Baggage mishandling on the decline

Monika Mejstrikova, director of ground operations, International Air Transport Association (IATA), said in a recently released  report that: “Between 2007 and 2022 baggage mishandling reduced by nearly 60%. That is good news. But travellers expect better; and the industry is determined to make further improvements. Tracking bags at acceptance, loading, transfer and delivery will give the industry the data it needs to improve. Tracking reduces overall mishandlings and helps airlines reunite mishandled bags with their owners even faster. With 44% of airlines already fully implementing Resolution 753 tracking and a further 41% in progress, travellers can have even more confidence that their bags will be at the carousel on arrival.”

The International Air Transport Association, which is the international association that represents some 320 airlines comprising 83 percent of global traffic,  recently released a global progress report on the implementation of baggage tracking. It was based on a survey of 155 airlines and 94 airports with focus on IATA Resolution 753 that requires tracking baggage at acceptance, loading, transfer, and arrival. The report showed that the aviation industry had made progress towards reducing baggage mishandling. The report also referred to a 2022 SITA report that the global rate of mishandled bags was 7.6 per 1000 passengers and the majority of them were returned within 48 hours.

The Resolution says that “IATA members shall maintain an accurate inventory of baggage by monitoring the acquisition and delivery of baggage.” In addition to requiring airlines to demonstrate the delivery and acquisition of bags, it also specifies three key checkpoints where this should happen – aircraft loading, arrivals inject and transfers inject. Taking effect from June 2018, the Resolution is mandatory for all IATA airline members.

The implementation  by all industry stakeholders of IATA Resolution 753 promises to bring benefits to everyone involved – airlines, airports and passengers – because accurate information about the whereabouts of baggage not only reduces mishandling complaints, but can also help to speed up reconciliation and flight readiness for departing flights and give leverage to efforts at measuring performance against service level parameters.

The resolution aims at  reducing the number of lost or delayed pieces of baggage by keeping track of it at every stage of its journey through the use of intelligent tracking capabilities. This will lead to a better customer experience and at the same time reduce the costs involved in tracing, retrieving and delivering missing or delayed bags. It will also reduce baggage fraud.

The report stated that 44 percent of airlines have fully implemented Resolution 753 and a further 41 percent are in progress. Africa did not seem to fare too well in regional full adoption rates by airlines with 27 percent. China and North Asia had 88 percent, the Americas 60 percent, and 40 percent in Europe and Asia-Pacific. 

The report assessed the preparedness for Resolution 753 by airports based on differing sizes: Medium (5-15 million), Large (15-25 million), Major (25-40 million), and Mega (> 40 million). Seventy-five percent (75%) of airports surveyed have the capability for Resolution 753 baggage tracking. It further stated that 75 percent of mega airports are capable, 85 percent of major airports, 82 percent of large airports and 61 percent of medium airports showed preparedness for Resolution 753.

When a passenger is checked in for a flight, a bag source message (BSM) is generated, which includes the date, flight number, destination, registration number and a unique barcode – this is typically referred to as an IATA Licence plate. The barcode on the tag is then checked against a computer database of departing flights and set for delivery to the correct terminal and gate.

After the security check, the baggage moves through the airport system on a series of conveyor belts or tray (tote) conveyors until it reaches the correct loading bay. Before being loaded onto the plane, the unique barcode is scanned or otherwise registered to make sure that the bag has reached the correct flight before being sent on its way.

Reports point to the fact that research has found that airlines which have a good system in place for keeping track of passengers’ baggage throughout this process have significantly less mishandling incidents than other airlines.

Furthermore, Resolution 753 demands that airlines exchange baggage tracking messages with interline partners and their agents. The current baggage messaging infrastructure depends on legacy technology which uses costly Type B messaging, the report states. This high cost has had a negative effect on the implementation of this resolution and so contributes to issues with message quality which results in an increase in baggage mishandling. However, IATA states that it is leading the transition of the industry from Type B to modern baggage messaging based on XML standards. It is reported that the first pilot to test the modern baggage messaging between airport and airline is planned for launch in 2024.

With the increased efficiency in baggage handling, IATA member airlines will need to collaborate with airport community members and much more with airports so that the airports they work with have the necessary IT systems and infrastructure in place to be able to support them in complying with Resolution 753. This means that all airports, whether existing or new, will need to assess their baggage handling infrastructure and fill in any gaps where necessary.

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