Suitcases end up in airlines’ black hole

Millions of Brits could face a nightmare lost luggage merry-go-round to the start of their holidays this summer.

Research by swiftcover.com, the online insurer, reveals that arriving at a dream destination ended in despair for 22% of travellers when they faced a fruitless wait for their luggage to roll off airport conveyer belts.

The majority of baggage-less holidaymakers (55%) had to wait over 24 hours for their luggage to be returned by the airline.

More than one in twenty (6%) victims of lost luggage had to spend their entire holiday without any luggage as their lost bags were only returned after arriving back in the UK – or lost forever!

With the 24 largest airlines losing 5.6 million bags last year alone, one in five (21%) people whose luggage has been lost by an airline has had to fork out more than £100 replacing their lost belongings to ensure they have the ‘essentials’ to get through the first couple of days away from home.

Ruined Holidays

However, for the majority of lost luggage Brits (81%) it’s the stress of not having access to their belongings and the wasted time trying to replace necessities which was the worst part of the ‘lost luggage’ experience, rather than the cost of replacing items. Such is our attachment to our personal belongings, that one in twenty (5%) even said the experience of losing their suitcases “ruined their whole holiday”.

Packing Precautions

Brits abroad are now taking a number of precautions to prevent it happening to them. Nearly a third (29%) of couples and families split their clothes between different bags in case one is lost during a flight, 35% pack some spare underwear and a toothbrush in case their belongings end up in Timbuktoo and 22% would even consider using another airline if the one they are due to travel with has a poor record on baggage.

Avoid Valuables Lost in Transit

But despite these precautions, a significant proportion of people also pack valuables in their hold baggage rather than safely in their hand luggage, leaving them at risk if their cases go missing:

5% pack personal documents in their hold luggage
4% pack cash or travellers cheques in their suitcases
2% pack valuable jewellery in their hold luggage

Craig Staniland, Director of Underwriting at swiftcover.com comments: “Holidaymakers appear to face increasing stress when jetting off for their well-earned breaks. As well as the perennial problems of delays and hotel room bookings, they also have to face the risk of losing their luggage and spending the first couple of days’ holiday trying to replace lost items instead of winding down and relaxing. The recent lost luggage league table shows this problem is still rampant and widespread so it’s good to see that many travellers are now taking whatever precautions they can to be prepared for their luggage being lost. But this doesn’t always alleviate their stress levels. And with over 2 million Brits having forked out £100 on replacing their lost luggage, it’s never been more important to take out travel insurance to ensure their mistake doesn’t end up costing them.”

Swiftcover.com will pay up to £100 per person towards the cost of essential items if your luggage isn’t returned within 24 hours and will pay up to £2,000 to cover the cost of the contents of a suitcase if it is never returned by the airline.

The low cost insurer warns travellers to make sure valuables aren’t checked into the hold to ensure any claim is valid, as cash, travellers cheques and gold and silver jewellery will not be protected by their insurer if it’s packed in checked-in baggage.

Staniland continued: “As long as you have adequate travel insurance, losing your suitcase should not hit you in the pocket, but, for the majority of people, it’s often the sentimental value of personal belongings and the lost time on holiday trying to locate your bags that cannot be replaced.”