Unclaimed luggage: what actually happens to your lost bags?

You know the process – heading to a check-in desk and either being greeted by a person or a touch screen, scanning your boarding pass and passport, having your bag weighed (anxiously, if you’ve packed it ambitiously) before attaching labels and waving it off down the conveyor belt. 

But where is it actually going, how do you know it’s going to end up in the same place as you, and what happens to it if it doesn’t? We’ve got the answers, friend. Below are a bunch of frequently asked questions about our luggage’s solo journey, plus information on how and where you can get your hands on some (potentially valuable) unclaimed bags. Read on. 

What happens to your bag after you check it at the airport?

So, according to Alternative Airlines, what happens to your bag after it’s slid off down the conveyor belt depends on the airport, but often it will go to an office where it’s sorted either by people or robots to make sure it gets on the right plane. 

It will then be scanned, by a CT scanner or an X-ray machine, and (if it looks suspicious) inspected before getting cleared and loaded onto carts and moved to the plane!

How do airports lose your luggage?

There are several ways this can happen, and the most obvious is an error with loading, which can happen whether your bag is labelled correctly or not: your luggage might somehow end up on the wrong plane, or not get loaded at all. 

Then there’s the possibility that it ends up on the wrong plane but because it was labelled incorrectly, or it gets misrouted when you’re making a connection. 

But what causes all of that? Well, tags can get damaged or torn, meaning it’s difficult or even impossible to identify where they should be going. Other problems at the airport, such as staff shortages or delays caused by uncontrollable factors like the weather can affect how efficiently bags are handled. 

What should you do if an airport loses your luggage?

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, the fault of your luggage getting lost (or delayed, or damaged) lies with your airline, and you have a legal right to claim compensation specifically for checked-in bags. 

If you have travel insurance, claiming this way will likely get you a bit more cash, but if you’re dealing directly with your airline, it’s best to act as quickly as possible (luggage is officially considered lost 21 days after your flight). You’ll be in with a chance of getting money to cover the cost of your essentials, or part of the cost of replacing or repairing lost contents. Compensation tends to be £1,000 maximum, but Citizens Advice says it is usually a lot lower than that. 

To claim for delays or loss you’ll need your boarding pass, luggage labels, proof you reported the issue, receipts for things you bought because of the delay, and photos of any damage or contents. You can read more about how to make a claim here. 

What happens to unclaimed luggage at the airport?

Believe it or not, those belongings you’ve lost forever won’t waste away next to a luggage carousel, gathering dust and never being opened again. Jack’s Flight Club says that airlines keep misplaced suitcases for up to five days before moving them to a central warehouse. 

They tend to stay there for around three months – just in case it gets identified – and if no one has made a claim by then, the luggage is donated to charity or handed over to a lost luggage auction. 

Here’s how to buy unclaimed airport luggage 

While the idea of bidding on a suitcase (which can range from anything between £10-75, according to the Money Saving Expert) to win it and be blessed with bags of diamonds would be pretty dreamy, that outcome is unlikely. 

Why? Well, Airlines always unlock lost cases to scour for ID and to check the contents is legal, and significant valuables like tech and jewellery are removed. 

However, that doesn’t mean you don’t have the chance to nab some designer clothes or even a valuable suitcase. In the UK, auction houses such as Wellers and Mulberry Bank only sell empty cases, but others sell the contents separately, meaning you have a chance to browse before making an offer. 

In the US, Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, Alabama has a team that trawls through all the luggage that arrives to divide up what can be sold, what can be donated and what can be recycled. Items going to the shop are washed and valued before being put on display. 

Auctions are also common in Europe – Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport holds auctions four times a year, and most major airports in Germany announce theirs online – there could be one nearer to you than you think!

If beckysbazaar’s TikTok account is anything to go by, you could well find plenty of decent content. While we’re on the subject of quirky travel hacks, have you heard of ‘skiplagging’?

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