Lost Baggage: Travel Facts After the Pandemic

Booking an overseas holiday? Flyers beware – the post-pandemic travel boom is causing chaos at airports around the world.

The barrier to return to international travel is becoming faster than airlines can handle.

The result: canceled flights, lost luggage and frustrated travelers.

As the world reopens, tales of missing bags and the difficulties involved in trying to track them down have become legendary.

So far, Americans heading to Europe for the summer seem to be the hardest hit – but Kiwis who have had to transfer flights to get anywhere are also finding it’s not as easy a process as it was before the pandemic.

“Because of the change in technology and security, there’s less of a problem with lost luggage than it used to be,” said Savage, head of aviation at the EU.

But what the pandemic has done is put so much pressure on the aviation industry that people are starting to see something very common, which is missing and missing bags.

And – things are predicted to get worse as we head into the northern winter, and tourists will flock our way.

The details There are a lot of reasons that end up in this situation – but basically they boil down to not having enough staff.

“At the moment there is some problem with the amount of bags not arriving in New Zealand,” says Savage.

“From a union point of view, the problems are not happening at Auckland Airport but at overseas airports.

“I happened to be told that at one point one of the companies on the ground had about 900 bags that they were trying to connect with their passengers. So that’s become a common problem now – mistakes overseas, bags arrive after they arrive. They try to track the passengers and then the passengers and try to connect them to their bags. Many bags are stored at the airport.

He said the problems were mainly related to the labor market crisis caused by the aviation shutdown and the rebuilding of the industry.

“There’s a real recruitment crisis in the industry right now,” says Savage.

“Earlier there was a queue of people waiting to join these companies. And now there is no queue.”

This led to situations such as a recent flight from Hawaii to Oakland where only one person was available to unload a bag from a 787, and that person subsequently quit and found a new job at the airport.

Airlines are in debt, and most of the people who worked at the airport as check-in staff, cabin crew, loaders or ground support officers have been moved to jobs with better pay and better hours.

“So aviation employers have to raise their wages to try and attract people – it’s getting harder and harder for them to do that,” says Savage.

“Especially because you can’t take someone off the street and tie them to a baggage belt, they have a barrier to employment. Because you’re an airport worker, they have to go through rigorous safety and security training. They’re working at the border.”

Then there is the current delay in getting security cards, for many of the same reasons.

On top of that, airlines deal with workers who often get sick or have to go into isolation.

“All parts of the system are under pressure and this has an impact on flow. And delays and disruptions to customers, and lost and missing bags.”

Savage’s advice for travelers over the next six months?

“Travel light, just in case, make sure you have good insurance…and just be patient with the airport staff. I know it’s frustrating when you travel, but don’t take it with the cabin crew and don’t take out the ground crew, they often work under very stressful conditions.

“Arrive early, be patient, check all luggage properly…..or don’t go overseas!”

“Stay in New Zealand and enjoy the New Zealand winter.”

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