Lost Your Luggage? Here's What Probably Went Wrong -- WSJ

By Chris Dong / Illustrations by Mitch O'Connell

It's the stuff of travel nightmares: A few months ago, just before dawn at Helsinki Airport, I watched in horror as my suitcase disappeared through an unmarked door at a bag drop's check-in counter. The conveyor belt had kicked into gear before I'd managed to attach the bag's scannable tag. Without that lifeline, where would my things wind up? Would I ever see my toothbrush again?

Thankfully, my saga had a happy ending. But not everyone is so fortunate. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, each year over 2.8 million bags are "mishandled" -- meaning lost, damaged or delayed.

How can travelers avoid being among the unlucky? I decided to go behind the scenes at Denver International Airport $(DEN)$ -- one of the busiest and most complex airports in the country -- to learn the reasons why items get waylaid, and how to avoid them. Here's what I found out.

Keep Tidy

Like many airports nowadays, Denver has a self-service bag-check system, with 86 bag-drop kiosks positioned throughout the terminals. The airport has made massive strides in its automated baggage-handling system over the past decade. But at 10 miles long, the scale is in a league of its own, carrying 32,000 pieces of luggage daily across multiple underground levels. I figured this made it an ideal proving ground for potential errors.

Matt Robb, senior vice president of technical operations, schooled me in basic logistics. Unlike Helsinki's approach, he said, "redundancies" in Denver's self-drop system prevent conveyor belts from starting before a bag is ready to be moved behind the counter. From there, bags are scanned and routed on belts to screening areas based on airline and destination. This is where things can begin to run amok.

Too often, problems begin with poor "bag hygiene" Robb said. In this case, hygiene has nothing to do with deodorant -- but rather details that can quite literally derail a bag's passage through the system.

For instance, incorrectly placed tags and suitcases with excessive protrusions that could snag on corners or jam up flow don't pass muster. "In any conveyance system, there's room for issues," explained Robb. "A backpack with lots of straps? That's ripe for getting trapped." The lesson: Keep things neat, or learn the hard way.

Mind the Clock

At sprawling facilities like Denver, an airport twice the size of Manhattan, a ramp agent may drive a bag more than a mile to a plane. This process introduces two potential pitfalls, particularly at larger airports.

The first isn't in your control. While agents must limit the number of bags piled into cargo carts, occasionally items tumble off -- whether from a driver taking a too-sharp turn or something else.

The second lies squarely in customers' hands. Every airline, and in some cases airport, has different cutoff windows for when bags can be checked in. It's more likely that the bags of procrastinators who arrive too close to departure won't make it aboard.

If yours is left behind, carriers have complex rerouting systems to get it to its destination. However, every stop is a chance for something to go wrong. Moral of the story: Try to get to the airport earlier than strictly needed, especially when in a large city.

Opt for Nonstop

Southwest, Denver's second biggest tenant, has handled over four million checked bags so far in 2024. Though most arrive as planned at their destination, those that don't are much more likely to be from connecting flights, says Adam Westermajer, Southwest's station director.

"The more interactions, the more opportunities for errors," Westermajer said. To centralize and simplify how checked bags travel through Denver, the carrier is now building a separate facility, called a "Multisorting Baggage Handling System." Still, the only way to be absolutely sure your bag will arrive on schedule remains the same: Carry it on.

Get Tracking

Many carriers allow customers to track checked bags in the airline's app. But should your bags hit any snags along the way, in-app tracking is often no longer accurate. That's why smart travelers should never put all their faith in that technology, says Julian Kheel, founder of Points Path, a company that helps people use travel rewards.

"The easiest way to keep eyes on a checked bag even after it's out of sight is to place [your own] electronic tracking tag inside it," he said. Simple, inexpensive options like an Apple AirTag have become popular for that reason. However, there are caveats. Remember, since AirTags don't have GPS tracking built in, they only update location when they are within range (up to 100 feet in ideal conditions) of other Bluetooth-enabled Apple devices.

Don't want to rely on machines to save you? There's one more charmingly low-tech method Kheel says can ensure your bag finds its way: an old-school physical tag, with all of your contact information neatly penned on it. Score one for good handwriting.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 08, 2024 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT)

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