EasyJet, BA and Ryanair amidst airlines getting most luggage complaints

Customers who fly with budget airline Ryanair were more likely to have their hold luggage lost than those of any other airline, according to new research. It can be incredibly frustrating when your bags are lost – especially when they go missing for a long time or are never returned to you.

The air carrier received close to 1,000 luggage related complaints between 2018 and the third quarter of 2022, according to figures obtained by Forbes Advisor. These complaints related to lost, damaged or delayed luggage.

British Airways – the largest UK airline – was the second worst when it came to luggage complaints, with 844 in the past five years. EasyJet was in third place with 565 complaints.

The top five worst airlines for losing luggage included Wizz Air with 552 complaints and Norwegian with 419.

It’s important to remember that the figures do not take into account an airline’s total passengers numbers, meaning you may not be more likely to lose or have your bag damaged on Ryanair than, for example, Iberia. As those carriers that have more passengers flying with them simply handle far more bags.

Passengers are boarding Ryanair airplane
(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

A survey recently found that 28% of UK passengers have experienced problems with airlines mishandling hold luggage while travelling in the last five years, with 2% of those asked having lost a bag and never had it recovered again.

The cost of losing or having you luggage damaged can be significant. Unrecovered items or money usually add up to an average of £308 in losses for the average UK passenger, according to the Opinium survey.

Passengers from Liverpool are usually the worst off when their bags go missing, losing an average of £814. Travellers from Wales are the next most likely to lose their bags, according to the survey.

The findings analysed complaints figures from the airline regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Thankfully, the number of luggage complaints per passenger is still low.

Piles of Lost unclaimed luggage at airport
(Image: Getty Images)

But, if your bags have been lost and your airline doesn’t help you then you can complain to the CAA. Before then you should do your best to have the situation remedied by the airline.

To try and ensure your bag makes it back to you make sure you add a label with your name and phone number incase the flight tag has been ripped off. Putting your name or number directly onto the suitcase’s material can also help.

You should also remove old flight tags with past flights on them as this can confuse staff. If possible, take cabin luggage so you can keep your eyes on the flight or gate check the bag last minute.

A woman recently found her luggage had been wandering around – including to a McDonald’s by leaving an Airtag inside it. But, this isn’t recommended as many airlines have banned the devices from the hold.

You should always take photos of any valuables in your bag. This could help you to claim for them on your insurance.

A British Airways plane
(Image: Getty Images)

An easyJet spokesperson said: “Between 2018 – 2022, the period covered by the study, easyJet transported around 322 million customers and their baggage across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. As the figures confirm, incidents of delayed baggage are extremely low and reports by World Tracer, the independent system used by the industry for luggage tracking, show that easyJet has one of the best performances in the industry.

“On the rare and unfortunate occasion a bag is delayed, we work with our airport teams to reunite customers with their bags as soon as possible and we advise customers to submit a claim quickly and easily online for their missing items to be reimbursed and receive compensation.”

A BA spokesperson added: “Every day we take great pride in carrying thousands of bags safely and speedily to their final destination where the vast majority arrive on time. When bags are delayed our teams do everything they can to reunite customers with their belongings and look at various methods of transportation to achieve this as quickly as possible. We also help with essentials while customers wait for their bags to arrive.”

A Ryanair spokesperson said: “Ryanair operates over 3,200 daily flights across more than 230 destinations and leads the industry with fewest lost bags – 1 bag mishandled per almost 10,000 passengers. Any claims to the contrary are false, including this Forbes study which does not take into account the volume of passengers each airline carries.”