When you take a plane and check in your luggage, it is common to feel worried about the possibility that the airline will lose your suitcase. It contains your essential belongings for the trip, so this inconvenience could ruin your vacation. Not to mention the economic and often sentimental value of the personal belongings you carry with you.
Although in most cases the luggage is only delayed and its owner ends up recovering it a few days later, there is no doubt that this is an undesirable inconvenience. Although you can suffer this mishap at any airport, the truth is that there is one that concentrates the highest number of complaints: Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas.
According to a report by Reclamio, a company specialized in managing airline passenger claims, Madrid airport is the one that receives the most complaints about lost luggage from passengers. It is not only that it leads this unfortunate ranking in Spain, but it does so at a European level, with 26.5% of the complaints received by the aforementioned company in 2023.
The second airport where the most claims for lost luggage were filed is also located in our country, as it is the Barcelona El-Prat airport, with 13.2% of the claims managed by Reclamio last year. Third place goes to Lisbon's Humerto Delgado airport, with 5.8% of complaints.
Paris Orly holds fourth position, with 2.7% of complaints. And in fifth place we once again find a national airport, Palma de Mallorca, with 2.4% of claims for lost luggage processed by Reclamio in 2023.
If your suitcase is lost while catching a flight, you must file a lost luggage claim at the airline window of the company you flew with, before leaving the airport. There you must report the incident by filling out a Baggage Irregularity Report (PIR). It is also advisable to file a claim with the company's Customer Service department, submitting the PIR.
Reclamio emphasizes that the majority of lost luggage ends up returning to whoever it belongs to. Specifically, 97% of lost suitcases return to their respective owners within two days. If it is not recovered, the compensation to which the affected user would be entitled may exceed 1,500 euros.
