Summary
Unclaimed bags can occur for various reasons, such as being placed on the wrong plane or lost in the system. The TSA has a high success rate for recovering lost bags.
Passengers are advised to collect their baggage as soon as possible to avoid inconveniencing other travelers and to prevent the risk of damage or theft. Airlines typically remove unclaimed bags from the carousel after an hour for safety reasons.
If a bag remains unclaimed, the airline will hold it in a secure area and attempt to contact the owner. If the owner is not identified after a few days, the bag may be donated to charity or auctioned off.
A traveler’s worst nightmare might be finding out their luggage has been lost by the airline, after waiting at baggage claim for the bag to emerge, but it never does. What happens if the opposite were to occur? Sometimes, after all the bags have made their way onto the baggage carousel and passengers have picked up their respective bags and left, there are a few lingering suitcases going around and around with no one claiming them. What happens to these unclaimed bags?
Why are there unclaimed bags?
There can be multiple reasons for unclaimed bags. While some say unclaimed luggage is the “opposite” of a traveler losing their luggage, this may be misleading because every suitcase has an owner who may just be in another airport wondering where their luggage is.
Photo: Delta Air Lines
Usually, if the bag is unclaimed, the bag may have been placed onto the wrong plane or lost in the system. For example, a suitcase may end up in Miami when it was supposed to be in Montreal. Moreover, the bag may have been unloaded normally even though the passenger is connected to another flight. Fortunately, according to the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA), 97% of lost or forgotten baggage is generally returned to the customer within two days.
The International Air Transport Association statistics
2019: 4.5 billion air passengers First half of 2019: 5.8 million mishandled luggage 2023: 4.4 billion passengers First half of 2023: 5.7 million mishandled luggage
However, these situations are increasingly less common thanks to improved technology ensuring luggage makes it to the correct destination. With that said, this does still happen, for example, in the event of an overbooked flight or a passenger changing flights at the last minute.
Length of stay
Airlines recommend that passengers collect their baggage as soon as possible, suggesting they should not wait longer than 30 to 40 minutes after the aircraft has landed. In busy airports, baggage claims are used by multiple flights at a time, making it inconvenient for other travelers to retrieve their bags if luggage from a previous flight is still on the carousel.
Leaving bags unattended for an extended period may put them at risk of damage or theft, so after an hour, airlines will remove the bags from the carousel for safety reasons. The baggage pickup cut-off time at luggage carousels varies from airport to airport and airline to airline. Some carriers may have a strict cut-off time, while other airlines will be more lenient. With that said, if a passenger’s bag is not claimed within a reasonable amount of time after the flight lands, it will be removed.
Photo: vitlana Hulko |Â Shutterstock
Once the luggage is removed from the carousel, the airline will hold the bag in a secure area, often at their customer service office, for safekeeping as it contacts the owner and awaits for the bag to be claimed. If the owner claims the bag, the airline will deliver the luggage to them, or the passenger must pick it up.
If the airline can not identify the owner, they will hold onto the bag at the airport to see if it will eventually be claimed. If the bag has not been claimed after a few days, it may be moved to a warehouse operated by the airline, where it will stay for upwards of 60 days. If a couple of months pass by and the luggage is still not claimed, the bag and everything inside will be donated to charity or auctioned off.
Delayed, damaged, or lost baggage
Airlines have specific rules for delayed, damaged, and lost baggage. Airlines require passengers to inform with proper documentation.
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
Southwest Airlines states,
Domestic itineraries: Customers must notify us of the claim no later than four hours after either: (a) arrival of the flight on which the loss, damage, or delay is alleged to have occurred, or; (b) receipt of the baggage, whichever is applicable. Domestic itineraries: We’re not liable for manufacturer defects or for minor damage resulting from normal wear and tear, such as cuts, scratches, scuffs, stains, dents, punctures, marks, and dirt. International itineraries: Customers must contact us no later than seven calendar days in the case of damage to baggage and twenty-one calendar days in the case of delay.