GENEVA, (Pakistan Point News - 29th Jun, 2026) The air transport sector recorded its strongest improvement in baggage handling performance since the pandemic in 2025, despite continued growth in passenger numbers, according to a newly released report.
The SITA Baggage IT Insights 2026 report, now in its 20th annual edition and regarded as an industry benchmark, showed that baggage mishandling rates fell by 23%. The decline indicates that the benefits of digital transformation are becoming firmly established across the sector.
Issued by SITA, a global provider of technology solutions for the air transport industry, the report said baggage mishandling costs the sector $6.3 billion annually, at an average of $260 per bag. With an average net profit of just $8 per passenger, one mishandled bag can wipe out the profit from more than 30 seats, while five mishandled bags can erase the profit from an entire flight.
The report noted that passenger numbers are growing faster than the infrastructure designed to handle travellers and their baggage. In 2025, five billion passengers travelled worldwide, while 24 million bags were mishandled. Over the longer term, baggage mishandling rates have fallen by around three-quarters since 2007.
According to the report, the progress seen in 2025 was not the result of a single technology, but of a broader shift in how systems are connected and integrated. This includes real-time data sharing, AI-powered baggage routing, biometric bag drop and connected devices used by passengers.
Nicole Hogg, Portfolio Director of Baggage at SITA, said baggage is moving from being a logistical challenge to becoming a digital service. Travellers now expect to know where their bags are at every stage of the journey and are increasingly willing to take part in tracking them. She said the next step is to scale existing technologies across every transfer, handler and airport, improving transparency and connecting every stage of the journey. This, she added, will help strengthen the trust passengers have come to expect.
Practical results are already demonstrating the success of this approach. The integration of Apple AirTag and Find My Share Item Location technologies with SITA WorldTracer helped reduce permanently lost baggage by 90% in its first year and cut the time needed to recover delayed bags by 26%. SITA has also recently integrated Google Find Hub’s item location-sharing feature into WorldTracer.
David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, said airports are operating closer to the limits of their physical capacity year after year, and that the answer is not always to build more facilities. Data, AI and predictive operations can help make better use of existing airport infrastructure, from check-in and security points to gates, aircraft stands and baggage halls.
He said the baggage sector shows that this model works, with solutions such as Total Airport Management applying the same approach across the full operating cycle to help airports absorb growth without expanding their physical footprint.
The report also identified areas where future gains can be achieved. Delayed bags account for around 70% of total baggage mishandling costs, most of which are concentrated in operational areas linked to recovery, rerouting and delivery. In cases involving lost or damaged baggage, compensation can account for up to 70% of the cost.
Transfers remain the leading cause of baggage mishandling, accounting for 39% of cases in 2025, compared with 41% the previous year.
The direction of the industry is clear: three in four airlines plan to invest in AI over the next two years, while half intend to provide passengers with real-time updates on the status of their baggage.
