The basics for packing have changed somewhat recently. Socks, undergarments, sun protection... along with an Apple AirTag (or another type of tracking gadget you prefer).
It offers travelers reassurance by keeping them informed about the exact location of their baggage — providing significant relief even during the distressing moment when all others' bags have appeared but theirs hasn’t.
Currently, fresh information has been gathered from SITA WorldTracer A bag handling technology utilized by 500 airlines and 2,800 airports has demonstrated that luggage equipped with such systems is much less prone to being irretrievably misplaced, and travelers can also be reunited with their missing belongings more quickly.
As per the SITA 2026 Baggage IT Insights, the count of completely misplaced luggage (with most being ultimately located—only a tiny fraction remaining untraceable) dropped by 90% when the bag in question had an Apple AirTag or Find My network accessory.
Airline companies that utilize the Apple Find My and Share Item Location feature within WorldTracer have also experienced a 26% decrease in the time required to locate misplaced luggage.
In general, both the rate of mishandling and the overall volume of misplaced bags decreased by 23% and 19% respectively in 2025 — marking their smallest figures ever recorded, except during the pandemic era.
Curious about why luggage often experiences delays? The primary cause, accounting for 39% of incidents, is transferred baggage mismanagement, which occurs when your suitcase doesn’t board the subsequent flight.
18 percent of delays result from ticketing mistakes, luggage swapping, and security issues, whereas not loading properly accounts for 16 percent. Custom-related problems, weather conditions, size or weight limitations, and airport operations contribute to 11 percent of delays, while errors during loading or unloading lead to 8 percent. Tagging inaccuracies and improper handling at the destination station each account for 4 percent of delays.
By 2025, approximately 24 million suitcases were lost or misplaced — representing a rate of 4.9 incidents for every 1,000 travelers.