Latin America and the Caribbean reduce baggage mishandling as global air traffic grows

The air transport sector in Latin America and the Caribbean made significant progress in 2024, reducing its mishandled baggage rate by nearly 15% year-over-year, from 6.43 bags per 1,000 passengers in 2023 to 5.5 in 2024. According to the new SITA Baggage IT Insights 2025 report, this progress reflects growing investment in
smart baggage handling technologies and operational improvements, despite the increase in passengers.

Progress is also being seen globally. Despite an 8.2% increase in global traffic in 2024, the overall baggage mishandling rate fell to 6.3 pieces per 1,000 passengers, down from 6.9 the previous year, representing a 67% reduction since 2007. The total number of mishandled bags decreased to 33.4 million, compared to 33.8 million the previous year.

Of those 33.4 million mishandled bags, more than 66% (22 million) were resolved and closed in SITA WorldTracer® within 48 hours, demonstrating the industry's ability to quickly reunite passengers with their luggage. Specifically, of those 22 million: 25% were resolved in less than 12 hours, 38% in less than 24 hours, and another 38% within 48 hours.

While these results show a clear improvement, baggage mishandling still cost the industry approximately $5 billion in 2024, and passengers are expecting more from the sector. The associated costs—such as courier returns, customer service, claims handling, and lost productivity—underscore the urgency of continued investment in automated, real-time, and data-driven systems.

“In air transport, transformation isn’t a phase, it’s the norm. The industry is constantly evolving, driven by technology, passenger expectations, and global changes,” said David Lavorel, CEO of SITA. “We’ve seen a radical shift with automation and the widespread use of real-time tracking. Passengers now expect their baggage experience to be as simple and seamless as using a ride-hailing or delivery app. It’s no longer just about moving bags, but about offering a seamless and connected journey.

Airlines are ready to adopt technologies that improve the passenger experience, reduce costs, and are easy to implement. Together with our partners, we are reinventing baggage handling to offer passengers full visibility and control from departure to arrival, giving them peace of mind and making travel simpler and better.”

Mature, not experimental, technology

Airports and airlines are handling larger baggage volumes with greater precision. Real-time tracking, AI-based analytics, and self-service solutions are no longer experimental; they are becoming standard and proving their effectiveness. This demonstrates the true impact of investing in intelligent, data-driven systems.

In 2024, 42% of passengers had access to real-time baggage updates, up from 38% the previous year. Nearly half of travelers say mobile tracking would increase their confidence when checking a bag, and 38% value the addition of digital ID tags.

Airlines have responded by prioritizing visibility throughout the baggage journey.

Currently, 66% offer automated baggage drop, and another 16% plan to implement it by 2027. In the case of airports, 65% plan to deploy biometric baggage drop by the same year.

An alliance between technology and trust

One of the notable innovations of 2024 was the integration of Apple's Share Item Location feature with SITA WorldTracer®. Passengers can share the location of their Apple AirTag with airlines, enabling faster baggage retrieval. British Airways, Lufthansa, Qantas, Cathay, and Virgin Atlantic are among the airlines already using it.

This integration also powers WorldTracer Auto Reflight, which allows bags to be automatically reprogrammed with their original tags, identifying the cause of mishandling and initiating resolution without human intervention.

Where most bags are lost and how the industry responds

Delayed bags remain the most common problem, accounting for 74% of mishandling cases, although down from 80% the previous year. Lost or stolen bags accounted for 8%, while damaged or looted bags increased to 18%, up from 15% in 2023.

The biggest factor was poor handling during transfers, at 41%, an improvement from 46% the previous year. Labeling or ticketing errors, security issues, and similar factors rose slightly to 17% (a 3 percentage point increase), while cargo failures remained at 16%. Operational issues such as customs delays, weather, or capacity constraints increased to 10%, up from 8%.

“We're making progress, but baggage remains a source of stress,” said Nicole Hogg, Director of Baggage at SITA. “Passengers want security. The future of baggage handling is evolving rapidly with automation, computer vision, and mobile tools; we're making the experience much more reliable.”

New standards to further reduce errors

In 2025, the airline industry approved the new Modern Baggage Messaging (MBM) standard. Designed to improve data quality, MBM Version 2 is expected to reduce baggage mishandling by an additional 5%.

These improvements are based on IATA Resolution 753, which requires baggage tracking at four key stages. The focus now is on using shared data not only to report problems, but also to predict and prevent them.

Luggage as a service, not a problem

Airports like Red Sea International in Saudi Arabia are already implementing next-generation solutions, including off-airport check-in and real-time tracking, thanks to SITA Bag Journey.

“Every bag matters,” Hogg concluded. “This isn't just about reducing errors. It's about building travel confidence, and technology is clearly making that possible.”

The SITA Baggage IT Insights 2025 report reflects the opinions and data of 280 airlines and IATA passenger traffic statistics. SITA applies a weighting system, based on IATA traffic statistics, to WorldTracer® data to calculate baggage mishandling rates.

Source: SITA.