What Happens to Unclaimed Luggage at Airlines?

Few experiences during travel are as disheartening as watching the baggage claim carousel stop, only to discover your suitcase didn’t arrive. At best, it’s a minor inconvenience; at worst, it could mean the permanent loss of your luggage and its belongings.

In 2022, around 26 million bags were mishandled (including delays, damages, losses, or theft) globally, according to SITA, a technology provider for the air transport sector. This translates to approximately 7.6 bags for every 1,000 passengers—a figure that has risen since the pandemic began, partly due to staffing shortages.

Although most bags are eventually returned to their rightful owners, approximately 7 percent (about 1.8 million) are completely lost each year worldwide. This can occur for various reasons, including damaged or lost tags, technology failures, or human mistakes, such as entering an incorrect airport code.

The Process Behind How Bags Become Unclaimed

When a passenger checks in a bag, an agent attaches a barcode sticker for tracking purposes. This code holds a wealth of information, including your destination, departure time, an International Air Transportation Association (IATA) airport code, flight number, and your full name. If the bag goes missing, the airline can utilize the barcode to pinpoint the last scanned location of the item.

However, there are times when the airline cannot locate the bag where it’s expected to be. In such instances, additional steps are taken. For example, Amy Fisher, a consumer public relations manager at United, states that her company requests more information from the owner. "We inventory the bag and ask the passenger to complete a detailed claim form about its contents," she explains. "We use software to match the details from all airlines’ inventory efforts with the passenger's description to locate the bag."

To assist with this process, many airlines employ WorldTracer, a third-party tracking and matching system owned by SITA, which helps report lost bags and reunite them with their owners.

The IATA mandates that airlines must retain bags for a minimum of 90 days. If the airline cannot reunite a bag with its owner, they ultimately have to reimburse the owner, up to $3,800, as required by the Department of Transportation. To claim this compensation, you might need to provide receipts for the items contained in the bag.

Even if your bag is just delayed, you could still receive some compensation. Both Delta and Alaska offer 20-minute guarantees: if your bag doesn’t appear on the carousel within that timeframe, Delta will provide you with miles, while Alaska offers either miles or a travel credit.

What happens to unclaimed baggage?

When a piece of unidentified luggage remains in a storage facility for over three months, the airline is permitted to dispose of it. In the USA, a significant portion is sent to Unclaimed Baggage, a retail warehouse located in Scottsboro, Alabama. Items left behind at security checkpoints, forgotten in overhead bins or seat-back pockets, or abandoned by travelers to meet weight limits often find their way to Unclaimed Baggage.

“Airlines have a high success rate in returning bags to their owners, but even a small percentage of lost bags can accumulate quickly, given the millions of travelers daily. Unclaimed Baggage is the only company in the nation that sorts and repurposes lost luggage,” stated Sonni Hood, a public relations manager at the 53-year-old company. “Once airlines complete the 90-day baggage tracing process, Unclaimed Baggage acts as a salvage partner, purchasing the bags unseen and helping to divert millions of items from landfills every year.”

In the 50,000-square-foot store, a variety of items from travelers’ luggage—ranging from underwear and cosmetics to electronics and ski gear—are meticulously sorted. Items deemed sellable are professionally cleaned and offered at discounts of 50 to 80 percent off retail prices, even for luxury brands. There are some remarkable finds; for example, director Daniel Scheinert wore a tuxedo he purchased here when he won three Oscars for Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Only about one-third of the items that arrive at the store make it to the sales floor; some are not in new enough condition or, as Unclaimed Baggage notes, are illegal to sell, such as ivory or shrunken heads (which have been discovered multiple times). Nevertheless, the store adds over 7,000 new items every day, attracting more than 1 million visitors annually. The destination is so beloved that, in 2020, for its 50th anniversary, Unclaimed Baggage launched an online store for treasure hunters nationwide.

Items that aren’t put up for sale are either recycled or donated to charities that support those in need.

"Unclaimed Baggage aims to breathe new life into every item found in lost luggage and to redeem them for a greater purpose," Hood stated, noting that the company’s charitable foundation, Reclaimed for Good, donates suitcases to foster children, prescription glasses to the Lions Club, mobility devices to Wheels for the World, and clothing to homeless shelters.

While losing your luggage is never a pleasant experience, you can find some comfort in knowing it won’t go to waste and may instead benefit someone who truly needs it.