfied. Of these, 38 percent rated it as poor, 12 percent described it as pathetic, while another 12 percent felt it was average. However, 25 percent rated the air carrier's response to their complaint as good while another 12 percent described the remedial action as excellent.

(With inputs from IANS)