Posted 29 May 2009

Finding that your luggage has been lost as you enjoy gap year travel, sabbaticals or volunteering abroad may be just as much your own fault as the airline or airport.

This is the viewpoint of industry affairs manager at the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) James Fremantle, who said that airlines are still informing the organisation that some luggage is lost or damaged due to avoidable factors.

Mr Fremantle explained: "Many bags are lost or mishandled because the passenger hasn’t put their name or address on their bag, or their label gets lost for some reason."

There are precautions people can take during their gap year travel to ensure their bags make it through safely, including not over-packing so the locks on their luggage do not break and clearly marking luggage with their name, he added.

According to a report from the AUC, airlines mishandled 42 million bags globally in 2007, compared to 34 million in 2006 and 30 million in 2005.

Category: General Travel