Your holiday is finally here and you can’t wait to get away, but since June, one in ten holidaymakers have had their holidays ruined through baggage loss on departure or arrival home, but what are the best ways to avoid it?
With the number of lost bags up by 24% compared to last year, we’ve put together a guide on what you can do to keep your belongings secured, as well as how to keep safe should you be on holiday without your suitcase.
See our vital tips for holidaymakers to keep your suitcases protected as well as how to stay secure if your bags go missing:
Put all valuables in hand luggage
If suitcases go missing, then the biggest worry is always for valuables. More than a fifth (21%) admit to placing high-ticket items including money, rings and laptops into hold luggage. The best way to avoid the extra worry of expensive jewellery or those sentimental items is to place them into hand luggage. Not only will checked-in items have the risk of being stolen, but it may also accidentally be lost if a bag breaks or be damaged during the journey. Further to this, expensive items may not be covered under compensation as an airline will likely challenge over anything lavish in lost luggage.
Place AirTags in bags
Tech products are great at providing increased peace of mind for baggage and an AirTag will provide regular updates to the owner’s phone of its general location on a map. Working over Bluetooth, this is permitted on a flight and once landed you will be able to see where any luggage is. Placing an AirTag inside the luggage will keep it hidden, avoid placing it on the outside of a bag as it may be accidentally removed. If baggage is lost it will provide an indication of which airport it has gone to or if it has been left behind.
Avoid social media posts
If bags are lost it can be tempting to post negativity towards the airline, but doing so can alert burglars that a home is empty if this has happened upon departure to the destination. It is important to have privacy settings enabled so strangers can’t find your posts, even people connected to tagged friends can be a danger. Consider directly messaging the airline or airport for help rather than publicly geo tagging yourself there to avoid exposure to thieves. If you want to post, do so upon returning home to ensure protection. Even complaints on stories provide an easy opportunity to have a house raided.
Use a padlock
One of the easiest forms of protection is to place a padlock around a suitcase. However, it is important to purchase one with a high security rating, such as a TSA approved one which will allow security to search it if needed. If bags are left out by the handlers then a lock will deter a potential thief as they will look for an easier target. Another added benefit of a lock is that if a bag has a zip it will also hold these together during transit.
We’ve all seen the horror images in baggage halls at major airports like Heathrow during this year, so it is more vital than ever to ensure any major possessions are kept in hand luggage.
It might not be ideal, but should the worst happen you will be compensated by airlines, so purchase necessities and ensure to keep receipts as well as timings to receive as much help as possible. Try not to show anger online prematurely as thieves will look out for this but most importantly, if it’s on your way out enjoy your time away and forget about the problem as much as possible.
